Remember when I mentioned that I was looking forwarding to reviewing Harold McGee’s new book, Keys to Good Cooking?
Well, I got it a couple weeks ago and have really been enjoying it! The subtitle of the book, “A Guide to Making the Best of Foods and Recipes” sums up its premise. McGee has written a wonderful reference guide full of tips that will make every cook a bit more successful in the kitchen. He intends for his readers to simply look up what they need to know before they use a specific ingredient or try a new preparation method, and the book is full of extremely useful information!
For example, in the fruit chapter I learned that plant-ripening fruits (citrus fruits, most berries, grapes, cherries, melons, pineapples, and plums) don’t ripen or develop much more flavor after being picked and should be refrigerated or consumed soon after you purchase them, while delayed-ripening fruits (apricots, avocados, bananas, kiwis, mangos, pears, peaches and nectarines, persimmons, and tomatoes) should be allowed to ripen at room temperature before you eat them. Who knew plums and peaches should be treated differently?!? The book is full of useful tips and I highly recommend it!
And, one of you will find out for yourself how cool the book is because I have a copy to giveaway! To enter to win, just leave a comment on this post letting me know about a great book (cooking related or not!) that you’d recommend I add to my reading list. Entries must be in by Tuesday, October 26 at 11:59pm EST. Good luck!
The fine print: Penguin Press sent me two free copies of this book – one to review and one to giveaway. I received no compensation for this post and all opinions are mine. The winner will be picked with random.org on Wednesday, October 27 and announced shortly thereafter.