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How Many COOKBOOKS Do You Own - And How Many Do You Actually Use??? |
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#1 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: Not far from that there London
Posts: 8,233
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How Many COOKBOOKS Do You Own - And How Many Do You Actually Use???
Be honest now!
![]() I have probably hundreds of em (or it feels like it) - and have whole bookcases full of the buggers! Ashamed to say though, that some I use a lot - but others I may only have tried one recipe in (and that might be the only reason I bought it in the first place too) but if it's a favourite recipe that becomes a regular then I suppose it's not all bad. I do have some though that I've not made anything out of - yet. ![]() Most of my books are centred around cakes and desserts - and I can't seem to resist new ones, despite all those I have already. I think it's an obsession...... ![]() ![]() I'm quite lured into buying all my fave celebs new books too - i.e. I have the new Nigella and have all of her books, bar the first one HOW TO EAT. Rachel Allen and Mary Berry are also faves.
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#2 |
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Join Date: Apr 2007
Posts: 10,268
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One or two tucked away somewhere. Most of mine were old and dated so I got rid of them last time we moved. Now I rely completely on the internet, cookery programmes and magazines.
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#3 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: The Sunny Side Of The Street
Posts: 40,106
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I have a few. The Works is a good shop for cookery books.
The internet is great for finding recipes. |
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#4 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: stirring the cauldron
Posts: 3,957
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Last time I counted (a couple of years ago) around the 350 mark.
Some I have never used, some a lot, but these days it is mainly the internet. I love flicking throught them though, for inspiration. They also look good in the bookcase in the kitchen ![]() My little gem is a Mrs Beeton's from 1895 - it is to me even though there is a bit too much British Imperialism in it that makes you go
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#5 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: Not far from that there London
Posts: 8,233
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I even take Nigella to bed with me to look at.
![]() Or Jamie..... Or Rachel.......Is that sad? Am I weird?
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#6 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: Mole Bothering
Posts: 13,964
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I swear by Simon Hopkinson - 'Roast Chicken and other stories' and the follow up 'second helpings of roast chicken' should be in every kitchen.
I own about 30 but Simon Hopkinsons are the grubbiest. |
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#7 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Mar 2007
Posts: 1,823
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i read my cookbooks in bed too - I like to read something before i go to bed.
the ones i use most are jamie oliver's ministry of food and real food by nigel slater - i love nigel slater |
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#8 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Sep 2008
Posts: 1,252
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Wow i can't believe people have so many cookbooks!! I would love more just to put on the shelves really as the internet is fantastic for recipes. I pretty much decide what i would like to cook the next week and trawl sites until i find a good recipe.
I have a few maybe 10 books, the only celeb one is Rachel Allen which isn't really good actually, i have only made one thing from it. The one i use most is 1000 recipes which i really like and a big baking one which is ok but mostly i look at my hand-written ones with all my favourites from the internet. |
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#9 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Jun 2005
Posts: 9,215
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I probably have about 30-40 and also read them in bed!
There are some (e.g. Mezzo, Rick Stein) that I haven't tried anything from, but most I have. My most recent acquisition, Bourke Street Bakery, is an absolute joy and it's my current fave. I love cookbooks me.
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#10 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Jun 2009
Posts: 1,080
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Probably 30-40, although I rarely use them these days. Anything new I look up on the internet and make my own thing by taking the bits I like best out of several ( should have bought some American Cup measures when I was in Canada ).
Most of the time I work from memory and do my own thing as I go along. If all else fails, read the instructions is my usual philosophy for life. The books I've used most over the years are my mums old Picture and Basic recipe books from the 1950's, they have conversion tables for different makes of gas cooker. My all time favourite book is the Galloping Gourmets book from the 70's TV series, there are a few recipes in there that have become my regulars, but I can do them from memory now. I have the Galloping Gourmet to thank for my all time speciality, home-made pizza. |
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#11 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Dec 2005
Posts: 4,806
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At the moment, I only own about fifteen. I use approx two.
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#12 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Aug 2003
Posts: 793
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Quote:
My little gem is a Mrs Beeton's from 1895 - it is to me even though there is a bit too much British Imperialism in it that makes you go
![]() There literally are 1000's of recipes from all over the world and nearly all the recipes with a little tweak here and there are still relevant.Although the section on how to manage your household servants comes across a little dated Also the etiquette when in the presence of royalty is a tad archaic I must have at least 20 to 30 books but mostly I use the internet. |
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#13 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: Bristol
Posts: 208
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I have about 150 - give or take.
I probably only use about 10% of them but I'm really trying to use more. I'm aiming for 4 new recipes a week on my blog taken from 4 different books each week but it's tough. I tend to get a lot of inspiration from t'interwebs too and I'm also trying to develp my own recipes too. So much food, so little time
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#14 |
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Guest
Join Date: Aug 2009
Posts: 5,728
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About 8 I think and a box of recipe cards, I keep forgetting to look at them as whenever I think of a food I want to eat I just google a recipe.
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#15 |
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Guest
Join Date: Aug 2009
Posts: 5,728
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deleted as i repeated
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#16 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: May 2005
Posts: 59,756
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Confession: I have a whole book case of cookery books but for some reason I hardly ever use them for a full receipie. I like buying cookery books, flicking through them for ideas but by time I make it to the kitchen I realise I don't have have the ingredients, can't be bothered to go shopping and end up making something almost completely different to what was in the book.
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#17 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 12,236
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I've got about 150. I read them constantly as I love reading about food.
I have two favourites, Nigel Slaters Appetite and for a cracking read Anthony Bourdains Les Halles Cookbook. |
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#18 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Nov 2006
Posts: 351
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I've bought more than I can remember, copied out the recipes I've wanted and passed the books on.
I've kept about a dozen books back that are all falling to bits. The silver spoon is my bible for Italian food, I've got a really knackered old huge readers digest called something like the cookery year. It has a homemade cover now as the binding fell off a decade ago. I get a lot of new ideas for cakes off tinterweb - I lose hours looking at new fondants and top tips for even sponge. |
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#19 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Jul 2003
Posts: 3,005
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More than I can count - dozens and dozens and dozens. Must have spent more money in my life on books than on clothes - never a weeks goes by without buying one. I just love reading them.
BUT - I am now veggie so don't use many of them ! I also read in bed and have just bought a Kindle e reader and so disappointed by the lack of cookery books available for it - Mrs. Beetons was a freebie so will have to read that again.
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#20 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Jun 2003
Location: Suffolk
Posts: 21,393
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I have about 20 I would guess, but i have never used them.
When i get a new book i go through it with a fine tooth comb and i mark all the pages i like the look of. But i have NEVER cooked a receipe from a cook book. I generally use receipes which my mum has hand written for me. She passed me a notebook that contains about 30 receipes that she said come out perfectly every time. If i want to make something special, i always refer to that notebook. It even contains all the cake receipes i always use. Oh - and i pull out receipes from the Mail on Saturday that i like the look of, but again - i have never tried them. I really must, but the amount of ingredients generally puts me off. I rarely have half of what i need, and to buy the other half would cost a fortune - so i dont bother
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#21 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: East London
Posts: 14,258
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When I had flat decorated ie brand new kitchen ,bedroom etc I knew I had to get rid of stuff as you do, I just stuck out loads of cook books for the recylcing.........I realised after that some of the books I will never ever get back cos they are out of print,
Kick up the arse eh...
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#22 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Jun 2009
Posts: 1,144
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I have 13 but only use about two recipes
![]() I just remember that some chef said that a cookbook is good if you use 1 recipe from it, heh. I use recipes from the internet most of the time - bigger databases and you can search by ingredients. |
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#23 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Jun 2005
Location: Sunny Manchester
Posts: 5,561
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Quote:
When I had flat decorated ie brand new kitchen ,bedroom etc I knew I had to get rid of stuff as you do, I just stuck out loads of cook books for the recylcing.........I realised after that some of the books I will never ever get back cos they are out of print,
Kick up the arse eh...![]() However to be honest apart from a few old faves from St Delia, I tend to google before trawling through the kitchen shelves. |
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#24 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Oct 2003
Location: Derbyshire
Posts: 13,041
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I have a couple of shelves of cookery books. There is a shelf for big ones - a few Nigella ones which I used to use a lot but haven't so much recently, a Jamie Oliver, Ripailles which is beautiful but I've never cooked from, a couple of Rachael Ray ones that are ok, and Jo Pratt's In the Mood for Food, which I've used a lot. And I've got another shelf of smaller ones, which are mostly vintage collector's things like my great grandmother's Mrs Beeton and a few of my granny's cookbooks, and a few cake books. My most used cookbooks are the Jo Pratt (I really like how it's themed by mood - comfort eating/healthy/indulgent/romantic etc) and my ring binder that's made up of recipes that I've gathered over the years from my mum or from tv or that I've adapted from other recipes.
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#25 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Sep 2008
Location: At college, in L.A.'s office
Posts: 54,221
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Our house is full of cookbooks but nobody really uses them. Mum sometimes reads them but never gets around to trying any of the recipes in them. There's at least 2-3 shelves covered in them!
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Kick up the arse eh...