The New Cooks' Catalogue (Hardcover)

~ Burt Wolf (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Book lovers, research hounds, and recipe collectors rejoice! Twenty-five years after the original, The New Cooks' Catalogue has arrived. For book lovers, this enormous white hardcover is printed beautifully on handsome paper, filled with full-color photos of every piece of kitchen equipment you can think of, from a set of Endurance spice spoons to the Omega 4000 juice extractor.

For research hounds, and really anyone who thinks twice before picking up a new tool or appliance for the kitchen, this is a massive volume of Cliffs Notes. Thinking about a blender? Countertop or immersion? Cuisinart, KitchenAid, Waring, Krups, or Hamilton Beach? What should you look for in terms of design, weight, capacity, noise, power, speeds, and cleaning? What does the UL symbol mean? This volume provides the answers to questions you didn't even know you should ask. Burt Wolfe has been researching kitchen equipment since 1969 and there isn't a question he hasn't thought of. The chapters are broken up by tool category, such as measuring devices, griddles, grill pans and irons, and handheld utensils for beating, mixing, whisking, stirring, and lifting. Peppered with interesting, helpful information on subjects like Japanese knives, strainers, and baking and pizza stones, kitchen gods and goddesses will love nothing better than to curl up with their favorite beverage to peruse the contents.

Recipe collectors, do not fear. Wading through this wealth of information rewards you too. Each section includes recipes from famous chefs using that section's equipment. Use your fry pan to make Pork Chops with Cream and Calvados, use a skimmer for Poached Spiced Figs, slice Gravlax with Mustard Sauce with a fish slicer, and make Ginger Ice Cream or Buttermilk Sorbet in your ice-cream maker. With contributions from more than 100 of the world's leading food authorities, among them Bruce Aidells, Julia Child, Rick Bayless, Marion Cunningham, Francois Payard, Nancy Silverton, and Thomas Keller, to name a few, it really is like getting a bonus cookbook with your encyclopedia.

And everyone will be entertained by food-related cartoons from The New Yorker, so funny and appropriate you'll find yourself hunting them down when what you really need is a new proofing basket or crème brûlée dish.

A great reference guide for kitchen tool collectors and aficionados, as well as anyone outfitting a kitchen from scratch, Wolfe has included so much information, both general and specific, that even when the models described are out of date, you'll still know what to look for, and how to find it. --Leora Y. Bloom

From Booklist

Picking and choosing the correct kitchen implements can affect the outcome of a dish as much as its ingredients. The New Cooks' Catalogue gives color and black-and-white photos of all sorts of kitchen equipment, from measuring spoons through stockpots, paring knives through meat grinders, and pie pans through turbot poachers. For the amateur cook, this compendium of all instruments culinary reads like the ultimate wish book. Cartoons from the New Yorker and occasional recipes lighten the text's prodigious technical data. A highly useful reference tool for answering questions about obscure cooking implements. Mark Knoblauch
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 528 pages
• Publisher: Knopf; 1 Sub edition (October 24, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0375406735
• ISBN-13: 978-0375406737
• Product Dimensions: 11.2 x 8.9 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,052,114 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

29 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Nothing Else Like It!, December 22, 2000

By	J Keistler "[e-mail]" (Lake Jackson, Texas USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

I still have my original Cook's Catalogue, bought when I was in college. I wasn't new to cooking then, but I sure hadn't seen devices like he showed in that book! I fell in love with it then, over the next 20+ years purchased some of the equipment in there, and wondered if there would ever be a followup.

Well, here it is, and it is as inclusive as the original! Unlike a prior reviewer, I enjoy reading about the arcane and unique pieces made for cooking. I don't want a book of this scope written like Consumer Reports. In the first place, even Consumer Reports' product evaluations are usually subjective. Plus, their prices aren't accurate. Yes, I rather wish Mr. Wolf had at least given some range of prices for items in the book. However, I don't consider it a real drawback, as prices do vary enormously even on the web.

I found the recipes and other inserts pleasing and practical. The color photos were also welcomed for this edition. There is literally no way to cover all kitchen products on today's market, but Mr. Wolf goes further than anyone else I've seen in trying.

I tend to be a kitchen gadget and utensil freak anyway so this book is right up my alley. Otherwise, and particularly for the novice in cooking, I have doubts about its utility.

34 of 38 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Every cook's essential tool guide!, November 9, 2000

By	Michael Fletcher (Murrieta, CA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Kudos to Burt Wolf for creating an indispensable collection of kitchen cookware, gadget, tool, electrical appliance and everything but the kitchen sink reviews for both the new and experienced cook. There are tons of books dedicated to recipes and cooking, but this book gives you wonderful information on what cooking equipment to buy. I feel so much more informed and confident in my purchases since I've used this book. It has reviews and information on kitchen essentials all the way to esoteric gadgets you never knew existed. It's a great way to inventory and stock your kitchen. I also love the fact that it includes pictures and descriptions of currently available items with reviews written from an unbiased viewpoint. Also included are insights from many well known and talented chefs.

This should have been called, "The Kitchen Equipment Bible." It's that good! Highly recommended.

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars It's Not Excellent, But I Like It, December 30, 2000

By A Customer

I had the original in the mid-70's. Softcover, as I recall. The prices were quickly out of date. This is hardcover. I'm sure prices listed here would similarly quickly be dated. Still, it would be nice to see some rough indication from cheap to expensive.

This is not a "push button" book for the best kitchen utensil to buy. It's more of a survey of available cooking tools by categories. I'm sure all of the utensils are quite capable. I just skip by the ones that are clearly out of my budget, e.g., "all-copper made in France", "All Clad", or something similar.

It does list some less expensive tools where they do a comparable job, such as Lodge cast iron pans, George Foreman Grill, etc. But, overall, the items reviewed are pretty much top shelf cooking tools.

Still, I like it, since it gives you a background on what tools are available and why they are desirable. Knowing that, you are not left totally in the dark when shopping. On the same track, it is the ONLY book I know of in its genre (e.g., one that gives a farily broad survey of available cooking utensils).