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A comprehensive and relatable guide to cooking techniques. The featured recipes are crowd pleasers and lushly illustrated. Although the book features European measurements there is clear information on American measures if you have a simple kitchen scale.

This is a very useful and unique cookbook, with beautiful photography. It covers everything from baking bread to curing meat. The sections include: Baking (breads, crumpets, pastries) Dairy (butter, yogurt, cream, soft cheeses, ice cream), Preserving (marmalades, jams and jellies, chutney, pickling), Bottling and Liqueurs (bottled, or cannned, here in the US fruits, ginger beer and various flavored liqueurs) and Curing and Potting (sausage making, salting, cold smoking and pâtés), Each section starts with an overview of the types of ingredients and equipment you’ll need along with a “bit of technique.” The book is very thorough and makes me feel like I could accomplish and of the recipes. The raspberry ripple parfait looks amazing!
I receive an advance reader copy of this book via netgalley in exchange for my honest review.

The Essential Cook's Kitchen by Alison Walker seems to be aimed for European readers as her cookbook uses presumed British terminology. The language may not translate well to an American audience unless a bit of research is done ahead of time. For example there is a recipe called Sloe Jelly. I might be interested in preparing Sloe Jelly if I knew what to buy. Also, the canning portion of the book does not follow USDA guidelines. Jelly jars are not sterilized in the oven which this book recommends. Another non=USDA technique is the preparation of jams or jellies and not using a hot water bath as recommended by the USDA.

You may need a scale to prepare some of the recipes too as some of the recipes use weighed measurements to prepare the recipe. For example in the Basic Hot-Water Crust Pastry recipe 225g (7 1/2 oz) plain white flour is used in the recipe.

I would recommend this cookbook with reservations.


Review written after downloading a galley from NetGalley.

I loved this book - so many great ideas for good home cooking & baking - vicoria sponge, scones and ginger cake - good food that my mum and nana made and I ate after coming home from school - this book is beautifully illustrated and took me right back to my childhood - thank you for the advance review copy - I have now purchased a hard copy - as I just want to browse over it and look at all the beautiful picture.

THE ESSENTIAL COOK’S KITCHEN BY ALISON WALKER

Alison Walker’s book The Essential Cook’s Kitchen is a perfect cook book in which the traditional method of cooking is advised and applied. This is her third book, earlier two being, Handmade gifts from the kitchen in 2014, one more in2017 with the same title. She works as an editor of food &drink in”’ ÇOUNTRY LIVING MAGAZINE”” and loves cooking with seasonal ingredients.
‘’Secrets, especially with cooking, are best shared so that the cuisine lives on.”” Bo Songvisava
Author is up to this quote and shared with readers the many nuances of handling equipment, kneading, baking, preserving and bottling, curing methods, recipes, tips, and information on traditional cooking and country cooks.
The book carries a whole lot of details about baking, dairy, preserving, bottling &liqueurs, curing &potting in individual chapters. Every concept has got a clean format in the form of ingredients, equipment, & a bit of technique. The photographs in the book were highly appealing and help to understand the procedure faster.
The book THE ESSENTIAL COOK’S KITCHEN is loaded with numerous features and hand overs to readers the minute cautions that needs to be taken so that the end products comes out to the level of expectation.
A pinch of salt is essential to heighten flavour is the idea that the author mentions it thoroughly in every chapter as a reminder with much patience.
I quote from page 43, about cakes, “”Even if it sinks in the middle in your first go or looks slightly overdone, a swirl of lightly whipped cream and a scattering of fresh fruit will hide any mistakes – call it a pudding and no one will be any the wiser.”” A nice suggestion to manage a tough situation. It’s a point to be noted by students studying food technology.
In the dairy section, “”Rennet”” is clearly explained and vinegar or lemon juice will do for the vegetarian’s is stated without missing. This shows the author’s attention on people in various walks of life.
‘’Without ice creams, there would be darkness and chaos.”” – Don Kardong. Not to create any chaos, the author has taken amply care in illustrating ice creams and sorbets. The intro to this section itself is amazing.
Highly appreciable and noteworthy feature of the author is she never demands to use a particular brand or product or ingredient or equipment rather she recommends adequate substitute without fail. It’s a pleasurable and convenient option for the readers. With the same flow she also advices about when to eat &how to eat.
When dealing with the preserving works, the author emphasises on labelling the product which helps to identify and use the product at a right time. Derivation of the name MARMALADE is also discussed in the book.
‘’How sad the world would be without the smell of jam!” George Duhamel. Surely, that’s why, the author has worked upon preparing wide variety of jams, explains the readers about the pectin levels , liquid pectin and how to make own jelly bag?
The need to understand the ingredients and the way they react with one another is smoothly narrated by insisting to use the equipment that does not react with acetic acid of vinegar, while preparing chutneys. Different types of vinegar- malt, wine, cider, distilled, but to use only that which has at least 5% of acetic acid for best pickling. More over the author primarily warns to use whole spices as ground versions cloud the vinegar.

Regarding sterilisation the author strictly writes the required temperature to complete the process their by following hygiene when reusing the bottles and jars. Bottling jars and bottles should be thicker than normal jam jars to withstand the heating process. Even in using nylon sieve, she holds the specification to avoid adverse reactions.
In page 137, the author has given a chart stating the bottling times and testing for a seal before storing, is an excellent quality check procedure to ensure the product to last longer.
In the last chapter of curing and potting, the necessity to preserve, how pig & fish, are preserved in olden days before refrigeration, is a subject to make aware of traditional methods. An all purpose wet cure (Brine) is the highlight in the columns of bit of technique.
I quote from page 171 “ without sufficient fat, sausages are dry and dull, so fat phobics should read no further and turn its talents to making yogurt or bread.”” The author humorously puts forth the fat requirement for the sausages.
In the vegetable terrines, bain marie is employed and they are best to be served on the same day. The author successfully completes the book with some address to get the general kitchen equipment, bread making ingredients &equipment, antique kitchen &many more along with due acknowledgements.
“Anybody can make you enjoy the first bite of a dish, but only a real chef can make you enjoy the last” – Francois minot.
Both the book &recipes are enjoyable till the last.

Loved it! I love to cook, but still prefer to stick to 'basic' recipes (I can screw those up pretty easily). Despite having seen similar recipes before, I'm always on the search for more simple versions. Just seeing the baguette recipe in here, broken down into 6 numbered steps, I was relieved :D. It's a beautifully designed book, with great photos, and most important (for me) - numbered steps for the recipe. I'd never come across 'crumpet molds', never heard of a 'vinegar cake' (what?!), barely sugar, and more - all in this book. I'm super excited to be able to work on these recipes that 1) my family would enjoy, 2) have ingredients that are simple to find, 3) are easy to follow, and 4) are tasty.

This is an amazing and informative recipe book. The recipes are brilliant and the photos that accompany them are perfect.

The picky eater that I am, when I see a book such as this - that makes me want to eat everything on the page - they have surely outdone themselves! This is one of those books that seeing in eBook format makes me NEED to see and touch it. Images throughout this book are truly incredible - clean, fresh and beyond appealing. Love the simple, clean country look. Contains many incredibly helpful tips and techniques for both cooking and kitchen, that every cook or baker would benefit from as well as a collection of both basic and creative recipes! Steps are wonderfully detailed and illustrated - truly a work of art!

Alison wants to take the reader back to a simpler time, when people grew their own ingredients and used old-fashioned tools to make their food, instrad of buying ready-made food that you do not have to integrate the ingredients together.
The first section of the book deals with Baking, where accurate weighing, measuring and cooking temperatures are vital.
The author discusses what flour does and what the best types of flour are; she does the same thing with salt, yeast and butter. You will learn how to make good bread, what kind of equipment you will need, and how to knead the bread properly so that it rises and turns out well.
You are given specific, easy to follow directions, so that your bread is easy to make and consistently good. The photos give you an idea what your bread do should look like as it is mixed, kneaded and left to rise, which is a big help!
You will also learn how to make baguettes, cheese and cayenne sticks, rye bread and crumpets.
You will also learn how to make pastry, yogurt, cheese, jams, marmalades, pickles and many other foods by using ingredients, tools, and techniques that have been used and proved for many years.
Enjoy cooking homemade meals that your family will love for many years!

A beautiful presentation and a great addition to any cook's kitchen. Recipes in 5 groups with a wide range of options from food basics to fine dining. Index provided.
- Baking (breads, pastry, cake and sweets)
- Dairy (Butter, cream yogurt, soft cheeses, ice cream and sorbets)
- Preserving (Marmalade, jams and jellies, chutney, pickling)
- Bottling & Liqueurs (Bottling, liqueurs and cordials)
- Curing and Potting (Salting, cold smoking, making sausages, terrines and pates)

Note: Written for those interesting in British-style of cooking. This American reviewer would need to study a bit more to translate some of the terms used but this book is definitely worth the effort.