Ratio: The Simple Codes Behind the Craft of Everyday Cooking

5 Responses to “Ratio: The Simple Codes Behind the Craft of Everyday Cooking”

1. Barbara Rice says:

   April 6, 2010 at 9:18 am

   I received this as a unsolicited gift from a name who thinks I like Alton Brown and that sort of analytical approach to cooking. While it is excellent and useful to have basic knowledge of the whys and hows of the compound/ molecular changes that take place during the cooking process, it is not necessary nor wise to base everything that goes on in the kitchen on a number ratio. There are simply too many variables in cooking to adhere to fixed formulas; a newbie cook who thinks simply following this premise will make them into an accomplished chef is going to find themselves up the proverbial creek, with no thought what went incorrect and what to do about it. I’ve seen many glowing and adoring reviews for this book’s concept along the lines of “the only cookbook you will ever need.” I cannot know what the reviewers are seeing in this book.

   The basic scientific approach – “science tells us that if we mix X with Y and apply heat, Z will occur” – is not an adequate substitute for hard-won experience. Clearly I am in the minority, agreed all the adulation heaped on here, but this book will be going directly into the “donate” pile.
   Reader’s Rating: 1 / 5
2. Sharon I. Smith says:

   April 6, 2010 at 11:57 am

   I establish this book appealing but not fantastic. Some of the all-purpose information was excellent, but the recipes left a lot to be desired. I reflect there was too much salt in most of them…some people need to limit their sodium intake, and there were no suggestions about minimum amounts that would work. Some of the ingredient amounts in the recipes were rather vague. A lot of the instructions were clearly cut and pasted. I would rather have seen “see instructions for (whatever)”. This is not a book for the new cook. As a result, I have a hard time deciding whether to file it with “cookbooks” or “all-purpose information”.

   I have read a number of cookbooks and books about food written by men, and I have come to the conclusion that none of them have a clue about how the normal household works, or how persons of us who can’t go running across town to the specialty shops run, or how persons of us who don’t live in large, cosmopolitan urban environments have to shop. For one thing, there is no possibility of getting fresh herbs where I live unless I grow them myself (and I am handicapped enough that I can’t, sorry to say, garden). There were additional ingredients that Ruhlman seems to reflect are available in any kitchen which I have not ever seen within 500 miles of where I live.

   In fleeting, I reflect most of the recipes are impractical. I wish Mr. Ruhlman would come and live in my kitchen (which is a nice one) for six months or so and cook for me and then write another book.
   Reader’s Rating: 3 / 5
3. Terry the Cook says:

   April 6, 2010 at 2:47 pm

   the speedy manner of language we have come to expect from Amazon.com which is what keeps me coming back to amazon.
   Reader’s Rating: 4 / 5
4. William Hayes says:

   April 6, 2010 at 4:04 pm

   A small less than I imagined the book contains very few thoughts just written to sell his code method.
   Reader’s Rating: 4 / 5
5. Jonathan L. Gray says:

   April 6, 2010 at 5:39 pm

   This book is proposed primarily for bakers. Recommend you review the table of contents before buy.
   Reader’s Rating: 2 / 5