La Varenne Pratique
by Anne Willan
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Book Summary Information
Author: Anne WillanEdition: Hardcover
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 1989-09-17
ISBN: 0517573830
Number of pages: 528
Publisher: Clarkson Potter
Book Reviews of La Varenne Pratique
Book Review: Gorgeous, useful, informative -- why oh why did it have to go out of print
Summary: 5 Stars
I borrowed this book from my public library to see how accurate the rave reviews were. My only disappointment is that I waited until the book went out of print. There's a good reason used copies are selling at around twice the original cover price.
This book really has it all. The photography is both beautiful and informative. Instead of showing just finished products that offer more spectacle than instruction, these photos give you a practical look at what the steps along the way should look like. The text, while sometimes brief, is clear and concise. Some books offer instructions along the lines of "beat until soft peaks form" for even the most complex procedures. One will find almost the same brevity here, but the author manages something of an instructional miracle here. The statements are short, but they offer the Goldilocks touch of giving you enough detail to get it right but not so much info that you can't keep it all in your head.
There's plenty of general info on all manner of ingredients, technique, and basic preparations as well. Did I mention that I am devastated that the publisher has withdrawn it? Let's hope for a new edition. The current asking price for used editions may be a little out of reach for most of us, but if you're looking for a special gift for that cookbook junkie on your list, you will make someone very happy with this one. (To my friends and family, that's not a hint. I swear.)
Summary of La Varenne Pratique
Unprecedented in both scope and clarity, La Varenne Pratique is destined to become the essential culinary reference for both novice cook and expert. Written by the founder and director of Paris's prestigious La Varenne cooking school and compiled using La Varenne's extensive resources, the book brings together a practical understanding of cooking techniques, ingredients, and equipment in an unrivaled guide to classic modern cooking.Here in one volume is the answer to every cooking question: how to make a hollandaise sauce (and why egg yolks will only absorb so much oil before the sauce self-destructs); the difference between entrecote and porterhouse; what marinades to use for lamb; which herbs will turn bitter if added at the beginning of a recipe; how to bone a chicken; the roasting times for venison, pheasant, and even squirrel; how to fillet a fiat fish; when to use a bain marie; and much more.
La Varenne Pratique is divided into 22 chapters, among them Meat and Charcuterie; Poultry and Game Birds; Milk, Cheese, and Eggs; Pastry and Cookies; Preserving, Stocks, and Soups; and Microwave Cooking. Each chapter offers an overview of the food discussed and then explains how to choose, prepare, store, cook, and present it. Recipes are included wherever an important cooking technique requires a specific example-they are carefully chosen not only to illustrate a particular dish but also to illuminate a way of cooking. In addition, La Varenne Pratique includes a guide to kitchen equipment and a glossary of culinary terms.
The photographic illustrations in La Varenne Pratique are beyond comparison. Throughout the book, techniques are clearly illustrated with specially commissioned step-by-step photo sequences that set new standards for culinary photography. Readers can actually see what texture a sauce should be, exactly where to make the first cut when boning a Chicken, what the "crust" on a clarifying broth will look like, and what larding a roast really entails.
There has never been a book like La Varenne Pratique. Comprehensive, authoritative, and eminently practical, it demands a place in the kitchen of every serious cook.
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