What cookbooks would you 'save' ?

kunekune

I think I have 40-50. But bear in mind that when we moved back to the UK 2 2/3 years ago, I got rid of masses and masses of books, so many of these were bought (or replaced) within the last couple of years. If I carry on at my current rate, I'll be back at 80 by the end of the year.

Oh, and I just remembered a much loved but now collapsed one: Anna Thomas's Vegetarian Epicure.

EssexHebridean

I've got too many cookbooks - I do occasionally try to weed a few out but not often enough to counter those that I buy / get bought for me. If I HAD to throw out the majority the ones I would, without question, keep would be:

The River Cottage series - all of them
An A-Z of AWT
The Good Housekeeping books - my Mum's from the 1960's which still bears smoke and scorch damage from the chip-pan fire when I was three plus the more recent version.
Rick Stein's fish book - the bible for all things fishy!
Elizabeth David - "Is there a nutmeg in the house" - I don't think I have ever actually cooked from it, but it's a wonderful read!

There are lots of others that I use from time to time - I'm interested by everyone having good things to say about Nigel Slater, I have his "Toast" and enjoy his writing style in the Sainsburys mag etc, so might well invest in one of the other books on the strength of that.

kunekune

They're not so much recipes as a philosophy. That's why I like him (Nigel, that is).

thriftlady_2

In no particular order but favourites highlighted in red and most useful underlined.

Nourishing Traditions - Sally Fallon and Mary Enig (US)
Cooking From Quilt Country –Marcia Adams (US)
New Recipes From Quilt country – Marcia Adams (US)
Farmhouse Cookery – Laura Mason
Through The Kitchen Window –Susan Hill
Modern Cookery for Private Families – Eliza Acton (facsimile 1845)
Food in England – Dorothy Hartley
Cherry Cake and Ginger Beer – Jane Brocket
The Farmhouse cookbook – Mary Norwak
The Cook’s Scrapbook – Reader’s Digest
The Sunday Times Cookbook –Arabella Boxer
First Slice your Cookbook – Arabella Boxer (new ed)
Good Housekeeping Cookery Compendium from 1960
Delia Smith’s Complete Illustrated Cookery Course
Delia’s Complete How to Cook (bought today!)
Delia Smith’s Frugal Food (old edition)
Good housekeeping Complete Book of Preserving
Quick and Easy Preserves –Simone Sekers
Fruits of the Hedgerow and Unusual Garden Fruits –Charlotte Popescu
River Cottage Handbook 2 –Preserves
River Cottage Cookbook –Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall
River Cottage Year –H F-W
River Cottage Meat Book –H F-W
River Cottage Fish Book – H F-W
River Cottage Family Cookbook –H F-W and Fizz Carr
Mary Berry’s Ultimate Cake Book
Cakes: Regional and Traditional – Julie Duff
Muffins- Fast and Fantastic –Susan Reimers
Kettle Broth to Gooseberry Fool – Jenny Baker
Margaret Costa’s Four Seasons Cookery Book
European Peasant Cookery –Elisabeth Luard
Slim and Healthy Mediterranean -Judith Wills
Nobody does it Better… Trish Deseine
Trish’s French Kitchen – Trish Deseine
My Cuisine – Trish Deseine (Fr)
Ripailles – Stephane Reynaud
Cook Simple –Diana Henry
Roast Figs Sugar Snow – Diana Henry
Crazy Water, Pickled Lemons – Diana Henry
The New English Kitchen –Rose Prince
The New English Table – Rose Prince
Apples For Jam –Tessa Kiros
Falling Cloudberries – Tessa Kiros
Ottolenghi –the Cookbook
Feast – Nigella Lawson
How to Eat –Nigella Lawson
How to be a Domestic Goddess –Nigella Lawson
Nigella Bites
Nigella Express
Nigella Christmas
Jamie’s Ministry of Food
The Modern Cook’s Manual –Lynda Brown
The Art of Simple Food –Alice Waters
Real Fast Food – Nigel Slater
Real Fast puddings – Nigel Slater
Real Cooking – Nigel Slater (signed!)
Real Food – Nigel Slater
30 minute Cook – Nigel Slater
Appetite – Nigel Slater
Kitchen Diaries – Nigel Slater
Tender: Vol 1 -Nigel slater
The Pauper’s Cookbook –Jocasta Innes (1971ed)
The Pauper’s Cookbook – Jocasta Innes (2003 ed)
The Country Kitchen –Jocasta Innes
How to Feed Your Family on £5 a Week –Bernadine Lawrence
The More With Less Cookbook –Doris Janzen Longacre (US)
Extending the Table – Joetta Hendriech Schlandbach (sp?) (US)
The Vegetable Book – Jane Grigson
The Fruit Book –Jane Grigson
English Food – Jane Grigson
Good Things – Jane Grigson
The Book of Middle Eastern Food – Claudia Roden
A Book of Mediterranean Food – Elizabeth David
French Country Cooking – Elizabeth David
Summer Cooking –Elizabeth David
French Provincial Cooking – Elizabeth David
Italian Food – Elizabeth David
Spices, Salt and Aromatics in the English Kitchen –Elizabeth David
English Bread and Yeast Cookery –Elizabeth David
An Omelette and a Glass of Wine – Elizabeth David
Is There a Nutmeg in the House –Elizabeth David
Verrines –Jose Marechal (Fr)
Crumbles – Camille le Foll (Fr)
Tartes Tatin – Catherine Quevremont (Fr)
Mes Petits Pots de Yaourt – Cathy Ytak (Fr)
Hachis Maison – Ilona Chovancova (Fr)
Pie –Angela Boggiano
How to Survive in the Kitchen –Katharine Whitehorn
The National Trust Complete Traditional Recipe Book –Sarah Edington
We’ll Eat Again –Marguerite Patten
The Victory Cookbook –Marguerite Patten
Postwar Kitchen –Marguerite Patten
Eating For Victory (Facsimile wartime leaflets)
Daily Telegraph Good Fare
Farmhouse Fare (1944)
Plats du Jour -patience Grey and Primrose Boyd
Good Things In England -Florence White
Good Food on the Aga -Ambrose Heath
KitchenEssays -Agnes Jekyll
Warm Bread and Honey Cake -Gaitri Pagrach-Chandra
Economy Gastronomy - Allegra McEvedy and Paul Merrett
Feasts for a Fiver - Sophie Grigson
Kitchen Express -Mark Bittman (US)
The Thrifty Cookbook- Kate Colquhoun

Swan_2

oh thriftlady, this is bad ... very bad

it's one of those 'be careful what you wish for' situations


*goes off to try not to research or buy anything*


EDIT ... I think we share 15 or 16 & a good few others are on my Amazon wish list ... I'll try to list mine tomorrow evening, I've got quite a lot of Indian/Asian books

larmy16

"An Indian Housewife's Recipe Book" by Laxmi Khurana.

It is so money saving it's untrue. My all time fave recipe book. I have had it since 1985 and its all ripped - and yellowed but its something I go back to time and time again, especially when I need to count the pennies.

thriftlady_2

You'll have to wait until October, but there's another river Cottage book coming :j River Cottage Every Day.

I'm looking forward to recieving this one too soon.

Gingernutmeg

I don't know what I'd save ... In fact I don't think I'd be allowed to save any because in the case of any conflagration I know that OH would insist on me helping to push the piano out lol

But if we got the piano out and I could go back in then I think I'd save my Moosewood books (fun to read and stupidly expensive to replace, even second-hand), my 'historical' cookbooks (The Art of Dining - not a cookbook as such but beautiful pictures - and books by Dorothy Hartley, Florence White and Peter Brears), The Village Baker by Joe Ortiz and a set of lovely Art Noveau books about running a bakers and confectioners (again, fab pictures of old shops, and great recipes, although they do need scaling down). Nigella et al I could replace, but those I know would be difficult to find again. I'd probably grab the Ina Garten and Tyler Florence books too, just because I spent more on them then I should have ...

morganlefay

Thank you so much for list thriftlady, but of course lots of those aren't actually *cookbooks* are they - things like Dorothy Hartley are just books, almost history books perhaps, and those don't count because they're educational. You've got lots of those so I think you're OK. I am resisting printing off your list to read in bed tonight because I know what the result would be....another hefty order from Amazon, oh dear.
But such a wonderful list anyway - thanks a lot ! :beer:

thriftlady_2

The vast majority of the books on my list have never been cooked from:o But after having read so many cookbooks in my life I find I don't really need to follow recipes.

I have actually cooked from Food In England though -creamed fish, collier's foots are two I can think of oh, and checky pigs. That's probably my all time favourite cookbook.