Honestly, as a very basic cook myself (I hate it), I’d turn to YouTube before I’d turn to a cookbook, so I can watch something being done.
They don’t hate it, they enjoy it! They just want/need to learn some of the techniques and routines of cooking!
I get the online thing. I do it too! But $15 on a hard copy cooking resource is not unreasonable - for anyone - unless they just have no interest in that method!
I got Thr Joy of Cooking as a gift several years ago. I love it. More than just the recipes, it’s the explanations of various things. What are all the cuts of meat, how to make this type of sauce and what it works well with. That kind of thing. Just flipping through it I’ve discovered things it would never occur to me to look up.
I second the usefulness of a resource that shows and explains cuts of meat. It’s good to know that Boston butt comes from the shoulder of the pig.
A book by America’s Test Kitchen or Cook’s Illustrated. Their style is like text book or science procedure write-up. Instead of pictures, they have step by step details which is actually more helpful to new cooks. They assume nothing so it takes a lot of words to describe every step. If one follows the steps in the book, one can not fail to cook the dish.
^^ After 34 years of marriage, I still need that in my life!!! I’m an unknowledgeable meat buyer.
I love cookbooks, but I admit I often cook from internet recipes now, because I’m a terrible planner and don’t have the ingredients I need for a lot of the recipes. This was especially true in the summer when, I never knew what vegetables I’d have for the week until DH brought home the CSA share Thursday evening.
I love *Cook’s Illustrated * sil and I call it cooking for geeks. I noticed our grocery store has the entire year of magazines bundled together in one volume. It would be a great supplement to a real cookbook.
The best basic cookbook that I ever found was a book called the “The Culinary Arts Institute Cookbook” by Ruth Berolzheimer (I might have the spelling a bit off). You might have to go to something like Abe books to find it, but it is worth it, it is all about good, basic cooking, including doing roasts and such, and has information I haven’t found elsewhere.
America’s Test Kitchen publishes Cooks Illustrated magazine
@abasket Do you cook at all? When I was a bachelor my mother made me a cookbook that had many of our family recipes, including things like my aunt’s dove with gravy recipe, which obviously isn’t going to be of much use to people who don’t hunt (and I rarely do these days). I made great use of the cookbook until I lost it at some point. After my mother’s death I got her cookbook which had most, if not all, of the recipes. You should consider handwriting about 50 favorite recipes and putting them in a binder. It will truly be a treasured gift.
I also have two copies of the Woman’s Home Companion cookbook (google it), one that belonged to my mother, the other that was her mother’s. It’s quite a thick cookbook, and you’ve got to love the fact that it has things like “Victory Frosting,” a frosting recipe which uses less sugar, because we are at war you know.
My daughter is in France and also looking for a BAS(C French cookbook (with pictures) She still loves cookbooks in book form . She has mastered some pastries, etc. but is looking to use more of the local produce in her area.
Any French cooks have ideas?
EarlVanDorn, yes I do cook and bake quite a bit. That’s a great idea - but maybe one for AFTER Christmas - no time to do that in the next 3 weeks!
Over Thanksgiving my D and niece were asking my mom for a couple of recipes that she is known for. We/they realized that some of the things she makes - and we love - are developed out of recipes in her head - not on paper. It was quite endearing to see them talking with her and jotting down the directions. <3
If they don’t cook and bake either:
- buy them a gift certificate for cooking classes near where they live
- write up a gift certificate for you to teach them how to cook
To be honest, I got a Good Housekeeping cookbook with many photos plus directions for many basic things, even as far as how to cut a turkey and so on.
If they are not familiar with cooking, it is more important for them to learn how to cook, how to eyeball amounts, how to decide “is the cake done or not?” and “is the steak medium rare or medium?”.
I do love internet recipes, especially for those of us on special diets.
Another idea:
https://www.plated.com/
or
Honestly, once you start cooking, you’ll be looking for what is fresh and/or on sale in the store.