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The Way to Cook
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Customer Reviews
Rating:  - The tablewrecker
This is a big, big book. Physically, it is a monsterpiece, an epic, a culmination of what Julia did during the 1980s as well as a sort of introduction to the later part of her career in the 1990s, where she stepped back and gave a platform to people whose work she had inspired. Not limited to French food (though certainly containing a lot of it), Julia gave free reign to write about the food she liked, and she was more than willing to bring in American food, Italian food, and even, here and there, bits of Asian fusion, that genre that would create so much controversy in the 1990s. Photographs are everywhere, carrying on Julia's long tradition of catering to both visual and textual learners. It's almost as if Knopf demanded a coffee table book and Julia took full advantage of the larger page format.
No, it's not a kitchen bible per se; the closest she ever came to that was Mastering The Art of French Cooking, and that was quite specific in its domain, limited to the techniques that make French cuisine what it is, sometimes giving a pass to a classic dish (or punting to Volume 2 if possible) in favor of further demonstrating a technique or ingredient. This book is of the same nature, really, though it casts its net wider than just France. As long as you understand that Julia's work has always been more about teaching than reference, you should not run into any problems.
The downside? It's an epic book with an epic price. Make sure that if you buy it as a gift rather than a personal purchase that it goes to someone who will really appreciate it.
Rating: - Basics
"The Way to Cook" by Julia Child is one of the two best cookbooks ever written for individuals seriously interested in learning to cook. I started cooking from scratch 45 years ago when I was five and have used many, many cookbooks since then. This one tops the list!
Rating: - She is the Queen
You read all the other chefs and they all mention the influence of Julia Child on their cooking. I like this book because it is not just French. It is all about a few quality ingredients done correctly.
Rating: - Great teaching tool
The Way to Cook
My son is interested in learning how to cook. While he can do simple foods, like spaghetti and chili, he wanted to learn things which take a lot of expertise when it comes to methods of preparation. This cook book takes you from very simple recipes to tougher ones, building on the previous lessons. He's thrilled with the book, as am I. It's a comprehensive guide to cooking that will last him a lifetime.
Rating:  - Interesting but a little dated
I've been consulting this book for about two months.
Also, I would rate myself something of an intermediate chef.
This book is well organized. It has "master recipes" that provide fundamental ways of cooking things (e.g. generic roast chicken) -- these recipes are printed in red -- and then specializations of those. So you can, from this, build you own recipes without fear of screwing up too much.
My only criticism, (and it's not her fault) is that the availability of produce has changed (increased) so much over time that it is hard to apply her recipes today (what to do with daicon, for example). The fish section, for example, seems totally vague to me (there's so many more varieties of fish available now).
Nevertheless, a good reference source, and filled with interesting ideas.
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