Jacques Pépin's Complete Techniques by Jacques Pépin
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Book Reviews of Jacques Pépin's Complete Techniques
Book Review: My Favorite Not Cookbook
Summary: 5 Stars
Most cookbooks these days feature graphic 4 color photos, impossible to get ingredients, some sort of philosophy, trendy flavors, impeccable food styling, and recipes with desultory procedures. This book is NOT any of those things.
This book is an important culinary teaching tool, and this applies to both professional and home cooks. When I cook, this is the book I look up more often than any other: the recipes always work, and I usually learn something to boot. I hasten add, however, that this by no means a comprehensive manual: there are many 'classic' sort of dishes you might expect to find, but are absent in this book. It demonstrates those things that the author has mastered and learned how to teach to others. The 'procedures' in this book seem to have been chosen for their educational and training importance, not their popularity in a Guide Michelin 3 star restaurant.
Rather than emphasizing ingredients and final product, this book focuses like a laser beam on the exact, specific, individual steps of a recipe and how to do each step correctly in exquisite detail. The typical recipe has a dozen or so b/w photos, each with a detailed description of what is happening in that step. Assuming that you actually follow all the instructions, it is hard not to learn something by doing one of Pepin's recipes. Although many procedures have recipes with ingredients and measurements, many more do not inasmuch as it a description of how to do a specific culinary task.
This book was originally 2 volumes: La Technique and La Methode. Here, the new editors have collated and re-organized the recipes. It is now 800+ pages with 309 complete procedures; some of them have more than a dozen individual steps. At the head of each chapter there is a complete list of all recipes. It has: Equipment, Basics, Shellfish and Fish, Vegetables, Poultry and Meat, Carving, Breads, Pastry and Dessert. I am also happy to note that they have improved the quality of the photos (all of which are b/w).
Just casually flipping through this book over a cup of coffee, it is hard not pick up a trick or two (I have made my share of truffles, even professionally; yet, he has a neat and clean method of dipping truffles I have never heard of: just use toothpicks and stick into some Styrofoam until dry). It seems like all of my really good tricks and culinary techniques have come from this or one of Pepin's other books or TV show. Sometimes the best recipe is really just a proper technique. I enjoy using this book.
So, if you are a culinary professional, this book is a must have. For home cooks, the situation is a little different. Many techniques in this are quite simple and, in fact, good for the home kitchen and not the professional one (#185 sausage in brioche). The trick is knowing which is which. There are many good kitchen methods that the typical home cook can do, and many that you should leave alone, e.g. #152 (chicken galantine) you should probably let your butcher do, but #146 (disjointing a chicken) or #143 (trussing a chicken) is something everyone should know how to do.
Book Review: An excellent resource for the experienced or novice cook
Summary: 5 Stars
Finally! The excellent and extremely clear and well written collection of techniques assembled by Jacques Pepin, one of the most knowledgeable and well respected chefs in the world, have been published in a reasonably priced, paperback book. If you are lucky enough to own Pepin's original hardcover books La Methode and La Technique, you already know how excellent the information is in these books. It is concise, practical, well written, and most of all, very useful! Even if you own La Methode and La Technique this book is worth purchasing. Both books are out of print and are hard to find and are reserved to my cookbook collection. This book is worth buying to keep readily on hand in the kitchen at all times.
If you don't own the original two books than this book is doubly worth purchasing. Whether your are a complete novice cook or an experienced home chef you will find this book extremely valuable. The information is well organized which makes it to find the techniques that you are looking for almost instantly.
Almost as important as the techniques are the recipes. Many of them have been used by Pepin for over 30 years and are truly time tested. They are well written, making it easy for any cook to get superior results at home.
All in all, this is truly one of the best cooking technique books you can buy regardless of what level of cooking experience you have. The soft cover edition is lighter and easier to use, making it more practical to have on hand in the kitchenas well as less expensive than the hardcover edition.
Book Review: Learn the fundamentals from a true master
Summary: 5 Stars
Short of having a pro chef standing at your shoulder, this book is about as good as it gets on learning the true fundamentals-things like cutting up and de-boning chickens (which can save you a lot of money), removing corn from cobs, making crepes, souffles, and the like.
Jacques is a true master chef, maybe the most efficient and fluid person you will ever see in a kitchen. In addition to true culinary chops, he almost got his Ph.D. in literature-a disagreement with his major professor over his thesis led to him quitting-so he can actually write. In fact, his English writing is better than 99% of native English speakers!
This is not a traditional cookbook-there are not a lot of recipes. Instead it is a book of cooking techniques, a book on preparing ingredients for cooking. Since studies have shown that 70-80% of kitchen time is preparing ingredients as opposed to cooking (applying heat to food), this book is invaluable as it helps you with the most time-consuming activities in the kitchen.
Complaints? Only one: The pictures would be clearer if larger and in color. This book is an improved version of two earlier books (La Method and La Technique) combined into one and he simply reused the original pictures, which are a little small and dark. I would rate is 4.5 stars if I could.
So, if you want to really learn to cut up a chicken, get this book and a half-dozen birds to practice on, then have a cookout for some friends!
Book Review: a have to for anyone who uses kitchen
Summary: 5 Stars
I love, love this cookbook. It is so simple, clear and gives you insights into essential techniques like no other cookbook. Starting from how to hold and sharpen your knife, via basic sauces to more complicated dishes. It even shows you how to carve food sculpture from things that would never come to your mind. What I like the best is that is tells what can go wrong and what do you have to be careful not "to destroy" the recipe. The cookbook is very systematical, organized and reads like a novel. You can sense that it was written with lot's of love, love for food from a person who would like to share his knowledge with the others. I immediately start watching kqed videos of Jacques's TV series "More Fast Food My Way" and you can really recognize the instructions from cookbook.Book Review: Jacques Pepin's Complete Techniques
Summary: 5 Stars
I actually purchased this copy for my brother as a house warming gift because he, like me, loves to cook. I love the instructions and the pictures that accompany each step so you can look to see if your creation looks how it is supposed to look each step of the way instead of getting to the end and finding out you screwed-up somewhere. I've been cooking for years and was very happy when I got this book for myself as it has helped me to branch out and make things I've always wanted to but was unsure of the process. I'd recommend this book for anyone who wants to expand their cooking skills and dazzle friends and family with delicious and beautiful food.