Choosing between Julia and Martha

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Chopstix

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If I were to choose between Julia Child's The Way to Cook and Martha Stewart's Cooking School, which one would be more valuable in rounding out my cooking skills? I don't yet have any book by these authors. I hope some of you are familiar with these books.

Thanks in advance! :chef:
 
no question, Julia! She is the ultimate cooking teacher. and "the Way to Cook" is the best basic book out there, imho.
 
I do not own either of these books -- If I were to buy one there is no doubt in my mind which one it would be ---- The Way To Cook - Julia Child.

Enjoy!!
 
Chopstix, looking at your post it must be Julia! :)

"It is only from the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye."

---another fan of Le Petit Prince---
 
I own both of these books & Julia Child's "The Way To Cook" is my hands down favorite. My copy is falling apart I've used it so often, & her "Steam Roasted Goose with Port Wine Gravy" has been our traditional Xmas dinner since the day the book first came out. What's particularly nice about it is that it will first give a basic "master" recipe, & then follow that with several building-block variations to turn that one recipe into several completely different meals. Lots of room for easy experimentation & lots of fun without sacrificing traditional concepts.

Martha's book is nice (I was gifted with a copy for Xmas), but just isn't in the same league as Julia's. In addition, you have to be careful with Martha's cookbooks (I have nearly all of them), as the recipes don't always cook true & you have to always be at the ready to make adjustments. (And this isn't only my opinion - it's been a well-known fact for years re: her books.)

Don't get me wrong - both books are nice. But as far as good basic traditional knowledge & foolproof recipes & methods, I'd DEFINITELY choose Julia & save Martha's tome for another time.
 
IMHO you can learn something from every single cookbook out there! The best way to decide it to glance through both - - see which one suits you better. Sometimes it's simply in the layout of the book that makes things easier to understand and comprehend. See who has the best fundamental recipes. When I think of fundamentals my "go to" seems to end up Julia, also. I think that's the way our brains work. She was our teacher back when we were just learning and has been embedded in our minds as the go to person.
 
IMHO you can learn something from every single cookbook out there! The best way to decide it to glance through both - - see which one suits you better. Sometimes it's simply in the layout of the book that makes things easier to understand and comprehend. See who has the best fundamental recipes. When I think of fundamentals my "go to" seems to end up Julia, also. I think that's the way our brains work. She was our teacher back when we were just learning and has been embedded in our minds as the go to person.

I'll go with that. Everytime I bought a book without skimming through it, I didn't really like it.
 
I have nothing against Martha and I love her decorating books. But I definitely use my Julia Child cookbooks at least weekly whereas I don't find Martha's cookbooks quite as user-friendly.
 
I have read both and before you buy check your library. Most libraries have Julia's cookbook. I just took it out again recently and think it's a better classic TEACHING text. That means she uses terms like master recipe. These are the basic recipes you learn in cooking school and that build technique. Those recipes are a good foundation if you want to learn good technique and see how those branch out into multiple recipes. I think that book gives you more for your money - if you truly look at it as a teaching manual.

Stacy
NY,NY
 
I have read both and before you buy check your library. Most libraries have Julia's cookbook. I just took it out again recently and think it's a better classic TEACHING text. That means she uses terms like master recipe. These are the basic recipes you learn in cooking school and that build technique. Those recipes are a good foundation if you want to learn good technique and see how those branch out into multiple recipes. I think that book gives you more for your money - if you truly look at it as a teaching manual.

Stacy
NY,NY

imho, even if you just look at it for the great, well-tested recipes that always work. ;)
 
so true

imho, even if you just look at it for the great, well-tested recipes that always work. ;)
June,

Where is "Metro New York"?

I'm in Manhattan, so storage space is an issue - even in a large Pre-war apt. I love cookbooks but rarely use them for recipes - I use them as reference materials.

Stacy
 
Wow. Lots of replies, almost unanimous too. Come to think of it, Julia was 100% into cooking while Martha is into a lot of things. This makes Julia more of the authority on cooking then. The comments on integrity of Julia's recipes is very important to me so it's definitely Julia then.

I watch Martha's shows when I can catch them but I've never seen Julia's shows. They never aired in my part of the world. And this is why I coudn't decide between the 2 books.

My next question is, if I were to choose between 2 of Julia's books, The Art of Mastering French Cooking, and The Way to Cook, which one should I get? Thanks for all the replies!
 
The way to cook

My next question is, if I were to choose between 2 of Julia's books, The Art of Mastering French Cooking, and The Way to Cook, which one should I get?

Julia is decidedly French trained - so in both books you'll see the classical nature of French techniques, but I think that The Way to Cook is just a really well done, easy to read and invaluable reference book for all levels of cooks with and without chef training.

As I said, I recently took it out of the library again, which isn't a big deal since I live around the corner from my local branch. I find it's a book that holds up no matter how long you've cooked or baked. But don't buy it for the recipes - buy it for the education!!! Once you've mastered the techniques - you'll just "know" the recipes you want to create!!

Enjoy the journey.

Stacy
NY,NY
 
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