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Title: Ratio: The Simple Codes Behind the Craft of Everyday Cooking
ISBN: 1416566112
Author:
Michael Ruhlman
Publicate Date: 2009-04-07
Publish: 2009-04-07
List Price: $27.00
Average Customer Rating: 4.5
Format: Hardcover
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Amazon Lowest New Price: $14.63
Amazon Lowest Used Price: $9.50
Amazon Merchant Price: $17.08
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| Customer Review: |
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1: Back to basics, only butta!
This cookbook inspired me to bake again. No knead bread baked in a dutch oven? I love this book, although the paper quality is substandard. Cookbooks need to withstand some soiling and this one is way delicate for the kitchen, especially if you're like me, and plan on keeping this book close by . A covered cookbook stand is strongly recommended.
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2: Very handy
This book isn't going to change the world, but it might change how you think about cooking. In Ratio, Ruhlman simplifies common recipies into a few categories and shows their foundational components as a formula consisting of ratios of key ingredients. Once you understand the formula, you can add or alter individual ingredients as you need.
The book is written in a very readable, and practical style. After getting the book I followed the recipe for pate choux and made gougeres. Worked perfectly.
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3: a little dryly written, but great content
This book is terrific. Once you get the ratio straight of bread, pasta, cookies, whatever- you can take on the world without recipes! Love it.
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4: The cookbook that kept me up late
When was 17 and got interested in cooking, I came up with a goal, "I want to be able to cook the basics without a recipe." I've figured out a lot of things on my own over the years, but never the things with delicate chemistry - that is, custards and doughs (other than simple bread.) I took Ratio on a business trip, and found it was too exciting as bedtime reading. It's one of the only cookbooks I've read cover to cover. Very nicely written and to me, totally compelling. Reading it really had the quality of a spiritual awakening!
If you prefer getting complete, established recipes you may not like Ratio, because there aren't that many recipes spelled out (just an illustrative recipe or two for each category and suggestions for variations - but you need to have some experience to be able to use the suggestions). For me, this is exactly what I have needed to take my cooking to the next level. (The other book I enjoy and use extensively for similar reasons is Julia Childs' "The Way to Cook".)
The text is enlivened by a wealth of motivational practical tips and even commentary on some of the "religious" issues in cooking (butter - salted or unsalted?)
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5: Let the Adventures Begin!
This book is not really a "cookbook" at all in the sense that it is not merely a collection of recipes. Mr. Ruhlman explains the relationships of key ingredients in common foods such as doughs, sauces and custards. Understanding these relationships frees the creative individual to experiment to his or her heart's content without dependence on a particular recipe. Ratios in baking (which is fundamentally different than cooking) are particularly important. While Mr. Ruhlman includes a few recipes to illustrate certain points, and touches briefly on technique, his book is probably not an ideal starter for the busy novice cook looking to put food on the table for a family day after day. But when that novice is ready to take a step up in understanding and creativity, "Ratio" is an ideal place to start. It holds a proud spot in my food-related book collection and I refer to it regularly. I even used it as a guide to making rabbit sausage! Highly recommended.
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