POLL: Cookbooks with pictures

[Nutmeg]

Hi all,

I recently became aware of a small quirk in my cooking: I almost never make a new recipe (unless it's been suggested by a friend) if there isn't an accompanying picture. It's easy to tell just from looking at the cookbooks on my bookshelves that the ones with pictures are very worn and the ones without probably haven't been opened more than a handful of times.

Anyway, I was just wondering if anyone else out there has the same habit, and if so, if they can recommend any good cookbooks with pictures.

Cheers!

[sneezles]

I sort of have that same little quirk but I have been forced to use recipes without pictures since most of my books are in storage. It just takes a little more time to decide which recipe to use.

[makedah]

I wouldn't say I NEVER make a recipe without a photo, but I am prejudiced toward the recipes with photos.

[emilycat]

I don't often decide to try a recipe based on whether or not it has an accompanying picture, but I'm much more likely to buy a cookbook if it's aesthetically pleasing -- in short, the cookbook must be pretty http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/smile.gif

In the (approximated) words of Alice, "Why would anyone want to read a book without pictures?"

[JanetB]

Well, I have to admit - - I love pictures - and I try to force myself to make things look like the picture - even though I know that they have had food stylists put all sorts of things on them to look good.

I too always resort to the cookbooks that show me how it should look!! I have also had a few embarrassing moments when things have not turned out as they should look - - and I had no clue!!!

[Nutmeg]

Glad I'm not alone!

So what are people's favorite cookbooks WITH pictures?

[SandyM]

I'm usually a visual-type person, but ironically enough, my most worn, most used, most dog-eared cookbook is Joy of Cooking, which just has sketches. Whenever I need help or advice (if I'm not on the computer that is!! http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/biggrin.gif ), that's the book I turn to.

[Packy]

CL's 5 ingredient/15 minutes cookbook has a picture with every recipe. It's very easy on the eyes and really a good cookbook.

[Chefmom]

Hm, I tend to pick up magazines and cookbooks based on the photos. Sure, the giant coffee table cookbooks are great to look through, but I have many books that have only sketches or nothing at all.

A photo is great and can motivate you to make the recipe, but I have been disappointed by many recipes based on looks alone. You figure that many people are cooking a LOT of food to make that one photo, and they are not going to publish a bad photo with a recipe, obviously.

What REALLY draws me to recipes is the author telling me something about that recipe. I love Cook's Illustrated because they take you from the inspiration to the completion of their recipes. I have NEVER had any desire to bake banana bread in my life. In my childhood it was a dark, gummy nasty thing that looked burned on the outside and underdone on the inside. Plus bananas are not my favorite food. When I read the article in CI about banana bread I got up, went to the market and purchased some yogurt and bananas and made my very first batch of banana bread (away from work) and I even tasted it. Lo and Behold I loved it! It is now a freezer staple and I am always giving my perfect loaves away and getting requests for more. In fact, I baked some fresh mini loaves this morning and am having tea right now!! http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/smile.gif

But, I do like the pictures, but what gets me into a recipe more than anything is a story or even a good description.

Also, I believe that photos lead people to disapointment even when they have success with the recipe. They see the professional photo with a perfect slice of cake sitting in a beautiful scene with perfect lighting. Then they make that cake and are disappointed because theirs is a little lopsided and it just isn't the same. Sure it can get to motivated to make the recipe or pick up the magazine on a whim, but sometimes even a good recipe can go to waste with poor results.

One of my all time favorite cookbooks was one I picked up when I was first married, "The Art of Fine Baking", by Paula Peck. It's a wonderful book of core recipes for any baker to finish in elegant ways. My copy is quite battered, along with my "The Cake Bible", by Rose Levy Beranbaum. That one has a few photos in the beginning, but her teaching is first rate. These books will be in style and great books 20 years from now, even without photos.

Tami

[AD]

In my opinion, the best pictures by far are from Pillsbury. Especially their baked goods. They used to have a "Complete Book of Baking" but I don't see it in stores anymore. I do recall it had a 1993 date, but it had the most beautiful pictures I've seen. However, all of Pillsbury's pictures are excellent. I must confess, I haven't tried too many of the recipes however, but I'm sure they are great. The ones I have tried have turned out very well.

[Mamasue]

I am a visual person also and tend to scan cookbooks on a shelf that has many pictures. http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/biggrin.gif Cookbooks with pictures tend to get purchased and added to my collection more so than any other. I tend to try recipes with pictures more than without (unless that pictureless recipe was recommended or rated by someone). With Mastercook, I also attach a picture to the recipe if it is supplied or I will scan it.

Speaking of visualization Chefmom has a great website with step by step pictures for some of her cookie recipes. Chefmom can you post your web address because I misplaced it.... http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/biggrin.gif

[Jewel]

I'm a bargain hunter by nature, and I find the photo-filled cookbooks with the shiny paper are so expensive! Sure, they're great to look at, but in a way they're intimidating. If your dish tastes good, but doesn't look the same, there's that little nagging feeling of near-failure! Personally, I'm drawn to LOOKING at the books with photos, but most of the time I end up BUYING the books that contain the most recipes, the complete nutrition information, and the most 'down-to-earth' dishes. I'm all for trying new things or I wouldn't be buying cookbooks in the first place! But on the otherhand, I seem to see a lot of books that have recipes for 'Stewed Yak' or something that I know my family would never touch!

The books I use the most are the CL books, but I also love two older books I found on Ebay. '365 Ways To Cook Chicken' by Cheryl Sedaker(1984), and '1001 Low-Fat Recipes' Second Edition, by Sue Spitler (1998). NEITHER of these books has a single photo, but they're packed with information, and have some of the finest recipes I've tried! The latter book features a recipe for Chicken and Roasted Red Pepper Puree that is to die for. I make the Red Pepper Puree in double or triple batches on a Sunday afternoon and freeze for use in all kinds of things!

So in short http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/biggrin.gif I don't need photos to consider it a good cookbook. In fact, I tend to shy away from them a bit more. If you didn't get CL magazine and only bought the Annual books, which rarely have a lot of photos, would you still try those recipes that we all love so much? http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/wink.gif

[RobinC]

My favorite cookbooks are the ones with pictures. For many of the reasons listed above. I have several of the Williams Sonoma cookbooks - every recipe has a picture! My new Weight Watchers cookbooks are getting a lot of use - they feature quite a few pictures.

[Emdg]

I also like cookbooks with pictures. If I'm buying a new one, it's a prerequisite. Also, I find more and more, that I won't buy it if they don't give the nutritional information.

[Gail]

Pictures are probably what initially draws me to a cookbook. Then, more often than not, I end up putting the thing back on the shelf.

In the end, it's both ingredient content and basic layout that sell the book. If it's in some manner hard on the eyes (Diana Kennedy's books to me are in that category) I tend to put them back. Books with a bit of background or feedback are interesting to me, too, and if there are a few pictures interspersed, great.