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La Varenne Pratique
Unprecedented in both scope and clarity, La Varenne Pratique is destined to become the essential culinary reference for both novice cook and expert. Written by the founder and director of Paris's prestigious La Varenne cooking school and compiled using La Varenne's extensive resources, the book brings together a practical understanding of cooking techniques, ingredients, and equipment in an unrivaled guide to classic modern cooking.
Here in one volume is the answer to every cooking how to make a hollandaise sauce (and why egg yolks will only absorb so much oil before the sauce self-destructs); the difference between entrecote and porterhouse; what marinades to use for lamb; which herbs will turn bitter if added at the beginning of a recipe; how to bone a chicken; the roasting times for venison, pheasant, and even squirrel; how to fillet a fiat fish; when to use a bain marie; and much more.
La Varenne Pratique is divided into 22 chapters, among them Meat and Charcuterie; Poultry and Game Birds; Milk, Cheese, and Eggs; Pastry and Cookies; Preserving, Stocks, and Soups; and Microwave Cooking. Each chapter offers an overview of the food discussed and then explains how to choose, prepare, store, cook, and present it. Recipes are included wherever an important cooking technique requires a specific example-they are carefully chosen not only to illustrate a particular dish but also to illuminate a way of cooking. In addition, La Varenne Pratique includes a guide to kitchen equipment and a glossary of culinary terms.
The photographic illustrations in La Varenne Pratique are beyond comparison. Throughout the book, techniques are clearly illustrated with specially commissioned step-by-step photo sequences that set new standards for culinary photography. Readers can actually see what texture a sauce should be, exactly where to make the first cut when boning a Chicken, what the "crust" on a clarifying broth will look like, and what larding a roast really entails.
There has never been a book like La Varenne Pratique. Comprehensive, authoritative, and eminently practical, it demands a place in the kitchen of every serious cook.
Here in one volume is the answer to every cooking how to make a hollandaise sauce (and why egg yolks will only absorb so much oil before the sauce self-destructs); the difference between entrecote and porterhouse; what marinades to use for lamb; which herbs will turn bitter if added at the beginning of a recipe; how to bone a chicken; the roasting times for venison, pheasant, and even squirrel; how to fillet a fiat fish; when to use a bain marie; and much more.
La Varenne Pratique is divided into 22 chapters, among them Meat and Charcuterie; Poultry and Game Birds; Milk, Cheese, and Eggs; Pastry and Cookies; Preserving, Stocks, and Soups; and Microwave Cooking. Each chapter offers an overview of the food discussed and then explains how to choose, prepare, store, cook, and present it. Recipes are included wherever an important cooking technique requires a specific example-they are carefully chosen not only to illustrate a particular dish but also to illuminate a way of cooking. In addition, La Varenne Pratique includes a guide to kitchen equipment and a glossary of culinary terms.
The photographic illustrations in La Varenne Pratique are beyond comparison. Throughout the book, techniques are clearly illustrated with specially commissioned step-by-step photo sequences that set new standards for culinary photography. Readers can actually see what texture a sauce should be, exactly where to make the first cut when boning a Chicken, what the "crust" on a clarifying broth will look like, and what larding a roast really entails.
There has never been a book like La Varenne Pratique. Comprehensive, authoritative, and eminently practical, it demands a place in the kitchen of every serious cook.
528 pages, Hardcover
First published March 1, 1989
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
August 22, 2009
Unlike most cookbooks which is about recipes, La Varenne Pratique teaches you the techniques of cooking.
Like The Professional Chef by the Culinary Institute of Ameirca (ISBN:0764557343), La Varenne Pratique is meant to be the foundation course for any aspiring chefs. Unlike CIA's Professional Chef which discusses many techniques which I find to be a bit high-brow, this book is suitable for everyday cooking together with advanced techniques that can definitely impress.
The book is broken down into food categories like: meat, fish, dairy, poultry, etc. For each of the categories, it gives a brief historic overview, the different kinds of specimens and provides illustrated step-by-step guides on working with them e.g. proper way to debone chickens, the kind of knife you'd use, etc. It further provides examples of herbs which would go well with the category.
It does provide a couple of recipes for each type of food, but it mainly encourages you to try different variations. For example, for ice cream making (which is my specialty), it gives a general recipe of producing the foundation vanilla custard, and provides a list of combination of fruits you might wish to try with the recipe, and discusses strategy in, for example, the amount of alcohol you can technically add to your mixture without turning it into an unfreezable mess.
I picked up this book from Dean & Deluca when I first moved to New York about 10 years ago and I still use it today. This is the first and only cook book you'll ever need to create your own original cuisine. Highly recommended.
Like The Professional Chef by the Culinary Institute of Ameirca (ISBN:0764557343), La Varenne Pratique is meant to be the foundation course for any aspiring chefs. Unlike CIA's Professional Chef which discusses many techniques which I find to be a bit high-brow, this book is suitable for everyday cooking together with advanced techniques that can definitely impress.
The book is broken down into food categories like: meat, fish, dairy, poultry, etc. For each of the categories, it gives a brief historic overview, the different kinds of specimens and provides illustrated step-by-step guides on working with them e.g. proper way to debone chickens, the kind of knife you'd use, etc. It further provides examples of herbs which would go well with the category.
It does provide a couple of recipes for each type of food, but it mainly encourages you to try different variations. For example, for ice cream making (which is my specialty), it gives a general recipe of producing the foundation vanilla custard, and provides a list of combination of fruits you might wish to try with the recipe, and discusses strategy in, for example, the amount of alcohol you can technically add to your mixture without turning it into an unfreezable mess.
I picked up this book from Dean & Deluca when I first moved to New York about 10 years ago and I still use it today. This is the first and only cook book you'll ever need to create your own original cuisine. Highly recommended.
August 14, 2019
Unlike most cookbooks which is about recipes, La Varenne Pratique teaches you the techniques of cooking.
Like The Professional Chef by the Culinary Institute of Ameirca (ISBN:0764557343), La Varenne Pratique is meant to be the foundation course for any aspiring chefs. Unlike CIA's Professional Chef which discusses many techniques which I find to be a bit high-brow, this book is suitable for everyday cooking together with advanced techniques that can definitely impress.
The book is broken down into food categories like: meat, fish, dairy, poultry, etc. For each of the categories, it gives a brief historic overview, the different kinds of specimens and provides illustrated step-by-step guides on working with them e.g. proper way to debone chickens, the kind of knife you'd use, etc. It further provides examples of herbs which would go well with the category.
It does provide a couple of recipes for each type of food, but it mainly encourages you to try different variations. For example, for ice cream making (which is my specialty), it gives a general recipe of producing the foundation vanilla custard, and provides a list of combination of fruits you might wish to try with the recipe, and discusses strategy in, for example, the amount of alcohol you can technically add to your mixture without turning it into an unfreezable mess.
I picked up this book from Dean & Deluca when I first moved to New York about 10 years ago and I still use it today. This is the first and only cook book you'll ever need to create your own original cuisine. Highly recommended.
Like The Professional Chef by the Culinary Institute of Ameirca (ISBN:0764557343), La Varenne Pratique is meant to be the foundation course for any aspiring chefs. Unlike CIA's Professional Chef which discusses many techniques which I find to be a bit high-brow, this book is suitable for everyday cooking together with advanced techniques that can definitely impress.
The book is broken down into food categories like: meat, fish, dairy, poultry, etc. For each of the categories, it gives a brief historic overview, the different kinds of specimens and provides illustrated step-by-step guides on working with them e.g. proper way to debone chickens, the kind of knife you'd use, etc. It further provides examples of herbs which would go well with the category.
It does provide a couple of recipes for each type of food, but it mainly encourages you to try different variations. For example, for ice cream making (which is my specialty), it gives a general recipe of producing the foundation vanilla custard, and provides a list of combination of fruits you might wish to try with the recipe, and discusses strategy in, for example, the amount of alcohol you can technically add to your mixture without turning it into an unfreezable mess.
I picked up this book from Dean & Deluca when I first moved to New York about 10 years ago and I still use it today. This is the first and only cook book you'll ever need to create your own original cuisine. Highly recommended.
July 6, 2017
This book is overrated. It is not very readable, and it is not very useful as a reference for either technique or dish. Lots of pictures, lots of words but there are better books.
May 26, 2017
Possibly the only cookbook you'll ever need (for Western cooking.) The photos are incredibly helpful. It details each major type of ingredient - such as lobsters - and tells and shows you the basic skills you need to cook it properly. There are recipes, but more importantly, it teaches you ALL the basics you need to cook every type of food from soups to souffles. With the basics at your hands, you begin to realize that most recipes you find in other books are mainly just variations on a theme. This book gives you the key to unlock the theme itself and inventing your own recipes or following others from now on is easier.
A great book for both beginner and advanced cooks.
A great book for both beginner and advanced cooks.
May 14, 2011
The only cookbook you will ever need. This was so helpful when I was living in Asia. I could just point at the picture of the exotic produce to the maid and hold up however many fingers I wanted to tell her how much to buy.[return][return]Everything is from scratch in this book so if you're the kind of person who seems to always find yourself living where you can't readily get processed food...or if you just like to know what the heck is in stuff this is a great cookbook.
February 19, 2010
Victoria, Travis's girlfriend highly recommends this book. I took a quick flip through it and it's priceless.
February 25, 2011
Still reading but feels like a text book from school which is what I love about it. I like the small details about every step of cooking that help those of us who have not gone to culinary school.
March 19, 2011
Excellent book - well illustrated with preparation techniques and excellent sections on meat, seafood and poultry.
July 8, 2012
Brilliant book! Used it during my training at chef school and still using it. Very helpful!
September 7, 2011
Good French basics with pics and details
March 28, 2017
A must have for technique, generally cooking.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews