America’s Test Kitchen/Associated Press
“The Broad Fork” by Hugh Acheson. (Clarkson Potter/Publishers via AP)Have you ordered your copy of the latest five-ingredient-paleo-gluten-free-Nordic-kale smoothie cookbook yet? Me either.
You know why? Because nobody outside hipster man bun-loving enclaves in Brooklyn and Los Angeles actually eats that way. Just don’t tell the publishing industry, which forever seems to trip over itself to get into ink whatever outrageous culinary fad crosses the editors’ Facebook feeds. Surely there’s a better way
Until then, we’re left to sift through the thousands of food books spewed forth each year. And we do it with particular fervor during this season of gifting as we search for books to satiate the foodies on our lists. So to save you a bit of trouble, I’ve assembled my list of the most useful, most inspiring and most interesting food books of 2015. In no particular order:
“Kitchen Hacks: How Clever Cooks Get Things Done” by Cook’s Illustrated magazine (America’s Test Kitchen, $19.95)
The folks at Cook’s Illustrated magazine have long collected kitchen tips and hacks from readers – the original culinary crowdsourcing. Now they’ve gathered their top 1,000 tips into one book (perfectly sized for stuffing in stockings). Nicely organized by circumstance (such as cleaning, food storage and how to transport things), the book is an amusing collection of ways to help you get the job done.