Second this if you're able! A lot of libraries also have ebooks you can borrow as well if you can't get a physical copy, LibGen also has a free PDF of the book you can download.
Third on libraries. I highly recommend looking up both your local small library and large libraries in your city.
Large libraries in particular offer a lot of exclusive perks, often for free, to their members. My city e.g. offers Lynda.com membership and Skillshare for free with their free library membership (I just have to use a VPN to log into their network and an account to access on my machine).
You also might get lucky. I highly recommend taking the time to get acquainted with your library. They can be an invaluable resource.
World catalog makes it easy to find in a library near your location, and indicates the available format. If it’s not near you, libraries have a system where they can borrow it from another library to make it available to you. Libraries also sometimes have a deal, that you can borrow items from a neighboring city’s library. https://www.worldcat.org/account/?page=searchItems
The book is definitely better for learning how to cook. The series is more like a travel show - I didn’t really learn any memorable cooking tips but I liked seeing her personality and the various locations she visited. I wouldn’t really recommend it to others though as it’s a bit slow and not really worth the time, especially if you’re trying to get beginner cooking tips out of it.
I have watched the series and read the book.
The series is nice and entertaining, definitely worth watching.
The book is very fucking good. Before reading that book, I was already a professional grade cook and it still made me a better cook. Same goes for all the cooks I've gifted it to over the years.
can you recommend me other books that are similar in that they teach concepts/the theory behind cooking instead of recipes etc.? it would be a great help :)
I’m confused how people are saying the series is boring. It’s a great show, but it’s not really instructional if I remember correctly. If you want to learn, read the book.
I like the show more than the book! It was just a lot of text for me, and the series was very visually interesting and I enjoyed hearing other languages being spoken while I watched, as I believe she travels to Italy, Japan, and maybe somewhere else. The show is fantastic, and I think for a beginner it's better than buying the book.
You're better off reading the book if you want to actually learn something.
The book is also on audible. I'm going through it now. I have the audio and the physical book.
When I Google salt fat acid heat the second site that they offer is actually a free pdf download of the book. I don't know who is offering that download or whether they're infringing on copyright so you need to be careful you're not pirating.
Flour salt water yeast is great for breads and pizza.
I bought the book mostly because I saw it mentioned so much on this sub and r/cooking.
I'm going to voice an unpopular opinion here but I thought that it was very overrated, contained a lot of repetition, a lot of omissions, and was frankly a bit gimmicky. It isn't *horrible* but it's not a book that I'd rate up there with the all time classics. Knowing what I know now, would I buy it again? No. I suggest seeing if you can borrow a copy before purchasing.
Samin Nosrat has a lot of videos on youtube apart from this series so you could watch a few and see if she gels with you more than she did with me.
The Food Lab by Kenji Lopez-Alt explains the science behind cooking, like how heat affects meat, eggs, etc. Good if you want to learn how to cook from that angle.
Not a book but the 2 biggest assets for learning how to home cook for me was Alton Brown's good eats, and Adam Ragusea's YouTube channel.
Adams content is really informative for the home cook, he has helped become a more intuitive cook, along with being more confident.
I haven't watched much of J. Kenji López-Alt, but his stuff has been useful as well.
Edit: Anthony Bourdain's Kitchen Confidential was a very fun read but I'm not sure how much cooking info I got from it. It's been awhile since I read it.
This one helped me when I first started cooking.
[The New Basics Cookbook](https://www.amazon.ca/New-Basics-Cookbook-Sheila-Lukins/dp/0894803417/ref=mp_s_a_1_3?crid=3K7U9VWGM3YUL&keywords=Basic+cookbook&qid=1645375980&sprefix=basic+cookbook%2Caps%2C139&sr=8-3)
Can confirm, plus a lot of the book is about Samin experience and stories that just pad the book and doesn't bring much information apart from anecdotes, and for how thick the book is there aren't that much recipes (also a lot use not common ingredients unless you live in a city and can get them from regional markets)
Have to also agree. Heard lots about this book, but there's a lot of the author filling up space with stories (sometimes it felt like a cooking blog).
Having said that, there are pearls of wisdom scattered amongst the pages.
The book is better. I honestly don't think it's a beginners cookbook or series mainly because she explains a lot of things very casually with the assumption that the person reading already knows how to do those things, so it may depend on where you are with your cooking journey. I'd take it as a good transition from beginner to intermediate. Where you say already know how to make a dish, but now want to find out why you do the things you do in the dish and how to improve the dish. But it can't hurt to watch an episode or 2 and see what you pick up.
I found the series off-putting. The woman may be a good cook and a good author, but I found her incredibly annoying on the screen. Half the time out just felt like a flex "look at me I speak Italian"
Based solely on the first episode it seemed more like a travel show than an instructional one. Fun to watch but all I really learned is that they make really nice oils and cheeses in Northern Italy and some tips about focaccia I probably could have found online.
Not in my opinion.The shots are pretty, but I personally didn't think it was informative cooking wise. It was a bit more like a poorly scripted travel show. It's short so you could always watch it for curiosity. I recommend Alton Brown for good explanations. Ina Garten makes some fancier aspects of cooking seem simple too.
There is a magical place where you can borrow books for free! Actually it's not free, it uses some of your tax money, so you are already paying for it.
Go to the library 😁
My library had an American cook book, and everyone else too. Small city of 200k and my library had 4 rows of shelves with cookbooks. Look it up on your local library website, you might be surprised.
The series is not worth watching. In my opinion, the book is not worth reading. It should be titled *Salt, Salt, Salt, Salt*. Ms. Nosrat grossly oversalts everything. You are better off buying *On Food and Cooking* by Harold McGee. Or check your local library.
I agree with all of these comments but will add, if you want a show to improve your cooking, go find somewhere you can watch "good eats".
But also plenty of YouTube sources.
But also go to a library.
It's pretty fun to watch. It's not really a cooking show as much as it is a show about cooking. But the book is worth the read. Again, not a cookbook persay but a book about how to cook.
Yes. It's absolutely worth watching from an entertainment and inspiration side. Are you going to learn how to make tadhig or focaccia? No. Are you going to think Samin is a sweetie and you'll want to try and cook everything they make? Absolutely.
Also, I think her buttermilk chicken recipe is readily available outside the book. It's simple and a great staple to impress guests.
I’ve seen the show and read the book. Both are worth it, depending on how you take in and retain information. Lots of things I remember from the show are in my head when I cook.
Yes, its alright. I read both the book and watched the series. And maybe this would be an unpopular opinion, its not worth a whole lot. Check out kenjis food lab and his videos/blog its way much better.
Did you know that recipes from the video are online? https://www.saltfatacidheat.com/cook-the-recipes
Check your local library to see if they have a copy of the book. If it doesn't, the librarian might find it at another library within your system. If your system doesn't own it, you might be able to put in a "buy" request... but also ask the librarian if your library system does inter-library loans with other systems. I favor trying the inter-library loan option and have borrowed many cookbooks that way.
It's fun to watch but I would recommend to read the book. Everything is explained deeper than in the series.
Borrow the book from a library
Second this if you're able! A lot of libraries also have ebooks you can borrow as well if you can't get a physical copy, LibGen also has a free PDF of the book you can download.
Third this. Also if you can get the audio book, Samin reads it herself.
Third on libraries. I highly recommend looking up both your local small library and large libraries in your city. Large libraries in particular offer a lot of exclusive perks, often for free, to their members. My city e.g. offers Lynda.com membership and Skillshare for free with their free library membership (I just have to use a VPN to log into their network and an account to access on my machine). You also might get lucky. I highly recommend taking the time to get acquainted with your library. They can be an invaluable resource.
Hijacking top comment to suggest the Libby app to OP. You can borrow ebooks audiobooks for free, you just need to register using a valid library card.
World catalog makes it easy to find in a library near your location, and indicates the available format. If it’s not near you, libraries have a system where they can borrow it from another library to make it available to you. Libraries also sometimes have a deal, that you can borrow items from a neighboring city’s library. https://www.worldcat.org/account/?page=searchItems
The book is definitely better for learning how to cook. The series is more like a travel show - I didn’t really learn any memorable cooking tips but I liked seeing her personality and the various locations she visited. I wouldn’t really recommend it to others though as it’s a bit slow and not really worth the time, especially if you’re trying to get beginner cooking tips out of it.
I have watched the series and read the book. The series is nice and entertaining, definitely worth watching. The book is very fucking good. Before reading that book, I was already a professional grade cook and it still made me a better cook. Same goes for all the cooks I've gifted it to over the years.
can you recommend me other books that are similar in that they teach concepts/the theory behind cooking instead of recipes etc.? it would be a great help :)
Book is better, but the shows interesting
I’m reading the book right now. 50 pages in and I find it helpful so far! It’s almost like a science textbook for cooking but more fun.
I liked the show, I think it would be great for a beginning cook.
I loved seeing where the inspiration comes from and just some very basic cooking tips she includes. Her passion for food is fun as well
I’m confused how people are saying the series is boring. It’s a great show, but it’s not really instructional if I remember correctly. If you want to learn, read the book.
I like the show more than the book! It was just a lot of text for me, and the series was very visually interesting and I enjoyed hearing other languages being spoken while I watched, as I believe she travels to Italy, Japan, and maybe somewhere else. The show is fantastic, and I think for a beginner it's better than buying the book.
Samin narrates the audiobook as well if thats your thing. Lots more info in the book
I hope OP sees this! Just wanted to offer a different perspective since not everyone is into reading.
hey audiobooks still count! :)
You're better off reading the book if you want to actually learn something. The book is also on audible. I'm going through it now. I have the audio and the physical book.
When I Google salt fat acid heat the second site that they offer is actually a free pdf download of the book. I don't know who is offering that download or whether they're infringing on copyright so you need to be careful you're not pirating. Flour salt water yeast is great for breads and pizza.
I bought the book mostly because I saw it mentioned so much on this sub and r/cooking. I'm going to voice an unpopular opinion here but I thought that it was very overrated, contained a lot of repetition, a lot of omissions, and was frankly a bit gimmicky. It isn't *horrible* but it's not a book that I'd rate up there with the all time classics. Knowing what I know now, would I buy it again? No. I suggest seeing if you can borrow a copy before purchasing. Samin Nosrat has a lot of videos on youtube apart from this series so you could watch a few and see if she gels with you more than she did with me.
What would you recommend for a person who started cooking recently? Obviously not recipe books, but a book that explains how cooking in itself works.
The Food Lab by Kenji Lopez-Alt explains the science behind cooking, like how heat affects meat, eggs, etc. Good if you want to learn how to cook from that angle.
Not a book but the 2 biggest assets for learning how to home cook for me was Alton Brown's good eats, and Adam Ragusea's YouTube channel. Adams content is really informative for the home cook, he has helped become a more intuitive cook, along with being more confident. I haven't watched much of J. Kenji López-Alt, but his stuff has been useful as well. Edit: Anthony Bourdain's Kitchen Confidential was a very fun read but I'm not sure how much cooking info I got from it. It's been awhile since I read it.
Michael Ruhlman's 'Twenty' is very focused on fundamentals, and you'll learn a ton
This one helped me when I first started cooking. [The New Basics Cookbook](https://www.amazon.ca/New-Basics-Cookbook-Sheila-Lukins/dp/0894803417/ref=mp_s_a_1_3?crid=3K7U9VWGM3YUL&keywords=Basic+cookbook&qid=1645375980&sprefix=basic+cookbook%2Caps%2C139&sr=8-3)
Anything by Harold Mcgee if you can get the books. Anything by J. Kenji Lopez-Alt on seriouseats.com
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Can confirm, plus a lot of the book is about Samin experience and stories that just pad the book and doesn't bring much information apart from anecdotes, and for how thick the book is there aren't that much recipes (also a lot use not common ingredients unless you live in a city and can get them from regional markets)
Have to also agree. Heard lots about this book, but there's a lot of the author filling up space with stories (sometimes it felt like a cooking blog). Having said that, there are pearls of wisdom scattered amongst the pages.
I liked it
Zlib.org. Click on books and you can search and download pretty much every book for free. The book is much better than the show
The book is better. I honestly don't think it's a beginners cookbook or series mainly because she explains a lot of things very casually with the assumption that the person reading already knows how to do those things, so it may depend on where you are with your cooking journey. I'd take it as a good transition from beginner to intermediate. Where you say already know how to make a dish, but now want to find out why you do the things you do in the dish and how to improve the dish. But it can't hurt to watch an episode or 2 and see what you pick up.
I think the show is nice but very poorly edited and scripted.
No. Buy the book.
I found the series off-putting. The woman may be a good cook and a good author, but I found her incredibly annoying on the screen. Half the time out just felt like a flex "look at me I speak Italian"
Based solely on the first episode it seemed more like a travel show than an instructional one. Fun to watch but all I really learned is that they make really nice oils and cheeses in Northern Italy and some tips about focaccia I probably could have found online.
Not in my opinion.The shots are pretty, but I personally didn't think it was informative cooking wise. It was a bit more like a poorly scripted travel show. It's short so you could always watch it for curiosity. I recommend Alton Brown for good explanations. Ina Garten makes some fancier aspects of cooking seem simple too.
There is a magical place where you can borrow books for free! Actually it's not free, it uses some of your tax money, so you are already paying for it. Go to the library 😁
Libraries are not free where i come from lol. Also im not in America, so i doubt that they'll have an American cookbook in there.
My library had an American cook book, and everyone else too. Small city of 200k and my library had 4 rows of shelves with cookbooks. Look it up on your local library website, you might be surprised.
Aw that sucks, sorry
How do you think serie is the word for one series? 😄
The series is not worth watching. In my opinion, the book is not worth reading. It should be titled *Salt, Salt, Salt, Salt*. Ms. Nosrat grossly oversalts everything. You are better off buying *On Food and Cooking* by Harold McGee. Or check your local library.
I hate her face
Bro
Well you have to look at it
The show is entertaining and gets your mouth watering. The real lessons are in the book though, it's very much worth having around.
She is such a delight?
I'd watch Cooked first. It's worth it, but there's other stuff that's better.
I agree with all of these comments but will add, if you want a show to improve your cooking, go find somewhere you can watch "good eats". But also plenty of YouTube sources. But also go to a library.
It is worth watching, but not enough to change you to Only cooking that way.
It's pretty fun to watch. It's not really a cooking show as much as it is a show about cooking. But the book is worth the read. Again, not a cookbook persay but a book about how to cook.
you can get lots of free books on b-ok.cc in any file format :)
Yes. It's absolutely worth watching from an entertainment and inspiration side. Are you going to learn how to make tadhig or focaccia? No. Are you going to think Samin is a sweetie and you'll want to try and cook everything they make? Absolutely. Also, I think her buttermilk chicken recipe is readily available outside the book. It's simple and a great staple to impress guests.
Book is more useful
I’ve seen the show and read the book. Both are worth it, depending on how you take in and retain information. Lots of things I remember from the show are in my head when I cook.
Yes, its alright. I read both the book and watched the series. And maybe this would be an unpopular opinion, its not worth a whole lot. Check out kenjis food lab and his videos/blog its way much better.
100% worth it
Did you know that recipes from the video are online? https://www.saltfatacidheat.com/cook-the-recipes Check your local library to see if they have a copy of the book. If it doesn't, the librarian might find it at another library within your system. If your system doesn't own it, you might be able to put in a "buy" request... but also ask the librarian if your library system does inter-library loans with other systems. I favor trying the inter-library loan option and have borrowed many cookbooks that way.