How to Cook Through a Cookbook

+ Audrey’s Cookbooks Crowdfunding Launch!

I love cookbooks. That is well established. I wrote about how much I love them a year ago on my Substack here, and I’m starting a whole business centered on my belief in cookbooks! The industry is holding strong too. 

While many people use recipes online, the ads can be annoying and your screen can go dark in the middle of trying to cook. It’s hard to unlock your phone with a handful of raw chicken or your arms covered in dough. Although the “cook mode” popping up on many online recipe websites has been a lifesaver. Still, most people prefer having a book they can lay on the counter or propped up on one of those handy stands. There’s the pictures of the food and props that creatives ooh and ahh over, and the personal essay trend in recent cookbooks that make them a joy to read. 

When doing a little research for this newsletter, I found this article that said that “most people buy two or three cookbooks a year, and 12% of buyers buy four or more.” I am the 12% for sure! 70% of buyers get a cookbook for themselves, and the rest get them for others as gifts. People buy cookbooks mostly for easy recipes (60%), but other reasons include that they want a variety of recipes, step-by-step instructions, and ingredients that are found easily. 

I’m part of the 39% of cookbook buyers surveyed that identify as cookbook collectors, so I’m also looking for rare or unique cookbooks, not necessarily ones that I will use all the time (although that IS a factor I consider). Sometimes I’m struck by the concept of a cookbook, or the way the food is shot and styled, or the features of the book itself (color illustrations like in Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat, bright neon colors in Hot Cheese, or the lay flat pages in Start Here). I’ll always stop at a Little Free Library to try to nab a cookbook, and I’ll comb through second hand stores for a unique cookbook I don’t have yet that piqued my interest.

Cookbooks hold such depths of knowledge with tips, tricks, and wisdom from the chef and sometimes their family members. Spend around $30 and you get many delicious meals and years of satisfying hours in the kitchen just from one book. With a physical cookbook you can make notes in the margins, and you can shift the recipe(s) to fit your tastes and family’s preferences. Cookbooks are just superior.

So How Does *One* Cook Through A Cookbook? 

Once you have a cookbook, there are a few different approaches to ensure that you actually cook from it.

• You can look through it and dog-ear pages of the recipes you want to make sure you cook soon.

• You can add the recipes to your meal planning calendar (with the cookbook & page number) as you’re paging through.

• You can make a mental note of what looks good and then never actually cook the recipe (I’m so guilty of this).

Consider why you are cooking from the cookbook. Are there skills you want to develop, or new flavors you want to play with, or do you simply want to freshen up your routine in the kitchen? If you’re going to be more strategic in cooking from a cookbook, you will want to consider a few things as you plan to tackle actually using your cookbooks!

By the Numbers

You’ll want to think about how many recipes you might want to cook through in a cookbook. I personally always strive for 30% if it’s a cookbook I want to cook from a lot. Then realistically consider how many new recipes you want to try each week. Divide the number of recipes you’ll want to cook total by the number per week and you’ll get a rough idea of how many weeks it will take! You don’t have to stick to this by any means, but can center you before a big project like this.

Buy Staples

It’s common in cookbooks now for authors to include a common ingredient list and equipment list in the beginning of the cookbook. Note if there are things you need to buy and/or keep stocked. When I started cooking from Korean American, I had to get some very specific ingredients in order to have success, and once I got into cooking from Cravings and a few other cookbooks, I realized that it was time to actually buy a mandolin to slice things thinly and consistently. 

For ingredients, you will likely want to consider seasonality. Recipes using tomatoes or corn will not taste as good in the middle of winter compared to when they are freshest in the middle of August. That’s not to say that you *can’t* use a tomato in January, but you should be prepared that things might not taste the same in different parts of the year, especially here in the Deep North where we have a more limited growing season. 

Let’s Cook!

1. Before you dive headfirst into a recipe, make sure to read the ingredients list (and the amounts) to make sure you have everything at the ready, and make a plan to buy things you don’t have or need more of before you cook. Then read the whole recipe with steps from beginning to end to ensure you understand what to do and when so you’re not flustered in the middle of cooking or baking. Note if you don’t have all the equipment needed for the recipe and make a plan to get those materials before you get started!

2. As you get ready to make a recipe, be generous with your time. Some cookbooks have estimated times for how long something will take, but those aren’t always correct because every oven, stove, and cook’s skills are different. Don’t rush the process, and maybe add an extra 15 minutes for yourself, especially if there’s a lot of prep. One way you can prep is by slicing, dicing, and measuring out all of your ingredients. This is called mise en place (French for “everything in its place). Then you can organize your ingredients by the order that you add them to the recipe. This way, you can cook without having to multitask too much, which will help you feel less chaotic in the kitchen!

3. The first time you make a recipe, stick to how it is written. You want a control (think back to science experiments for a second) version. You can change up the recipe the next time but you won’t really know if you liked a recipe if you switch it up too much from the original. Let’s say you added ¼ tsp of salt instead of the called for ½ tsp, but you added some soy sauce (which also has salt) which wasn’t in the recipe, you won’t know if the recipe came out like the chef intended. Riff away the second time, and make sure to make notes in the margins so you can keep track of what alterations you and your family liked. Initially though, trust the cookbook! Oftentimes, recipes get tested by the author and separate recipe testers, so know that everything that is written in a cookbook is very much on purpose.

Find Your Fave

If you like almost all of the recipes, the way they are written, and the process used to cook and bake, you likely just really gel with that cookbook author! This is ideal! Lean into that and buy this chef’s cookbooks if they have more than one, and keep an eye out for the specific things you like about their writing and cooking in other cookbooks you buy in the future. 

If you’re looking to level up your cooking game, breathe some new life into your dinners, and want to use the cookbooks you likely have on hand, maybe it’s time to dig into the recipes already waiting for you on the shelf! 

I have launched the crowdfunding campaign to get my independent cookbook shop up and running for Phase 1 of the business: Pop-ups. This will allow me to grow the business at a slower pace while getting to meet people while selling cookbooks and facilitating cookbook clubs in and around the Twin Cities. One day I dream of having a storefront, but until then, catch me at our next pop-up! If you’re able to spare a few dollars, please consider contributing to make my dream come true! 

Things I Like

• Watching friends do their thing they are passionate about!

• Taking the train instead of driving - far better to sit and read without worrying about driving.

• This app that lets you rent private pools. I had the best time doing this for a friend’s birthday earlier last week!

May your week be gentle and may you eat well. 🌲🥣