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66th out of 696 books
—
663 voters
French Provincial Cooking
First published in 1962, Elizabeth David's culinary odyssey through provincial France forever changed the way we think about food. With elegant simplicity, David explores the authentic flavors and textures of time-honored cuisines from such provinces as Alsace, Provence, Brittany, and the Savoie. Full of cooking ideas and recipes, French Provincial Cooking is a scholarly y...more
Paperback, 544 pages
Published
February 1st 1999
by Penguin Classics
(first published 1960)
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Elizabeth David is the british equivalent of Julia Childs. They were both exploring French cuisine while living as expats in France during the 1950's (David also lived in Italy, and Greece). She gathered traditional french provincial (think simple) recipes back to England. This book, published in 1960, had the same revolutionary effect on english cooking that Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking had on american.
It is a fun read and the recipes are quite good. The recipes are not what we'r...more
It is a fun read and the recipes are quite good. The recipes are not what we'r...more
Possibly the best French cookbook ever written in English. David, an Englishwoman, provided an introspection into French country cooking before Julia Child captured America's heart with it—in fact, as I understand it, David was an inspiration to Child. There's not a bunch of fancy color photos here, instead, you'll find mainly pen-and-ink line drawings, but there's a wealth of text, good recipes, and pithy details on how and why things were done the way they were in provincial France. Remember,...more
I grew up reading through cookbooks as if they were novels. I spent a lot of time in my Seattle grandmother's kitchen, or my family's kitchen, sitting on the floor and reading cookbooks and looking at pictures (when I wasn't doing sous chef duties). Cooking or baking occurred throughout these times, as did conversation on many topics, but the cookbook in my lap always had a lot of my attention. I still read them like novels.
I learned to cook and bake through osmosis - watching and helping and ea...more
I learned to cook and bake through osmosis - watching and helping and ea...more
Before my French provincial mother passed away, I forgot to ask her to pass on the recipe for a particularly delicious chocolate cake that she would sometimes make. I thought this cake was lost for all eternity until I stumbled upon it in this book.
One of the few cookbooks that contains recipes for dishes that aren't particularly great, but allow you to dispose of glut fruits and vegetables. Invaluable if you get a veg box delivered!
Worth reading as literature even if you aren't planning a meal.
One of the few cookbooks that contains recipes for dishes that aren't particularly great, but allow you to dispose of glut fruits and vegetables. Invaluable if you get a veg box delivered!
Worth reading as literature even if you aren't planning a meal.
Lengthy coverage of all things edible in Europe by the definitive British food journalist Elizabeth David. Read more at http://www.welike2cook.com/2012/04/tunny-fish-polpettone.html.
I think this was the book that taught me how to cook. It's opinionated, dirigiste, superbly written and selected, and if curse all the recipes not only work - they take you off to a France that went out when a DS was a very sexy car, not a games console.
love her aristocratic style, curt, take no prisoners. she assumes you know the basics and would not deign to describe how to chop an onion. has no use for 'chefs' it is after all just cookery. the inclusion of excerpts of other writers, some of them very old, is delightful. and yes, the recipes are great.
As with most of her books you can read it not just as a cookbook but as a good read. I have several editions of this including an early paperback. The current edition is about 2 1/2 times the size and 3 times the thickness, why?
This book takes you into the French countryside in the 1950's. It is a joy to discover recipes and anecdotes written about food by this wonderful writer.
Really liked the cultural references in the book and how Elizabeth David writes. I must confess that I skimmed through the recipes though.
worth the price for the section on sauces alone
Elizabeth David writes like an angel.
also look for other Penguin cookbooks
Fun to read and great recipes.
Poignant. Love this one.
hm, her writing about food and experience is amazing, her insights about packing the piehole--oh what joy! but unfortunately this person is, ahem, of her times and extraordinarily racist and classist. total fader, babes.
a classic. directions and discussions more than typical recipes
If you care about food, hunger for authenticity and context, and you're not afraid of a little ambiguity, you owe it to yourself to read Elizabeth David's Italian Food and French Provincal Cooking. Elizabeth David's books, along with Richard Olney's Simple French Food, were the inspirations behind Chez Panisse and indirectly helped to spark America's interest in what it puts in its mouth.
Excellent cookbook. My favorite kind, with no pictures except a few line drawings. Good receipes, cooking techniques (both specific to said recepies and general), and food theory. The only useless (to me) parts were a lot of commentary on the post-war availability of various ingredients in France and England - which is probably not accurate in 2012.
Elizabeth David is credited with revolutionizing the way England cooked and ate, championing simple food made with fresh ingredients and lovingly prepared. In French Provincial Cooking, she takes her readers through a culinary tour of the provinces of France, presenting both the history of and recipes for some of France's most famous dishes.
A classic, and yet.....
David is a great writer which makes the bias and dated aspects of the text all the more difficult to bear. It is a crystalized moment in time, when the Anglo-American middle class finally recovered psychically from World War II food rationing. A cookbook, it ain't.
David is a great writer which makes the bias and dated aspects of the text all the more difficult to bear. It is a crystalized moment in time, when the Anglo-American middle class finally recovered psychically from World War II food rationing. A cookbook, it ain't.
May 16, 2013
Steven Brubaker
marked it as to-read
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Born Elizabeth Gwynne, she was of mixed English and Irish ancestry, and came from a rather grand background, growing up in the 17th-century Sussex manor house, Wootton Manor. Her parents were Rupert Gwynne, Conservative MP for Eastbourne, and the Hon. Stella Ridley, who came from a distinguished Northumberland family. They had three other daughters.
She studied Literature and History at the Sorbonn...more
More about Elizabeth David...
She studied Literature and History at the Sorbonn...more
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