Cookwise : The Secrets of Cooking Revealed

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Summary: a great companion to the home chef
Review: it is truly one of the best reference tools for the home chef. the recipes are nice and it is a remarkable tool for writing your own recipes.

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Summary: The Science of food!
Review: If you're interested in the particulars of food, from bread to eggs to chocolate, this is the book for you. When you can fully undersatand what's going on with the ingredients in particular recipes, the results will be outstanding. One of the best ways to develop your own recipes from scratch. The recipes in the book are excellent as well.

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Summary: Brings cooking down to a science. Builds confidence.
Review: I am an avid cook and I loved this book. I actually read it like a cooking magazine instead of just using the recipes. Every recipe I have tried has been fabulous.

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Summary: The science is the secret -- and that secret is revealed!!
Review: This "cookbook" is really more like a chemistry book. It teaches you what is going on when you cook. With this new understanding, ALL my recipes are better. If you're looking for a recipe book, this is NOT what you want. But if you're looking for true understanding of your cooking, this is the book for you!!

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Summary: Recipes in this "science of cooking" book could use testing
Review: I suspect there may be interesting food science in this book (as suggested by a reviewer), but I am disappointed that the author did not test her recipes. I can comment on only one recipe, the first and last I tried. I may never try another. Does 2&1/4 t. of salt in 14 muffins sound suspicious? 1/4t worked nicely. Vanilla in the instructions, but not in the ingredient list left me guessing. 450 deg. sound high? I removed them 5 minutes earlier than the minimum time and they were burned to inedibility on the bottom. 14 muffins she says? More like 21. A good scientist encourages replication. Let us hope the next edition shows the benefit of recipe-testing.

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Summary: Liscense for Cooking Freedom!
Review: This is the one book that gave me the understanding to be able to cook what I want with the items I have, and have them turn out great every time! From how each ingredient affects bread, to delectable sauces, to tender meat from tough cuts, Shirley explains the how and why of the way foods work together. This is the best cookbook I have. Whenever I want to try something new, I review her explanations, and have great success. She has given me the knowledge to be free to create, conjur, and even "make do" with food and cooking. I saw Shirley on a PBS cooking show, immediately went to the bookstore to get her book, and also bought one for a friend who was moving out on her own. I recommend this book to anyone who likes to look past the "do this" phase of cooking and into the "why" phase.

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Summary: Great concept but some baking recipes don't work
Review: Being an avid baker/engineer type, I was excited to get this book, but when I began to make some of the recipes, I was appalled at the mistakes Ms. Corriher makes--for instance, in the basic chocolate chip cookie recipe, the amount of salt she calls for ruined the cookies, and they were not at all sweet enough. Another disaster was the pie crust recipe, which turned out tough and hard. I followed her recipes exactly. However, I really enjoyed the whys and how-to's she presented--but will follow someone else's recipe next time!

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Summary: Paydirt!!!!!
Review: As an avid cook, food lover and cookbook collector, I've always been frustrated by my lack ability to bake great bread from scratch, as well as the lack of competent cookbooks that would get me there. My search is now over. I've never chewed on better french bread, moister biscuits and tastier waffles than the ones coming out of my own kitchen. Easily one of my top 3 ccokbooks.

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Summary: shirley's book is a curious cook's dream.
Review: Shirley Corriher's Cookwise is a wonderful gift to cooks who want to know "why". Going through the basics of fine cooking is one thing. Why it happens is another. Shirley illustrates her reasons with wonderful basic recipes that anyone can follow. I truly believe Shirley's book will become a classic.

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Summary: the answer book for all of the questions youve asked
Review: A dynamite resource for those questions that youve answered with, up until now, "just because". It is the real nuts and bolts of the science and chemistry of cooking. She commands the ability to explain the how and why of what one does in the kitchen, and why it happens the way that it does.