What is your cooking/baking “bible”?

[Fluffyflipflop]

Hiya,

I’m on the hunt for a really good cookbook. Something that has all the classic dinner dishes plus puddings and baking.

I’ve never found a cookbook that can be my kitchen ‘bible’. Looking for a really solid, reliable all rounder that I can work my way through.

What cooking/baking book do you return to time after time?

Delia, to understand how cookery works. You can also buy the books in traditional book format:
https://www.deliaonline.com/recipes/books/delias-complete-how-to-cook

Nigella's recipes also work if you follow them carefully - great for cakes: https://www.nigella.com/

BBC GoodFood very good also. Wide range of recipes:
https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes

Readers digest The Cookery Year, all the basics for vegetables, sauces, roasts and a shed load of recipes too.

Many years ago someone gave me a copy of The Joy of Cooking.

I have never ever used it to come up with ideas.

I regularly consult it when I want to teach myself something or figure out something. It really just feels like an encyclopaedia.

I have two.

Delia's Bible.
Be-Ro home recipes centenary edition. I use this one for baking mostly.

Nigella's "How to Eat".

My go to's are

Delia for a standard way of doing something.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Recipes-Know-Heart-Xanthe-Clay/dp/1845333586 is really good for getting to understand techniques and flavour.

I use to cook from the REaders Digest Cookery Year a lot when I started cooking.

Nigel slater I find great for ideas and also clear instructions when you need them and letting you do your own thing when you don't need them.

Collins Family Cookery by Elizabeth Craig; it's old but I love it. There's a bit of everything and it all works.
Also Delia, any of them, you can't go wrong with Delia.

Personally I think that kind of cookbook belongs to a pre-internet age.

I Google if I want to make something particular. Usually use good food recipes. If I make something often, I print or write it out in a notebook that has recipes.

I have fancy-schmancy cookbooks I use for entertaining and baking. But I'd never use a cookbook now to remind me how long to boil an egg etc.

The Glasgow Cookery Book - covers literally everthing you could ever want to make

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Glasgow-Cookery-Book-Centenary-Celebrating/dp/184934003X/ref=sr_1_1?adgrpid=61273676111&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.oKhVelCQOfqVgi2qkNINAsLdGi044onGkVXJjAzFtSMxAR6jEBRu17aa_EW7HuZuGu0FZYHPayLykgqCsQRe9SeggR3bvjN0HBJtBARIqy3iR_lIdbSFva1DGIKoO0X_Fiq2dnMJT36PKjVWlryAsI9b46diwLcGaYUK-H93ACnFy-VspyActqfR_W0ZKOKjGO93fPo096LQiljO4znykpT_iiShX7Yyx52MUla0NmI.p4NxbdgTnCUsWVvZrAhmIQ-nc6RJpkERPmhBOMKmb2Y&dib_tag=se&hvadid=290990475350&hvdev=c&hvlocphy=1007322&hvnetw=g&hvqmt=e&hvrand=11507328004943773200&hvtargid=kwd-331788970034&hydadcr=24431_1816100&keywords=the+glasgow+cookery+book&qid=1721054838&sr=8-1

Or Mary Berry

Interesting. As someone who is obsessed with using google for recipes etc, I still find my Joy of Cooking helpful. If I type some random search term into the internet, I get 5000 responses, none of which exactly answer a simple questin (what is the appropriate internal temperature of chicken) or whatever.

Having said that, I'm loving ChatGBT for this sort of thign these days. I can ask a very specific question and get a very specific answer. But then if I want to be more general, I can do my usual googling.

Delia Complete Cookery and to be honest, anything by her. I use mine all the time.

National Trust Complete Traditional Recipe Book.

Anything Hairy Biker - curry, pie etc.

Delia + BBC Good Food site.

Delia Smith recipe books are how I learnt to cook. Every recipe is clearly explained and works.

I use Delia too for most basic dishes

My school cookery lesson exercise book.

I have never got on with Delia for some reason - they just don't work for me (see also Hugh F-W)

Nigella How to Eat

Nigel Slater Appetite

Jamie Ministry of Food which I think is massively underrated - I don't get on with a lot of Jamie's books but this one is excellent for British family cooking (you can see a lot of the recipes here: www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/category/books/jamies-ministry-of-food/)

Samin Nosrat Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat taught me how to think about cooking, rather than just follow recipes (though it has excellent recipes too)

@Xiaoxiong I actually think Jamie Oliver is one of the biggest influences in me becoming a fairly good cook but... I think it's MORe from his tv shows than the books. I have many of the books, and love them, but I feel like they work best for me as companions to the shows.

I do agree with you re Ministry of Food though - DH is not a cook, hates cooking etc but if he does have to do some, using MoF seems to help him get through it. I', also famous for my yorkshire puddings... which is the MoF version.

Delia, when my children left home they got a copy each , when my nieces left home they got good copies as well.

you can pick them up for a song in second hand shops . They explain simply and well the basics.

The other book is the Sainsburys book of food. Quite difficult to get hold of now as catering colleges etc have caught on to how good it is and second hand prices have risen , but if you see it in a charity shop buy it .

BBC good food site for everything else , but the thing about books is we put annotations in with pencil to adapt recipes so they work for us .

For me, in the US, the New York Times Cook Book is excellent. I also use The Settlement Cook Book.

I have Delia and all of Nigella's books for British style recipes, and Maura Laverty's old but great Good and Plenty for Irish favourites. I rely on several Lidia Bastianich recipe books for Italian cooking, and Rick Bayless for Mexican meals.

I find a lot of good baking recipes online too. I made a stupendous coffee cake a few months ago from a recipe on Pinterest.

I was given this as a wedding present - it has all the basics in like how long to roast a joint for depending on weight - how to make all the classic cakes/pancakes/yorkshire pudding etc. I don't cook from it that often in terms of looking up a recipe but I use it all the time when I've bought meat from the butcher etc. https://www.wob.com/en-gb/books/good-housekeeping-institute/good-housekeeping-cookery-book/9780852234204?gad_source=1&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIn62EvbWphwMV4YFQBh2jtApOEAQYASABEgIDm_D_BwE#GOR001262804

This is the book I go to for inspiration - very clear instructions and a lot of dishes that are very simple to make https://www.wob.com/en-gb/books/c-j-jackson/leith-s-seasonal-cookery-bible/9780747531784?gad_source=1&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI4dbarrWphwMVyZpQBh0tSQdIEAQYASABEgLFI_D_BwE#GOR005427778

For every day what can I make with this ingredient or those left overs I use google and tend to look at certain websites eg BBC good food/Cookie & Kate etc.

I have a Hamlyn cook book which is good for basics, Jamie Oliver's ministry of food is good for beginners, Nigel slater I like and Hugh fernley whittinstall for clear ingredients and seasonal recipes.

Don't forget to pick up free recipe cards and magazines from supermarkets (and on their websites these days).

I would avoid books by some of the fancier chefs, Gordon Ramsey, Heston blummentile etc as not really good for home cooking. Not a nigella fan here either.

Most of my recipes though reside in my head and I've picked up from so many sources including my grandmother. I must write them down!

This was my bible when I got married. They re-released it a few years ago. You bought it via the milkman. https://www.wob.com/en-gb/books/sheelagh-donovan/dairy-book-of-home-cookery/9781860194856?gad_source=1&gbraid=0AAAAADZzAIBrqbaD2wqF6NLC6sv8jb6dz&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI78XzpcWphwMVyqJQBh2bcQRaEAQYAiABEgI8UPD_BwE#GOR001372517
My other favourites are Delia’s summer, winter and Christmas books and How to eat by Nigella. I have 20+ cookery books, but those are the well worn ones. Marcella Hazan is my favourite Italian cookbook

Pru Leiths cookery bible is my cookery bible - perfect for everything from beef wellington to Pavlova. Otherwise Jamie's ministry of food is amazing.

Delia
Hairy Bikers.

Delia as everyone has said. ‘How To Cook’ is brilliant and I love her ‘timings for Sunday lunch at 1pm’ schedules.

Jamie Oliver’s early ‘Naked Chef’ books are still great for crowd-pleasers that are easy to scale up.

Mary Berry is also brilliant. Ditto BBC Good Food online as all have said.

I also have a very old (1980’s) Good Housekeeping recipe book that no other has matched when it comes to puddings. Easy, show stopping, fancy and amazing!