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How To Cook Everything: Simple Recipes for Great Food Hardcover – Big Book, August 14, 1998

by Mark Bittman (Author)

4.6 599 ratings

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Wise to current tastes and cooking trends, a step-by-step, enjoyable guide to the whole art of cooking includes more than one thousand contemporary recipes complemented by a wealth of how-to information, as well as hundreds of illustrations. 250,000 first printing.

Print length

944 pages
Language

English
Publisher

John Wiley & Sons Inc
Publication date

August 14, 1998
Dimensions

8.5 x 2.25 x 9.75 inches
ISBN-10

0028610105
ISBN-13

978-0028610108
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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Mark Bittman, award-winning author of such fundamental books as Fish and Leafy Greens and food columnist for the New York Times ("The Minimalist"), has turned in what has to be the weightiest tome of the year. There are more than 900 pages in this sucker--over 1,500 recipes! This isn't just the big top of cookbooks: it's the entire three-ring circus. This isn't just how to cook everything: it's how to cook everything you have ever wanted to have in your mouth. And then some.

Bittman starts with Roasted Buttered Nuts and Real Buttered Popcorn, and moves right along, section by section, from the likes of Black Bean Soup (eight different ways), to Beet and Fennel Salad, to Mussels (Portuguese-style over Pasta), to Cream Scones--and he hasn't even reached seafood, poultry, meat, or vegetables yet, let alone desserts. There are 23 sections in this cookbook (!) that reflect directly on the how-to of cooking, be that equipment, technique, or recipe.

Every inch of the way the reader finds Bittman's calm, helpful, encouraging voice. "Anyone can cook," he says at the beginning, "and most everyone should." More than a few college kids are going to head off to their first apartments with Bittman's book under arm. More than a few marriages will benefit with this book on the shelf. And anyone who loves cooking and the sound of a great food voice is going to enjoy letting this book fall open where it may. No matter what the page, it's bound to be a tasty and rewarding experience. --Schuyler Ingle

From Publishers Weekly

There's a millennial ring to the title of Bittman's massive opus of more than 1000 basic recipes and variations as the widely known food writer ("The Minimalist" is a weekly column in the New York Times) and author (Fish) contributes to the list of recently published authoritative, encyclopedic cookbooks. He concedes that most accomplished cooks will find little new here, and indeed the recipes can be as simple as how to pop corn. His voice is a comfortable one, however, so the tone is less tutorial than, say, that of the newly revised Joy of Cooking. While much of the ground covered is familiar, Bittman offers inventive fare (Kale Soup with Soy and Lime) and reclaims formerly abandoned territory?his Creamy Vinaigrette calls for heavy cream. Pastas range from Spaghetti and Meatballs to Pad Thai. Similarly, sandwiches include both old favorites and fresh combinations, e.g., Curried Pork Tenderloin Sandwich with Chutney and Arugula. Bittman's friends, he says, praise his Chicken Adobo as the best chicken dish in the world. He doesn't linger too long with beef because Americans are eating less of it; he remarks that a well-done hamburger is not worth eating. Vegetables are comprehensively addressed from Artichokes to Yuca, with attention paid to buying, storing and cooking methods well suited to each. Desserts are mostly homey, like Apple Brown Betty and Peaches with Fresh Blueberry Sauce, but there is also a Death-by-Chocolate Torte. The enormous breadth of recipes, the unusually modest price and Bittman's engaging, straightforward prose will appeal to many cooks looking for reliable help with?or reference to?kitchen fundamentals. Illustrations not seen by PW. 250,000 first printing; $250,000 ad/promo; simultaneous CD-ROM; 15-city author tour.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

This is a cookbook whose pages are destined to become stuck together from constant use. -- The New York Times Book Review, William Grimes

From the Inside Flap

Great food is simple to prepare. Mark Bittman has written a comprehensive book for every cook?aspiring and experienced?who longs for simple recipes that yield delicious food. It is for first-time cooks who want to learn the basics of good cooking from a reliable, contemporary source. It is for cooks who are time-pressed and need to get healthful meals on the table with a minimum of fuss. It is for old pros who yearn to brighten their repertoires with innovative recipes and tempting flavors. This is the cookbook of today's generation of cooks, setting new standards in good home cooking. How to Cook Everything^? was written for you. Here are more than 1500 recipes and variations for all occasions that reflect the way you cook today. The recipes are simple to prepare. More than half can be completed in less than 30 minutes, and many more in less than 60 minutes. The emphasis is on fresh, widely available ingredients, basic equipment, and healthful techniques. How to Cook Everything^? covers, quite literally, everything. The recipes are accompanied by sound advice on serving suggestions and time-saving techniques. More than 250 explicit step-by-step illustrations make preparation easier than ever. If you want to prepare healthful, delicious food with confidence and ease; if you are searching for a collection of reliable recipes that reflect the pure flavors and simple techniques of contemporary cooking; if you enjoy a cooking experience that is both pleasurable and creative; How to Cook Everything^? is the book you will want to own. You'll find these special features and many others in this extraordinary book:

Over 1500 inspired recipes and clever variations for all occasions
Cooking times for every recipe
Roasting times and temperatures as well as measurement conversions
More than 250 detailed drawings of food preparation techniques, plus a list of the illustrations for easy reference
Numbered steps in every recipe for ease in keeping your place
Helpful sidebars, such as "Twenty-Three Pasta Sauces You Can Make in Advance"
An exhaustive menu-suggestion section
A vast glossary of terms and techniques
A comprehensive index that makes finding what you need a snap
A selected list of mail-order sources
A list of recipes that take only 30 minutes or less to complete
A list of recipes that take 60 minutes or less to complete.

From the Back Cover

Here's the breakthrough one-stop cooking reference for today's generation of cooks!

Nationally known cooking authority Mark Bittman shows you how to prepare great food for all occasions using simple techniques, fresh ingredients, and basic kitchen equipment. Just as important, How to Cook Everything takes a relaxed, straightforward approach to cooking, so you can enjoy yourself in the kitchen and still achieve outstanding results.

Praise for How to Cook Everything by Mark Bittman:

"In his introduction to How to Cook Everything, Mark Bittman says, 'Anyone can cook, and most everyone should.' Now, hopefully everyone will this work is a rare achievement. Mark is in that pantheon of a few gifted cook/writers who make very, very good food simple and accessible. I read his recipes and my mouth waters. I read his directions and head for the kitchen. Bravo, Mark, for taking us away from take-out and back to the fun of food."
Lynne Rossetto Kasper, host of the international public radio show "The Splendid Table with Lynne Rossetto Kasper"

"Mark Bittman is the best home cook I know, and How to Cook Everything is the best basic cookbook I've seen."
Jean-Georges Vongerichten, award-winning chef/owner of Jean-Georges

"Useful to the novice cook or the professional chef, How to Cook Everything is a tour de force cookbook by Mark Bittman. Mark lends his considerable knowledge and clear, concise writing style to explanations of techniques and quick, classic recipes. This is a complete, reliable cookbook."
Jacques Pepin, chef, cookbook author, and host of his own PBS television series

"Sometimes all the things that a particular person does best come together in a burst of synergy, and the result is truly marvelous. This book is just such an instance. Mark Bittman is not only the best home cook we know, he is also a born teacher, a gifted writer, and a canny kitchen tactician who combines great taste with eminent practicality. Put it all together and you have How to Cook Everything, a cookbook that will inspire American home cooks not only today but for years to come."
John Willoughby and Chris Schlesinger, coauthors of License to Grill Visit

About the Author

MARK BITTMAN is a nationally known authority on cooking. He writes about food for many magazines and newspapers. His column, "The Minimalist," appears Wednesdays in The New York Times. He is the author of Fish, winner of an International Association of Culinary Professionals/Julia Child Cookbook Award. He lives with his family in Connecticut.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ John Wiley & Sons Inc; 5th ptg. edition (August 14, 1998)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 944 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0028610105
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0028610108
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 4.1 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 8.5 x 2.25 x 9.75 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #255,382 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #493 in Cooking Encyclopedias
- #505 in Cooking, Food & Wine Reference (Books)

Customer Reviews:
4.6 599 ratings

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Mark Bittman

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Mark Bittman is the author of thirty acclaimed books, including the How to Cook Everything series, the award-winning Food Matters, and the New York Times number-one bestseller VB6: Eat Vegan Before 6:00. For more than two decades his popular and compelling stories appeared in the New York Times, where he was ultimately the lead food writer for the Sunday magazine and became the country’s first food-focused Op-Ed columnist for a major news publication. Bittman has starred in four television series, including Showtime’s Emmy-winning Years of Living Dangerously. He has written for nearly every major newspaper and magazine in the United States, and has spoken at dozens of universities and conferences. His 2007 TED talk has more than four million views; in 2015 he was a distinguished fellow at the University of California, Berkeley. He is currently teaching at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health, editing Heated, an online food magazine, and writing a book about understanding food. He can be found at markbittman.com, heated.medium.com, @bittman on Twitter, and @markbittman on Instagram.

Customer reviews

599 global ratings

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Customers say

Customers find the book informative and useful for cooking. They appreciate the simple recipes with fresh flavors and little work. The instructions are straightforward and easy to follow, with simple ingredients. Many readers find the book readable and well-written, making it a great gift for new chefs. However, opinions differ on the pacing - some find it fast-paced, while others mention it's slow.

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Book content Recipes Ease of follow Ingredients Readability Gift value Pacing

93 customers mention "Book content"93 positive0 negative

Customers find the book's content helpful and informative. They say it provides useful instructions, diagrams of techniques, and lists of suggested recipes for specific situations. The book explains cooking in a rational way, teaching most of the basics. It encourages improvisation and provides helpful pointers for doing just that. Readers mention it is a great reference and appropriate for both beginners and more experienced cooks. They also mention the ingredients and instructions are presented in a clear and easy-to-follow fashion, making many dishes can be made.

"...I also like the procedures shown with simply pencil drawn diagrams - everything from dividing a chicken to preparing an artichoke...." Read more

"...The philosophy of the book is ideal for home cooking. Pick good ingredients, add minimal flavorings, cook, and serve...." Read more

"...The sections on kitchen equipment and cooking techniques are pretty helpful for expanding basic cooking knowledge and skills, and once the basics..." Read more

"...The best thing, though, is that I feel like this cookbook is practically an educational resource...." Read more

77 customers mention "Recipes"77 positive0 negative

Customers find the recipes in the book simple and easy to follow. They appreciate the fresh, bright flavors and minimal work required. The paperback version includes sample menus and fantastic ideas for simple dishes like pork chops. The book also provides an alphabetical list of fruits and vegetables with instructions on how to select them.

"...Every dish has fresh bright flavor, with very little work. He has definitely earned his nickname, "The Minimalist."..." Read more

"...Speaking from this limited viewpoint I will say this the best cookbook I've ever seen and the only one I've read completely through...." Read more

"...Bittman's best recipes are excellent, food that I would praise in a restaurant, and it's a treat to find one of them...." Read more

"...So I love the fact that this cookbook has very good recipes for ethnic food!!..." Read more

58 customers mention "Ease of follow"58 positive0 negative

Customers find the recipes in the book straightforward and easy to follow. They say it starts with simple ingredients and allows the chef to grow with their cooking levels. The clear presentation makes the recipes accessible for beginner cooks. While some customers consider it the best cookbook for simple yet creative and elegant home cooking, others mention that it's difficult to browse through the text.

"...it with canned spaghetti sauce again, once you have tried his quick and easy recipes. Every dish has fresh bright flavor, with very little work...." Read more

"The title says it all, everything is simplified to learn to cook. Great author." Read more

"...Most of the recipes are fairly quick.Disadvantages:-..." Read more

"I really like this cookbook because the instructions in the book are very simple...." Read more

21 customers mention "Ingredients"15 positive6 negative

Customers appreciate the simple ingredients and clear instructions. The recipes use fresh ingredients and straightforward techniques. Readers like the explanations and substitution suggestions. The recipes are basic enough to be elaborated or adapted by the reader.

"...impressed when I found out that this cookbook contained the exact proportions of ingredients that my mother use to make chinese black bean sauce...." Read more

"...quite as detailed as Anderson, it is however, a big-fat, recipe-stuffed miracle of a book...." Read more

"...- Ingredients can be a pain to find, and what Bittman says is easily available in supermarkets often doesn't seem to be available anywhere around..." Read more

"...; ... the recipes in this section are all simple, require usually less than 5 ingredients and can be prepared in just a few minutes...." Read more

15 customers mention "Readability"15 positive0 negative

Customers find the book well-written and easy to read. They appreciate the clear writing style, glossary, and insightful recipes.

"The title says it all, everything is simplified to learn to cook. Great author." Read more

"...Lastly, the cookbook is an actual pleasure to read!..." Read more

"...comments about ingredients, utensils and recipes have been fun and insightful...." Read more

"...Generally speaking he uses fewer ingredients, and his writing is so concise, I'm never in doubt...." Read more

9 customers mention "Gift value"9 positive0 negative

Customers like the book as a gift. They say it makes a great wedding shower or housewarming gift for new chefs and college grads.

"...I prefer the soft rather than hard cover. This is a great gift for the 'new chef'...." Read more

"...This book also makes a great gift; people always thank me for the thoughtful gift. I learned so much from this book, thank you Mark Bittman!" Read more

"...This cookbook would make a wonderful wedding or shower gift but is also very appropriate for an more experienced person who enjoys cooking and baking..." Read more

"This should be in the kitchen of every home. It is the perfect book for the newlyweds, the college grad that is moving into his/her first apartment,..." Read more

6 customers mention "Pacing"3 positive3 negative

Customers have different views on the pacing of the book. Some find the recipes simple and easy to follow, with great results and little work. Others mention poor execution and choices that are hit or miss for home cooking.

"...Every dish has fresh bright flavor, with very little work. He has definitely earned his nickname, "The Minimalist."..." Read more

"...the results, while generally good for home cooking, have been a bit hit-or-miss...." Read more

"...My favorite recipe is the key lime pie - perfect every time and better than any that you'll have in a restaurant." Read more

"...And, many of the recipes I did look up were weird. Poor execution and poor choices, as far as I am concerned...." Read more

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Sarah B. Thomas

Fabulous cook book for beginners!!

Reviewed in the United States on December 19, 2001

Verified Purchase

For those just getting started in learning how to cook with basic
foods instead of processed foods, I highly recommend "How To Cook
Everything" by Mark Bittman. Many recipes and cookbooks out there call for such "convenience" items as canned soups or pre-processed foods. Bittman's recipes, on the other hand, draw on the idea of a basic "pantry" of plain, pure foods, supplemented by fresh vegetables and fruits in season. Many of his recipes combine vegetables that come in season at the same time, and so are appropriate for those living off a garden. In addition, he gives step-by-step instructions, aimed at the inexperienced cook, on how to cook, well, everything-- soup, bread, beans, grains, vegetables, meats, seafood, fruits, cakes, etc... (Except armadillos, as my father keenly pointed out. There are no recipes for armadillos.) Detailed illustrations finally made it clear to me exactly how to chop up a whole chicken. There is even a frank discussion about beans and gas.
Bittman draws on the home cooking traditions of almost every world ethnicity. Tangy Middle Eastern recipes sit right next to spicy Thai ones and savory French ones. There is a whole chapter on pasta. You will never serve it with canned spaghetti sauce again, once you have tried his quick and easy recipes. Every dish has fresh bright flavor, with very little work. He has definitely earned his nickname, "The Minimalist."
Cooking with this book has opened up a whole new world for me. It is helping my family transition from processed foods to pure foods. I now make a lot of foods I would have bought processed, such as chicken broth. My chicken broth in particular has proved extremely useful. I freeze it into broth cubes which I put in my kids' soup to cool it. I also give it to a friend of mine who is often sick and who is allergic to soybeans. (You'd be surprised how many processed foods have soybeans in them, even bread crumbs! Read the labels.)

38 people found this helpful

Helpful

Stephie1367

Gift for an elder person.

Reviewed in the United States on December 11, 2024

Verified Purchase

The title says it all, everything is simplified to learn to cook. Great author.

Helpful

J. Sulman

The Best

Reviewed in the United States on February 26, 2009

Verified Purchase

I am not a cookbook connoisseur, I own about three of them and checked-out a number from the library, so I am not giving the perspective of an expert but a weekend cook (I cook for my family on weekends and a few times during the week to give my wife a break). Speaking from this limited viewpoint I will say this the best cookbook I've ever seen and the only one I've read completely through. I've used probably 50-60 recipes and, according to my wife and kids, 90% of them were "do-agains"

One of the best marks of a cook book in my mind is it gives you the desire to try not only new recipes but also new types of food. This is something Mr. Bittman has encouraged me to do. I do not know how many times my children have come in while I was cooking a meal from this book and asked what I was making. Upon telling them what it was they curled their lips and asked if there was going to be anything else. Their culinary tentativeness ended with their first bite, and the began to ask if I would make it again.

My children also love this book. My son (9 years old) will read and a number of times I've come home and found it on my desk open to a specific recipe that my son wanted me to make.

I also like the procedures shown with simply pencil drawn diagrams - everything from dividing a chicken to preparing an artichoke.

Mr. Bittman is great and I love his book.

That's my 2 cents.

7 people found this helpful

Helpful

telmar

Great book with a few problems

Reviewed in the United States on May 13, 2004

Verified Purchase

I haven't done a lot of cooking in my life, and only recently I started cooking regularly for family. How to Cook Everything has been the only cookbook I've used in eons. Therefore, I don't have a good basis for comparison to other cookbooks. I can, however, compare the food I cook to what I eat and enjoy in restaurants. I've made about 40-50 recipes from this book.
Some advantages of the book:
- It assumes you know virtually nothing about cooking. There are sections on how to mince garlic, dice an onion, core a bell pepper... For me, and for many others, it's great. Experienced chefs can easily skip these parts.
- It's huge. It has an example of just about every (Western) food you might want to cook. Certainly, one could go much further in each area by buying specialty cookbooks.
- The philosophy of the book is ideal for home cooking. Pick good ingredients, add minimal flavorings, cook, and serve. Most of the recipes are fairly quick.
Disadvantages:
- The prep time of many recipes seems significantly underestimated, and often needs to be doubled. Maybe the time printed in the book is amount of time Bittman takes, but as more of a beginning chef, I can't fathom it.
- Ingredients can be a pain to find, and what Bittman says is easily available in supermarkets often doesn't seem to be available anywhere around Harrisburg, PA (not exactly an out-of-the-way place), without checking dozens of specialty markets. What this and the previous statement mean is that cooking these recipes becomes significantly less easy to do after work.
- My biggest problem is that the results, while generally good for home cooking, have been a bit hit-or-miss. I enjoy good restaurant food, and I'd like to think that I could cook the same quality food at home. Bittman's best recipes are excellent, food that I would praise in a restaurant, and it's a treat to find one of them. His worst recipes are purely average, or even a bit below.
What I've surmised so far, although I've only cooked a small percentage of the book's recipes, is that Bittman is at his worst with foods that need a lot of added flavor or spice. I've noticed this in his Italian, Chinese, and Thai recipes - all of them seem to be clearly missing some crucial element of flavor. If I were more experienced as a cook, I'm sure I could identify what it was, but I'm not.
Generally I think this is more a problem with quality control and scope than anything else - with 700 recipes, it's hard for Bittman to wholeheartedly recommend and repeatedly test all of them. I still have no problem recommending this book to everyone as a base cookbook, with the caveats above.

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