Encyclopedia of Cooking Skills & Techniques

This is the indispensable how-to-cook book, teaching all the basic techniques and then how to use them. This is the most accessible, comprehensive visual guide to cookery processes, all shown in step-by-step detail. This is the perfect practical format with every technique then used in an easy example recipe. It offers over 200 recipes, from simple soups to delectable desserts. It reveals the secrets of classic techniques, as well as modern innovations - so you can choose the best and most effective method for every task. There are hundreds of recipe variations and ideas, clear, handy tips for coping with tricky procedures, and helpful advice on ingredients and equipment. It features over 1000 specially commissioned colour photographs. This accessible book presents all the essential cookery techniques clearly and simply with step-by-step photographs, and then shows how to put them into practice in over 200 recipes and variations. Most cookbooks assume a prior knowledge and understanding of skills and terminology - that we know how to bread fish for frying, spatchcock a chicken, make gravy, clarify butter, peel tomatoes, mince garlic, cook rice, make an omelette, melt chocolate, toast nuts, line a flan tin, make a whisked sponge or knead bread dough. All these techniques, and many more, are fully explained in this guide, so you can follow the step-by-step photographs and create delicious dishes with confidence. The recipes allow you to practise the skills you are learning or perfecting, and also provide a classic collection of everyday dishes from roasts to stews to puddings, in one easy volume. If you want to cook, have to cook or like to cook, this invaluable guide will set you on the way.

Norma MacMillan has edited countless books on food and wine, including many for Marks & Spencer, and, most recently, Anne Willan's Chateau Cuisine and Lorenza de Medici's Villa Table. She is a member of the International Association of Culinary Professionals and the Guild of Food Writers. Carole Clements, consultant editor, attended the Ecole de Cuisine La Varenne in Paris, where she received the Grande Diplome Culinaire. A freelance food writer, editor and consultant, Carole co-authored Traditional American Cooking, and the Time-Life Healthy Home Cooking series.