24 of 25 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
My Tip to Cooks: Pass This One By, October 24, 2009
This review is from: Tips Cooks Love: Over 500 Tips, Techniques, and Shortcuts That Will Make You a Better Cook! (Paperback)
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The field of "cooking tips" books is a crowded one, which already includes the superb "834 Kitchen Quick Tips" from Cooks Illustrated to choose but one example. So the real question is, "How does 'Tips Cooks Love' stack up to the competition?" Speaking as a decent cook, myself, and as the owner of an extensive kitchen library, my tip to cooks would be, "Pass this one by." I have two main complaints about this attractively packaged volume:
First, the organization, apart from being alphabetical, seems completely haphazard. There appears to have been no guiding editorial voice in choosing what went into the book vs. what was left out, or in the amount of information for each entry. So, for example, you get more than two full PAGES of info (almost none of it "tips") for balsamic vinegar--that's more than the book devotes to key cooking topics like roasting or grilling--but there's no entry in "B" at all for a widely used cooking ingredient like basil.
Second--and this is my main complaint--while this is titled as a "tips" book, it is really a hodgepodge of dictionary, encyclopedia, recipes (which are the longest entries in the book, running up to four pages each) and yes, some tips. In short, it's a book that doesn't know what it wants to be, and ends up master of none, especially as the tips book it claims to be. Plus, there is far too much information in this book that falls into the ridiculously obvious, "D'uh" category. For example, in the info about "rice cookers" (which could actually be packed with useful, time-saving tips), you'll learn instead that this appliance "was originally created for Asian families who eat rice three times a day." REALLY? Trust me: that's just one of many examples you'll find of eye-roll inducing stupidity in this book.
Overall, I don't get the sense that there was a cook behind the writing of Tips Cooks Love. It comes across as a book created by a writer on contract who needed to fill X amount of pages, and who did so by pulling food topics from a hat. Then, lacking enough "tips, shortcuts and techniques" info to do the job, he padded the book with recipes and the kind of general info you'd find in a food encyclopedia or dictionary. If this is your first tips book, you'll probably find it interesting, but there are far better choices you could make amongst competing volumes. If you already own a tips book, there is little you'll find here that would make a purchase worthwhile.
Thank you for taking the time to read my review, and I hope you found the info helpful in making a purchase decision!
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7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Use responsibly! Don't get Tipsy!, October 19, 2009
This review is from: Tips Cooks Love: Over 500 Tips, Techniques, and Shortcuts That Will Make You a Better Cook! (Paperback)
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Many of the tips were new to my wife and I; others were of the 'doesn't everyone know that' type; and then there were those slap yourself 'I'd forgotten that!' tips that we used to know. I won't admit how many there were in the third category - our memories aren't slow, just deliberate.
Though the tips are presented in alphabetical order, there is also a much needed index - some of the tips aren't intuitively posted. For example - instead of putting the 'mile-high apple pie' recipe with apples or under 'M', it is under 'P' for pie (though it is cross-referenced under apples). In the index it's listed under apple pies; pies; and mile-high apple pie.
This is not a recipe book or encyclopedia. It is a book of tips. There is a lot lacking. For example: 'Vanilla" has two pages about working with vanilla beans but nothing about extract (real or artificial).
I was impressed by the 'goodies' that were included like: a chart of baking pan volumes (I'm sure I could do the math without it - cough! cough!); volume equivalents; and an ounces per cup chart.
The inclusion of pots & pans; bake ware; and utensils was a nice touch as well. Like too many of this type of book on our shelves, this is not a 'must-have'. It definitely is a 'nice-to-have'. And, most of all, this would make a great gift for folks in their first homes or apartments. (That'll keep them from stealing yours!)
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
An odd little book ..., March 14, 2010
This review is from: Tips Cooks Love: Over 500 Tips, Techniques, and Shortcuts That Will Make You a Better Cook! (Paperback)
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I rather enjoyed reading parts of this book, but I'm not sure what purpose it actually serves. Tips? A few, yes. But the alphabetical organization and spotty coverage of topics, combined with the fact that many "tips" are VERY lengthy "articles" on the history and/or usage of an item make it somewhat difficult to discover anything that can be put to use in the kitchen NOW.
This might be the perfect "bathroom reading" book -- something to digest piecemeal in short reading sessions. But I didn't find it particularly useful as a reference, and the mixture of articles, "tips," and recipes makes it difficult to pin down.
An odd, if somewhat interesting, little book, indeed.
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