Mark Bittman: Best Recipes in the World

By JULIETTE ROSSANT Big title: big book! The Best Recipes in the World by Mark Bittman (Doubleday 2005) grins at the reader as if to say: can you find something that Mark has missed? However, that isn't the point: this masterful book is a sweeping look at world cuisine for those of us who need an all-in-one. It is a tour of home cooking around the planet. It makes a great wedding or birthday present, but it also makes a great reference book to leaf through when you just don't know what to cook, or when you have to throw together a Mediterranean-theme dinner party -- or when, like this author, you are based in Washington DC and pining away for the tastes of Turkey... There is need for such a tome, and this particular book is so open-minded and straightforward that its preposterous title is appropriate. What's the alternative? Sure, you could go online to Epicurious.com, or another recipe search engine, or dig through your pile of Food & Wine or Gourmet, but this cookbook give you multiple ways to look at each ingredient in a single book and with a strong voice: My goal in this book is to help you become familiar with the ingredients, to distill the knowledge, and make the recipes as accessible as possible, and as "Amreican" as I can, without robbing them of their souls... Techniques simply don't vary from one place to the next... It is the flavors that change. (p. 1) This proves especially true if you are a home cook attempting to cook a recipe for something you have never yet tasted. This book is all about great home cooking around the world, and Bittman's accessible, assured voice makes for a wonderful guide. The Best Recipes in the World includes, such as a succinct review of sesame seeds (p. 187) which reminds us that they are used around the world in sweets, as oil, as flavoring, and as toppings. There is a vinegar chart with a description of vinegars used around the world (pp. 170-1). There are good, simple drawings of cooking processes, like how to roll cold spinach and sesame (p. 184) or how to form fish quenelles (p. 95). Some of the recipes aren't exactly what you'll find in a cookbook specializing in a particular cuisine. Take Turkish (something I know well): the Manti recipe (lamb-filled dumplings, p. 65) will produce great tasting little dumplings, but in Turkey these are made into little packets twisted closed, not the triangles or half moons in this recipe, while the filling usually does have parsley and it is served with a yogurt garlic sauce and spicy butter. Bittman's recipe is close, but is it authentic? That raises the deeper question: what is authentic? There isn't one, set way to cook anything, and Manti is cooked from Turkey to Afghanistan. Or, take Cig Kofte (raw meatballs, p. 26), a distant cousin of steak tartare (not included) but spicier and incredibly easy to make with a food processor, as Bittman rightly points out. Cig Kofte is a recipe I expected to find in this book because it is part of Turkish home cooking. The reason is clear: Turks like to eat Cig Kofte at home because they can rest assured that the raw meat is fresh and well handled. The front of the book has a handy guide (pp. 6-15) to the pantry of each country or region of the world, with lists of ingredients and how to store them or good substitutes. The back of the book has several useful indeces: a Recipe Guide (pp. 685-97) that tell you what you can make ahead, serve cold or cook in 30 minutes or less, followed by Recipes by Cuisine (pp. 698-710). Both are useful, which is exactly what this book is. Perhaps Bittman could have gone even further over the top with his title: he could have called it Only the Best Recipes in the World. Or, it could have been more accurate: The Handiest Home Recipes in the World. Previous articles: [complete Cookbook Reviews] Book links: Publisher Amazon.com Technorati Tags: superchefblog, super chef, celebrities, chefs, food, restaurants, cooking, branding, cuisine, cookbooks --> back to superchefblog