Cookbooks are more than just a collection of recipes people can turn to for kitchen experiments and references.
They are part memoir: when the author culls memories of his or her childhood, moments when the dishes are not just enjoyed but celebrated, the book becomes an immortalization of one’s milestones. The cookbook shares food and memories to others who may find joy in them too.
They act as recipe banks too. It is easy to forget food eaten by generations past. Books preserve these cultural pieces, which are important factors of history, and agricultural fragments that define a country’s rich landscape.
In this digital age, it may be easy to dismiss cookbooks as mere dust gatherers. But they hold much value, beyond what many deem them merely as. “To question the necessity of cookbooks today is akin to asking the relevance of newspapers,” says Tatung Sarthou, who has released four bestselling cookbooks to date.
“Cookbooks are as much a record of our life as any history book,” he adds. “One would make a grave error to see these only as mere collections of recipes. It is an important snapshot of our society, of our unique gastronomic culture at specific points in our history. I feel duty-bound to share my knowledge and experience to the next generation of Filipino chefs and home cooks as I have learned from those that have come before me. At the same time, I wish to bridge the gap between the high-brow and the low-brow that exists in the current crop of publications available today. Our nation is blessed with a rich culinary culture and our cookbooks should be a reflection of this living heritage.”
Ige Ramos, who has recently republished the influential book of Maria Orosa, shares the same sentiments. “Cookbooks are not just codified instructional materials that will help plan a meal or cook a great dinner. It is more than that. It is a cultural repository of culinary practices in a particular period of time. It is a slice of time that contains a multi-sensorial memory: smell, taste, sound, sight, texture, and sense of space,” he says.
“Cookbooks can trace what was considered fashionable or what was perceived to be nutritious. It can also be subversive as it questions and revalidates existing norms in cooking, eating, and the general lifestyle. The cultural history of a country can be gleaned through its cookbooks,” he adds.
Ige has been involved in different aspects of producing a cookbook, from research to design. He has even dabbled in self-publishing. “I compare making cookbooks to producing Opera as it encompasses various art forms: from music to literature, from architecture to dance, from visual arts to drama. It is, after all, one of the best forms of creative nonfiction. Its transformative nature can take you to a faraway place and the most intimate kitchen in any part of the world or acquaint you with a new ingredient or a cooking technique that you can never imagine.”
Cookbooks don’t just teach and expand the culinary knowledge of the reader. They’re not just instruction manuals. They let you in on someone’s life or a country’s ways and means sans actual travel. More importantly, cookbooks are central to food heritage and national cultural history.
FAQs
Recipes are passed down from generation to generation, and a lot of heart and soul goes into curating them. Cookbooks allow us to dive into those traditions and the culture while educating its readers about the importance and joy of cooking.
Are cookbooks still relevant? ›
Publishers and bookstores have noticed a positive trend in the past few years: Their cookbook sales are jumping, with cookbooks flying off the shelves. Always a popular category, cookbook sales have soared in the past three years. In 2021, cookbook sales were 42% higher than they were the year before.
What is the significance of cookbook? ›
The cookbook shares food and memories to others who may find joy in them too. They act as recipe banks too. It is easy to forget food eaten by generations past. Books preserve these cultural pieces, which are important factors of history, and agricultural fragments that define a country's rich landscape.
What is a standard recipe and why is it important for a foodservice operation to use standard recipes? ›
A standardized recipe is a set of written instructions used to consistently prepare a known quantity and quality of food for a specific location. A standardized recipe will produce a product that is close to identical in taste and yield every time it is made, no matter who follows the directions.
What makes a cookbook special? ›
The Author-Food Connection
Just like a musician penning songs about their own life experiences resonates with fans, an author who uncovers their own connections to the ingredients and recipes in their cookbook is sure to create a magical, memorable experience for their readers.
What are the benefits of reading cookbooks? ›
And they really are: They teach us techniques, introduce us to new ingredients, encourage us to expand our palates, riff on old ways of doing things, and promise us new ways of doing things that with time will become old ways. This is very much practical. Cookbooks contain everything.
What are the benefits of creating a cookbook? ›
It can be a source of inspiration for new and creative dishes. It can help you to improve your cooking skills and learn new techniques, as many cookbooks include tips and tricks from professional chefs. A cookbook can also be a great way to preserve family recipes and pass down traditions to future generations.
What is the function of a cookbook? ›
cookbook, collection of recipes, instructions, and information about the preparation and serving of foods. At its best, a cookbook is also a chronicle and treasury of the fine art of cooking, an art whose masterpieces—created only to be consumed—would otherwise be lost.
Why do people love cook books? ›
I love Pinterest as much as the next Millennial, which is how I know there's a real glut of subpar recipes online. A cookbook, in contrast, is typically years in the making. Each recipe is carefully developed and tested and cross-tested, often multiple times, to ensure that the reader can re-create the dish.
What is the importance of food recipes? ›
Recipes provide consistency in the production of menu items. Recipes provide food cost control. Recipes provide knowledge for front of the house staff as a sales tool and to help consumers with dietary concerns and allergies.
Advantages of standardized recipes:
- Product quality - Provide consistent high-quality food items that have been thoroughly tested and evaluated.
- Projected portions and yield - Accurately predict the number of portions from each recipe and clearly define serving size or scoop.
Consistency in product quality and quantity can be assured because all ingredients and preparation details are accurately stated. Precision saves time, prevents wastage, and eliminates guesswork and human errors.
What is the purpose of writing a cookbook? ›
Here are a few examples of WHY you might want to write a cookbook: Teach and influence others about a topic related to cooking or baking. Earn a lot of money off the sale of my book. Raise funds for an organization or non-profit agency.
What is the benefit of cooking the books? ›
Generally, cooking the books involves financial data manipulation with the motive of inflating the company's earnings or deflating the company's expenses for the betterment of the bottom line. A company adopts strategies to reduce costs or raise income to improve its bottom line. read more.
