200 Skills Every Cook Must Have: The Step-by-step Methods That Will Turn a Good Cook into a Great Cook - Softcover

Paul, Clara; Treuille, Eric

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1770856439 ISBN 13: 9781770856431

Publisher: Firefly Books, 2015

Synopsis

"Think of this book as cooking skills for dummies ratcheted up to a higher level.... Well organized and explained."
--Booklist

"This book will turn a good cook into a great cook."
--Vancouver Sun

This step-by-step guide to essential cooking techniques explains and illustrates every important cooking method that, once mastered, will give a cook the confidence to make all dishes, no matter the challenge.

The ten chapters describe essential tools and equipment, and explain tried-and-tested procedures to prepare a wide range of items perfectly and consistently.

The book includes:

• Essential Equipment: Knives, utensils, pots and pans, ovenware, bakeware, gadgets and machines
• Sauces: Gravy, vinaigrette, mayonnaise, hollandaise, pastry cream, caramel, chocolate, and more
• Vegetables: Slicing, julienne, charring peppers, peeling tomatoes and more
• Fruits and Nuts: Peeling, skinning, pitting, poaching fruit and more
• Meat: Cuts of beef, lamb and pork; boning, roasting and more
• Poultry: Trussing, stuffing, spatchcocking, boning, jointing and more
• Fish: Boning, filleting, poaching, broiling, and more
• Seafood: Deveining shrimp, cracking crab, preparing squid, and more
• Eggs: Testing eggs for freshness, poaching, baking, souffle and more
• Pastry and Baking: Puff pastry, buttercream, pavlova and more
• Pasta, Grain, Legume, Bread: Ravioli, risotto, polenta, croutons and more
• Broths: Brown, vegetable, and fish broths; skimming and freezing
• Spices: Toasting and grinding spices, using a vanilla bean

200 Skills Every Cook Must Have is the one secret ingredient that turns any cook into a great one.

About this title

About the Author

Clara Paul attended Ballymaloe Cookery School. She runs her own catering company, contributes recipes to various publications, and is head chef at Books For Cooks. Eric Treuille owns and operates Books For Cooks and is a regular cooking demonstrator. His books include Cordon Bleu Techniques.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Using This Book

Clara and Eric have written a book that is a guide to terminology and culinary phrasing; a dictionary for all that happens in the kitchen. This book aims to give you better results with less effort and -- most importantly -- to give you the maximum enjoyment and fulfillment from all your cooking endeavors.

The book is divided into 12 chapters, each focusing on a key set of skills or a type of food or ingredient. The easy-to-use layout lists all the utensils and ingredients you will need to practice each skill, followed by detailed steps to guide you through the technique. Expert tips offer handy advice on alternative methods, explanations of terms, and additional techniques for when you gain more confidence. The steps are all easy to follow, so you will be able to master any skill, whether you are a novice or a well practiced home cook. There is also a handy equipment list, as well as a glossary of all the culinary terms you are likely to come across as you work through your cookbook collection and try new recipes.

By the time you have finished reading this book you will know how to do everything from stone an avocado and blanch an almond, to fillet a fish, truss a chicken and shuck an oyster. With this essential collection of culinary skills at your fingertips, your kitchen confidence will grow in leaps and bounds. Dishes such as dressed crab and rack of lamb will no longer be saved for restaurant outings -- they will become dinner table favorites in your own home.

As with all skills, practice makes perfect. Keep this book by your side in the kitchen and every challenge will become a new culinary possibility; every technique mastered will increase your repertoire and your confidence.

Edition details

• Publisher: Firefly Books
• Publication date: 2015
• ISBN 10: 1770856439
• ISBN 13: 9781770856431
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 256