James Beard's Theory and Practice of Good Cooking - Essential American Cooking Guide for Home Chefs | Perfect for Kitchen Beginners & Cooking Enthusiasts

James Beard’s theory and practice taugh me how to cook. I bought my first copy used in Iowa City whilst in college. I gave that away to an old girlfriend. Now that both my kids are on their own, they each got their own copy. It’s really a must read for a young cook.This is a great reference book that I use all the time. All the basics with lot of great technique. I was really happy to find this edition after my 20+ year old paperback bit the dust. It is exactly the same, but in a hardbound edition.This was a replacement for the same volume I purchased 40 years ago. It was ruined in a water leak.James Beard was a master of teaching the culinary art he is opinionated in how he choose to cook but provides options and suggestions. If you are interested in becoming a better cook and are willing to read instead of take a class this is book is a great way of doing just that. This book is more of an instruction book than a recipe book. The recipes that are provided are not designed to be healthy. It is not a book that must be read cover to cover but you can use it as a guide in situations where you are not shore how to cook something. I would highly recommend this book for any person that cooks at home.I bought this book in the mid '70's or so... And it literally changed my life. This is not so much a cookbook but rather a "how to" cookbook. It starts with some of the basic tools, teaching you how to use a particular utensil and then follows through with some very simple recipes using these utensils. This book started my cooking life and I am heartbroken that it is no longer in print. But you can get a good used edition at Amazon!I have had fun reading this book. It is organized by technique (broiling, roasting, etc.) and gives an array of recipes for all different kinds of meats and vegetables. What I like about this layout is that since it focuses on one technique at a time, you can get the big picture of how to do each technique instead of just getting a bunch of recipes. If you are a cooking nerd, then this book would be good for you :)This book is a fabulous beginner cookbook. As a neophyte in the kitchen it has guided me along to being a skilled person. It is all in here and the chapters are laid out ease one in to the dicey art of food preparation. All the old standard recipes are here. A great primer and I refer to it often.This book is intimidating as hell, but maybe one day I'll make a recipe from it.