Escoffier

[yakima]

Auguste Escoffier. "The Escoffier Cookbook and Guide to the Fine Art of Cookery for Connoisseurs, Chefs, Epicures, complete with 2,973 recipes". The classic on French cuisine, published 1903. Local bookstore had a modern edition, copyright 1969,1989. 80th printing! It came home with me.
923 pages. Part I is The Fundamental Elements of Cooking. Chapter 1 is entitled Basic Principles of Cookery. He starts out with stocks and classic sauces.
Part II is Recipes and Methods of Procedure.
He has a few pages on grilling. "Those culinary preparations effected by means of grilling belong to the order called cooking by concentration. And, indeed, in almost all cases, the great object of these operations, I might even say the greatest object, is the concentration, in the center, of the juices and essences which represent, most essentially, the nutritive principles of the products cooked."
So there!

[Huskee]

Imagine knowing that many recipes to put them into a book. I might know 11. I suppose back then anyone who put forth the effort to arrange and print was a trail blazer, vs today when it's all been done a thousand times.

[Jerod Broussard]

That's cool. I looked up the following today and was quite flabbergasted.

https://www.amazon.com/Official-Methods-Analysis-INTERNATIONAL-Three/dp/0935584897/ref=mp_s_a_1_2?crid=2LP2URM7OU85B&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.gxR1CcttHfb2ji4fmG9XL2qQtsqI11soaia-Wz-6kmFupYbYC1i0W9VA1XuMcW5nZVmnr8kass8nqM-NP6eQ9hiXbdaksFHJlVwj4aBzfAUBjuAkTuWF9iaNwXrl9TE1nEo4msOmcW2BWBzQmp_UisYQmSrYVz0_WIJwEivI6mg.maXEEzoXzeEh0jgBYYkC1y-lIWJI9J_EfZ2grb9OhdI&dib_tag=se&keywords=official+methods+of+analysis+of+aoac+international&qid=1741212039&sprefix=official+methods%2Caps%2C221&sr=8-2

[TripleB]

Wow! I was thinking maybe $200. $500 max.

[Jerod Broussard]

TripleB it is a set but the single books are between $300-400

[TripleB]

Jerod Broussard Yes, it is a set. $200-$500 max. So what a pickup.

[TripleB]

Therefore, I belong to the Order of Concentration. I like it.

Let's change AmazingRibs to Order of Concentration.

[Jerod Broussard]

I like the word "Cookery."

[DogFaced PonySoldier]

I'm more in the vein of 'tomfoolery' or on my rare best days 'dumbassery'.

[jfmorris]

Cookery.... or Kookery?

[STEbbq]

I am going to guess this beauty was $7.

[yakima]

Paid full retail, about $35.

[STEbbq]

Good gravy. How loudly did your wallet protest at forking out this extravagant sum?

I thought we were a strictly $2 and under crowd.

[yakima]

Perhaps, the exception that proves the rule.

[SheilaAnn]

yakima may have been waiting for me to weigh in…






$4.50 was in the early 90’s. My favorite is the glossary of terms.

[JCBBQ]

100% he definitely was

[SheilaAnn]

And a little some thing extra….

[yakima]

Do not get it, unless you have a cookery complex!
I meant this as a response to Mosca.

[yakima]

Absolutely right, SheilaAnn. I am humbled by my predecessors, and admit that I am late to the game. But appreciate the chance to play.

That book purchase, early 90's. So maybe 30+ years ago. If you were 25 or 30 or 35 or even 40 or 45 or 50, I am still old enough to be your father. You have been collecting for a long time.

[SheilaAnn]

yakima I acquired that book probably in 1990-1992. As is with the bulk of my historical collection. I regret lending out a book about Ferdinand Point. I received it as a gift from my gourmand/lawyer cousin in Chicago. Never got it back. BTW, I’m the same age as the Super Bowl. I’ll let you do the math…. Dad?

[Mosca]

I found it on Amazon. Not sure I want it, though. About the same price as yakima paid.

[yakima]

Old cookbooks fascinate me. The archaic, complex language. The Federalist Papers, published before adoption of the Constitution, are the same way. Written in haste in quill pen, before being printed. We have a much more direct simpler language now, notwithstanding digital technology which makes wordy complex sentences much easier. If you are going to spend time on this, spend it on the Federalist Papers before you venture into cookbooks.

[Mosca]

I decided to pick this up.

It’s interesting, the way the information is presented. It assumes familiarity with kitchen and food: for example, the entry for Roumanille Tournedos begins,

“Cut the tournedos a little smaller than usual. Season them; fry them in butter, and arrange them in a circle on grilled half tomatoes….”

No list of ingredients, no instructions on how to season them. I’m cool with this, although just a few years ago I wouldn’t have been. I have the time to think about what I’m doing in the kitchen/outside, and why; and also I’ve finally accumulated enough information that I can put stuff in context. When I was working 12 hour days, I needed ingredients and lists and steps. Now I can look at this and think, “Sure.” I’m not going to make clear broth, but I can read this and understand why my broth is cloudy.

For me, it’s a worthy addition.

[yakima]

Good for you. The evolution of food writing over 120 years is fascinating.
And then there is the impact, in recent decades, of sophisticated machinery: blenders, instant pots, sou vide, etc.
I seem to accumulate books that are as much travelogue as cookbook.
And I am noodling around Ruminations from
Meathead. Lots of substance there.

[SheilaAnn]

For me, it’s a history lesson! Now that I know the basics (through culinary school and constant research, street smarts and doing my 10,000 hours), I feel I can break down a lot of recipes. Can I/we use the same ingredients? Probably not because of evolution of ingredients, cooking tools, etc.

EX: watch the move Babette’s Feast (Hungarian with English subtitles) cooking has certainly evolved.

[JCBBQ]

SheilaAnn yakima Mosca

You three might like the book The United States of Arugula. It’s a fascinating book tracking the history of foodieism in America. Some really amazing stories in there.

https://www.amazon.com/United-States-Arugula-Became-Gourmet/dp/0767915798

[Mosca]

I read on an iPad. If you use the Kindle app for iPad, or the Amazon app, it’s blocked, because Apple wants you to use whatever proprietary thing they have. But if you log onto Amazon through your browser, NOT THE AMAZON APP OR KINDLE APP, you can purchase it.

[JCBBQ]

Alan Brice 👆

[Alan Brice]

Done, thanks all.

[surfdog]

I have two copies of that book… A relatively modern English version and a VERY early French version. Not sure if it’s a first edition or not as I’m nowhere near it and it’s pretty much been “stored” for quite some time. A worthy addition to any foodie’s library IMO.