Mastering the Art of French Cooking, Volume 1

ByJulia Child, Louisette Bertholle & Simone Beck

Release Date: 1980-01-02
Genre: Regional & Ethnic Cookbooks

Score: 4

From 115 Ratings

Description

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • The definitive cookbook on French cuisine for American readers: "What a cookbook should be: packed with sumptuous recipes, detailed instructions, and precise line drawings. Some of the instructions look daunting, but as Child herself says in the introduction, 'If you can read, you can cook.'" —Entertainment Weekly

“I only wish that I had written it myself.” —James Beard

Featuring 524 delicious recipes and over 100 instructive illustrations to guide readers every step of the way, Mastering the Art of French Cooking offers something for everyone, from seasoned experts to beginners who love good food and long to reproduce the savory delights of French cuisine.

Julia Child, Simone Beck, and Louisette Bertholle break down the classic foods of France into a logical sequence of themes and variations rather than presenting an endless and diffuse catalogue of dishes—from historic Gallic masterpieces to the seemingly artless perfection of a dish of spring-green peas. Throughout, the focus is on key recipes that form the backbone of French cookery and lend themselves to an infinite number of elaborations—bound to increase anyone’s culinary repertoire.

“Julia has slowly but surely altered our way of thinking about food. She has taken the fear out of the term ‘haute cuisine.’ She has increased gastronomic awareness a thousandfold by stressing the importance of good foundation and technique, and she has elevated our consciousness to the refined pleasures of dining." —Thomas Keller, The French Laundry

Reviews

Love it!
5
By luvgop
I have the classic hard bounds and love the ability to have this one with me and can whip it out on my phone or iPad while in the store to check or confirm ingredients as I often change up a menu when I arrive at the grocers and discover they have something I'd not considered or out of something I needed. Excellent detail in every recipe will take you to that next stage in food preparation.

If I could address an issue from one of the other posters who unfortunately gave a two star review because she/he lacked the ability to add own notes.

If you touch a word with your finger, a small menu appears, giving the reader a choice from defining the word . . .to highlighting. There's even a little note that allows one to type in their own notes. I hope, considering that . . .the reviewer will revise their review as it's unfair to give a low review based on ignorance of how it works.
No Copying and Less
2
By macinsetex
Yes, this is her book. I certainly considered purchasing even though I own both volumes in hard cover. Without the ability to excerpt, I might as well keep the bound volume. Also, I can locate most of her recipes and techniques online and easily repurpose.

One last comment concerning formatting the text to create a readable iPad like flow. The sample was a warning that this volume really hasn't been modified suitably for the iPad.

In all, stellar work by a groundbreaking author. Unfortunately the limitations do not compel me to purchase the electronic version.
Bon Appétit!
5
By J.R.Ewing
Simply put, the best cookbook ever written in in English. Cooking from this cookbook teaches the cook techniques of haute cuisine. As stated in the book's introduction, the difference between passable cooking and fine food is often subtle differences in techniques.
A classic on any stage
5
By scibard
Excellent rendition of a timeless classic. -- K. Lee Lerner, ed. Food: In Context. Cengage | Gale. 2011.