Most people who cook as much as I do probably already know about Cooks Illustrated -- one of the coolest magazines on the planet -- but I just discovered it this month. The only explanation I can come up with for not finding it sooner is that the cover (art and wording) is pretty much the only part of the magazine that doesn't wow me. The recipes border on too gourmet for my style of cooking, though there seem to be one or two in each issue which are do-able for a family with kids on a budget. The recipes, however, are beside the point. It's the science portions of the articles that are so amazing and fun. Which brings me to the reason I'm blogging about it...
As much as
I would have enjoyed finding Cooks Illustrated earlier, I'm especially pleased to be discovering it with Brianna rather than simply introducing her to it. It's fun to be excited about this gem of a find together! She's always been my little scientist -- observant, analytical, and curious -- and chemistry is currently her favorite branch of science. She has recently become interested in doing more cooking as well, frequently making lunch for herself and Alexander and even taking on dinner for the family once a week or so. Cooks Illustrated is all about the chemistry of cooking, with short articles written in lay-language that are perfect for her. We even read an article from it as a bed-time story the other night!For the time being, we are enjoying back-issues from the library. We have also requested a free copy of Cook's Country, a sister publication which looks from the website like it might contain more recipes that we would actually use. (I don't know if it has the science component though -- we'll see.) It's funny; fifteen years ago, I would have said that I disliked both chemistry and cooking (though I've always enjoyed baking.) Turns out, I just didn't know how fascinating they could be. Lucky me to have a science-loving girl to share it all with!
5 comments:
Wow! Brianna is a lucky girl to have you for her Mama. It is fun to get excited with kids. It's one of the things I love about teaching. I'm glad you have seized the chance to encourage her passion. May I come over for a chem lesson, too? There's nothing better than science you can eat!! :-) Give Breezy a hug for us.
Love, Mom
We have subscribed to Cook's for years--we're fascinated by the science, too. There might only be one recipe in an issue we're really interested in, so sometimes we think about dropping our subscription, but at the last minute we always re-up because we love to read it. Also, over the years, we've found a number of our family's staple recipes in there.
I just made a new resolution that when an issue comes, I'm going to try at least one of the recipes in the very next week. This is to avoid our chronic problem of having piles of back issues full of things we thought it would be fun to try but lost track of.
My friend Adrianne is a very good cook, and part of why is that she really understands the science behind it. I have seen her discover a recipe was going bad halfway through and just know how to fix it because of that understanding.
I knew Cook's Illustrated existed, but, like you, the cover just never drew me in. I like the idea of the science component behind the cooking. I'd love to hear about some of the recipes you two try.
I'm going to see if our library has either or both magazines. Thanks for the idea.
Thank you for sharing this. I have come across these magazines at rummage sales, etc.. and am glad to know about the chemistry aspect. My nine year old bakes recipes completely by herself now and this would be a great addition to home learning.
Also thank you for sharing at my blog how the raw milk keeps easily for one week. That is really helpful.
Warm wishes,
Tonya
I have been getting this magazine for years and love it! Have you watched America's Test Kitchen, you'd like that if you like this magazine:-)
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