Buy Ratio: The Simple Codes Behind the Craft of Everyday Cooking

I heard about the book on NPR's Splendid Table radio program and bought a copy. As a non-professional cooking enthusiast, I found it to be worth the money. My friend who is studying to be a professional chef learned the basics in this manner.

At face value the book is of limited value to me because I seldom make desserts, sausages, "force meats", and some of the other things that dominate this book. However, the basic approach is something that has encouraged me to review my favorite foods in a new light, one of proportion and foundation. This makes it very compatible with my belief and experience that the French way to cook is the finest the world has to offer. And by this I do not mean French cuisine or typical foods, I mean the methods and thought processes used to create them.

So, for example, I'll be re-reading James Peterson's Sauces book using what I learned from Ratios as a prism for learning.

The book does have several useful ideas in it for me:
1) Just the stock chapter was worth the price of the book. I've read far and wide on cooking and have always regarded stock making to be a time consuming and expensive hobby. This book really opened my eyes to the simple techniques of making stock as a simple activity, a way of converting kitchen scraps into superior food. I never thought of it that way before and I'm grateful for this enlightenment.

2) The book really complements a study of sauces. This is of supreme importance because a good sauce plus fresh ingredients and a few seasonings equals great food.

3) The technique of measuring by weight is something I learned long ago as the best way to bake, but I have not used it much for other kinds of cooking. It makes a lot of sense and I'll simply do it this way from now on. If you're not used to doing it this way, you owe it to yourself to give it a try. It saves a lot of hassles.

Bottom line for me is that this is an ideas book, not a cook book per se. It's worth reading for the insight, and preparing a little "cheat sheet" of ratios that can be taped to the inside of a cupboard can serve as a handy reference.Get more detail about Ratio: The Simple Codes Behind the Craft of Everyday Cooking.