La Varenne Pratique (Hardcover)

~ Anne Willan (Author) "HERBS, SPICES and flavorings are scarcely considered basic ingredients, yet we cannot cook successfully without them..." (more)
Key Phrases: cushion roast, whisked cakes, medium star tube, United States, Middle East, North American (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

This massive undertaking is a comprehensive guide to the ingredients and techniques of "classic modern cuisine." There are thousands of photographs--of unusual ingredients, of difficult-to-master techniques, of artful presentations of the recipes included almost as a bonus--and pages of invaluable facts and information. Far more ambitious than the California Culinary Academy's Cooking A to Z ( LJ 2/15/89), this is closer to an expanded version of Jacques Pepin's classics La Methode ( LJ 2/15/80) and La Technique ( LJ 3/15/77) . Fascinating reading for the serious cook, and an essential reference for any collection.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

See how to cook with La Varenne Pratique

How to fillet a fish

How to decorate a cake

And how to select, prepare, cook, and serve virtually everything else. It's all in La Varenne Pratique, the most comprehensive and accessible illustrated guide to cooking ever published. -- Review

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 528 pages
• Publisher: Clarkson Potter (September 17, 1989)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0517573830
• ISBN-13: 978-0517573839
• Product Dimensions: 11.1 x 8.8 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #203,604 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

33 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This is the one..., August 21, 1999

By A Customer

If faced with having only one cookbook, this would be it. I have seen no better reference for finding not only the answers to the simple day-to-day questions, but also, the answers to those wierd questions questions that crop up from time to time.

I believe that this book is the perfect book for the beginning cook with step-by-step instructions for making omeletts, peeling shrimp, chopping onions, etc...

I also believe that this is the perfect book for even the most experienced cooks as it demonstrates complex techniques in very straight-forward, illustrated terms. Topics like making aspics, pastries, cleaning monkfish, piping chocolate decorations...

This is the book I go back to time and time again. Pretty enough to be on the coffee table as long as your living room is close to the kitchen!

28 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars non-snobby, practical reference, September 24, 2002

By	M "greenery" (Brooklyn, NY United States) - See all my reviews

I got this book as a freebie when I worked in publishing, and after ten years using it I'd be glad to go back in time and pay full price.

Clear, well-directed photography shows you exactly what to do and what your ingredients should look like. The focus is on methods and techniques, not recipes, though there are some recipes too. The skills described range from boiling an egg to making the most sophisticated souffle, so there is useful information for really plain cooking to fancy gastronomie and everything in between.

The only area this book falls short on is the nitty-gritty basics like how to measure flour or bake a potato or calculate how many tablespoons in a quart. For that, get yourself a copy of the Joy of Cooking (1962, 1963, 1964 or 1975 edition much better than modern "improvements"). With these two you'll have virtually all the info on how to cook (aside from specific ethnic cooking techniques), and can focus on collecting recipes to your liking.

34 of 36 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I keep recommending this book, February 1, 2004

By	Elliot Essman (Larchmont, NY) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

La Varenne Pratique by Anne Willan bristles with more than 2500 full-color photographs. Willan is the founder of the famed Ecole de Cuisine La Varenne in Paris. Her standard are high, yet the text is as crystal-clear as her consommé. I opened the book at random just now to be dazzled by a two-page, twelve-photograph spread on just how to remove lobster meat from the shell. The instructions for complex operations like boning a leg of lamb, shaping a braided loaf of bread, baking fish in parchment paper, share quarters with basics like properly shelling peas, lining a pie mold, or testing the doneness of pan-fried meats.

I have bypassed wedding gift registries three times now and given brides La Varenne Pratique; two of these brides have already validated my boldness by doing the same.

Open randomly again, behold: color photos of fourteen types of root vegetables. So that's what salsify and scorzonera (vegetables common in Italy) look like! With photographs like these (eight varieties of beans, ten of rice, eleven of lettuce varieties) I am amazed that some magazines have to resort to publishing photographs of naked people in order to coax people into reading their trenchant articles.

Food writer Elliot Essman's other reviews and food articles are available at www.stylegourmet.com