Cookery books, why do we buy them?

[pigletwillie]

Shall we set up a self help group Beefster??

[beefy]

Shall we set up a self help group Beefster??

It already exist's PW - the name Grow Your Own The Grapevine Forum

[TrishY]

my favourite cookery book from my little collection is The Dairy Book of British Food, really good recipes and ingredients - and microwave methods as well as longhand for lots of the recipes too. It's from the milk marketing board that is now no more. both parents worked there so used to get books and things

[SarzWix]

My obsession in cookery books is buying really old, falling to bit ones! If it has 'Farmhouse' in the title then I'm interested! This one is my ultimate favourite;
Amazon.co.uk: Farmhouse Cooking: v. 1: Books: Mary Norwak,Babs Honey
It's 2 volumes & has recipes for everything you can think of, scraps of information from the 1800s about preserving, & household tips. I love it! Also have a couple of the River Cottage books, a couple of Delia & a Good Housekeeping basics book, about 20 baking & cake decorating books, 6 or 7 Weight Watchers books, and about 10 other 'farmhouse' type books.

I don't think I have a problem , my OH would disagree

[ChrisB]

I used to buy cookery books, but over the years I've learnt that I always go back to the same one,a very beaten up Good Housekeeping cookbook . The cover has fallen off and half the index is missing.

I tend to Google it if I want something different these days

[blackkitty]

I'm not even thinking about counting mine it would be just too scary.
My favourites are the Australian Women's Weekly ones. Lovely ideas and the recipes really do work well. i use mine a lot for inspiration and ideas, rather than to follow a recipe to the letter. i also really enjoy just reading them. (I'm a bit sad that way really). i find car boot sales the best, you can often pick up Jamie or other books for a quid or less.

[borage]

I've got about 1/2 dozen cookery books my favorite is Jamie at Home I love the way he just throws things in with a glug of oil.

[Sue]

Oh God, got far too many of them, lots of basics but mostly now buy only new ones on particular methods or machines - ie for more inspiration for the bread machine or for specific ingredients like honey.
I also have piles of cut out recipes and use the net as well, a favourite is the Riverford site.
I have started compiling my own cookery digest, any recipe that's worked really well, I type out and keep in a plastic folder in a box file. This means I'm gradually building up a selection of favourite recipes and no longer have to do a mammoth hunt trying to remember which recipe came from where. It also allows you to note down any changes you made etc. It also means that books I don't use much can go down the charity shop once I've listed my favs.
i collect WWII cookery books, am fascinated by ration cookery and they're good for seasonal cooking with non-imported ingredients. Have quite a few of these and am always trawling abebooks and ebay looking for more.

Sue

[rosheen]

Charity cookbooks are usually good, I helped to compile one years ago and got some really useful oldfashioned recepies. I love a challenge in the kitchen, one of my sons can't tolerate gluten and now he wants to be vegetarian we've had some great results and some major disasters

[kirsty b]

I haven;t counted my cook books, as I have them squirreled away in various places.
My brother got me one that teaches techniques and I use it for reference quite a lot.
An excellent one I borrowed from the library, but have yet to buy is 'Food to Die For' by Patricia Cornwell. Anyone familiar with the Kay Scarpetta books will know that this character is an accomplished cook as well as top pathologist, lawyer etc etc...
I would love to have a go at some of the recipes in there.

[OverWyreGrower]

IAn excellent one I borrowed from the library, but have yet to buy is 'Food to Die For' by Patricia Cornwell. Anyone familiar with the Kay Scarpetta books will know that this character is an accomplished cook as well as top pathologist, lawyer etc etc...
I would love to have a go at some of the recipes in there.

Oh, I have this ... the steak marinade is amazing! I've also tried the key lime pie as well

[lainey lou]

my favourite cookery book from my little collection is The Dairy Book of British Food, really good recipes and ingredients - and microwave methods as well as longhand for lots of the recipes too. It's from the milk marketing board that is now no more. both parents worked there so used to get books and things

I have that one too, it's a great little book!

[Winged one]

I have a shelf dedicated to cookery books, and will often raid my mother's for inspiration if at home too. I haven't bought too many myself - the original Jamie Oliver, an Indian and a Chinese, one on deserts. There's a few I've bought second hand which have interesting things (including one on soups and another on just nibbles), and I bought the Darina Allen cookery course last year from the Book people - great for basics like hollandaise from scratch and some really nice looking ideas for fancy pants things. (I'm currently waiting on the latest order, which I bought a set of audio books for my car). OH has bought a few too as he also likes to cook.

But we have been given a good few over the years. When we got engaged, when we bought the house (my sis got an absolute beginner's one for a joke, but the chocolate fudge cake and the cookies in it are divine and soooo easy, that we had the last laugh!!), a few others for various occasions. And this Christmas, I was given 3!! Jamie's new one, a similar type of one from an Irish food critic Tom Doorley and his wife, and the Irish Farmer's Market cookbook - I guess everyone had realised we got a lottie this year!!

I reckon that as long as I use them occasionally, they are worth having. I have actually been using the original Jamie a fair bit recently, and Darina. And the Mary Berry beginners one too (again another few really scrummy recipes that are old favourites).

ETA - if I counted, it would probably be a fairly scary number, not as bad as 84 but probably well over 30 anyway. And rising....
And the ones I most use are for a few specific recipes or else techniques. I rarely pore over them for ideas for something new - just don't have time. But when I do --mmmmmmmm.....

[Polly Fouracre]

rom rom If I had nothing else to read I would be happy to read cookery books from cover to cover-just like a novel! Anybodies and everybodies,from ancient to wartime to Farmers wives recipes to Jamie Oliver,Hugh F-W. et al.
I just love them and love cooking from them.

[moggssue]

I did have a couple of dozen but ditched a lot of them when I moved in with OH, saving space and all that. So why oh why have I started buying them again!? AND I get them from mags and internet on a regular basis even tho I know most wont get used - if I had the time to try them all ........... and the waistline haha!