OK, you haven’t bought a cookbook in years. But what about the grandkid who cooks well and has you over for dinner, or doesn’t cook well and has you over for dinner? One deserves an award, the other needs help. Here’s the fix . . .
Chef Samin Nosrat published her cookbook Salt Fat Acid Heat in 2017 to wide acclaim including a James Beard Award. The opening chapter on salt is the best analysis of that subject I’ve ever read (read it twice). It supports my view that cooking is all about hard work and salt. The other chapters on fat, acid and heat are thorough and well thought out. “If you can master the use of salt, fat and acid and how to heat them — you can cook,” says Nosrat.
Forty-five years ago, I was blown away by James Beard’s Theory and Practice of Good Cooking. It is still in print. So too, I believe, Salt Fat Acid Heat will be around a long while. It is a significant contribution to the culinary literature and worthy of your attention.
Here’s the deal . . . buy the book. Read it. And only then wrap it up nicely and give it to the grandkid (if you can part with it).
PS. There is a delightful four-part Netflix documentary featuring Samin Nosrat, her cooking and her points of view.
