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I haven't bought a cookbook in 6 years since i was diagnosed with macular degeneration. I can't read regular print. But don't most good recipes end up on the internet anyway? I can blow things up big enough to read and then print in size 22 font to use in the kitchen.
How often do you buy cookbooks?
I buy two or three a year. While there are plenty of great recipes on the internet, a good cookbook should have a lot more in it than recipes. All of the books that I buy are about techniques and the way to approach a style of cooking, not just recipes. Some of my favorites that I've bought over the years are The Way to Cook, Bread Baker's Apprentice, Charcuterie, Seven Fires, and The River Cottage Meat Book. While you could spend a lot of time searching the internet for the things these books cover, it would take a long time to find reliable sources, and just as long to sort it all out. All of the books I like have well written overviews of specific techniques and examples of how to execute the techniques described. They're almost like textbooks for a class, or tributes to an approach to cooking.
Another reason I buy cookbooks is because I respect and trust the authors, and based on past books I want to read everything they write - whether it's a book or an online post. The last cookbook I bought was Francis Mallmann's "On Fire". His first cookbook, "Seven Fires", is one of a few cookbooks that changed the way I look at cooking - it was different than anything I'd seen before it, and it inspired me to try some radically different things. So far "On Fire" is very good, and I'm really happy I bought it. There's no way I could learn what I've learned from these books on the internet, it's too much information and it needs to be presented in an organized way.
That said, I think 99% of the cookbooks out there are garbage. Half of them are fad diet books written by crazy people, and the rest are a mix of marketing scams and celebrities cashing in while they can (I include most TV chefs in that category).
I've never bought one. If I was so inclined, our local thrift store has dozens of them. I did get two from my wedding shower, and have them both, but I have never made anything from them except soup.
I do, however, subscribe to the print magazine from Allrecipes.
I have a lot of old cookbooks, and I fail to see much reason to buy any new ones. I have bought a few Paula Deen cookbooks lately, and another Savannah based cook book from Back In The Day bakery, because I was in a new area and wanted to embrace the cuisine. Have I made much out of them? No. I just love to read them, but I only want to make pre-convenience foods recipes, and I already know how to cook most everything.
If I feel experimental, I look at the Food Network, get an idea, and find the recipe online.
Never. The library has an abundance for me to peruse when the mood strikes, and if I find a recipe I like, I add it to the personal cookbook I maintain using the Mealboard app on my iPad. My favorite cookbooks are The Art of Simple Cooking and its sequel, which I borrow and read a couple of times a year.
That said, I think 99% of the cookbooks out there are garbage. Half of them are fad diet books written by crazy people, and the rest are a mix of marketing scams and celebrities cashing in while they can (I include most TV chefs in that category).
I agree with this. The whole society is dumbed down in many areas, and cooking is one of them.
If you can find older cookbooks at garage sales or on ebay, they are treasures.
Fannie Farmer Cooking School and Pillsbury BakeOff from the 60's or 70's are my most treasured cookbooks. Also good are church cookbooks or school cookbooks that were compiled for fundraisers.
I haven't purchased a traditional cookbook in years. However, I give this book to lots of friends. It is more than a cookbook, it is about friendship and Southern cooking traditions.
It's so easy to find thousands of great recipes online--for free. Why would I buy a book?
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