The Survey Says
When not creating lesson plans, correcting homework or preparing for class, many teachers like to cook. We thought it would be interesting to find out what are the Top 5 cookbooks used by teachers today.
What we found is that many teachers still use the classics. Several of these cookbooks would probably be found on the shelves of our teachers’ moms as well. But some things are timeless and that must be true of good cookbooks as well.
Here are the Top 5 cookbooks listed according to the ESGI and ThinkFives survey.
Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking by Marcella Hazan
Essentials of Italian Cooking is a culinary bible for anyone looking to master the art of Italian cooking, bringing together Marcella Hazan’s most beloved books, The Classic Italian Cookbook and More Classic Italian Cooking, in a single volume. Designed as a basic manual for cooks of all levels of expertise—from beginners to accomplished professionals—it offers both an accessible and comprehensive guide to techniques and ingredients and a collection of the most delicious recipes from the Italian repertoire.
As home cooks who have used Marcella’s classic books for years (and whose copies are now splattered and worn) know, there is no one more gifted at teaching us just what we need to know about the taste and texture of a dish and how to achieve it, and there is no one more passionate and inspiring about authentic Italian food. (Amazon)
https://www.amazon.com/Essentials-Classic-Italian-Cooking-Marcella/dp/039458404X
Rachael Ray: 30 Minute Meals
With over 25 cookbooks in print, it’s no surprise that Rachel Ray is #4 on our list. She is the host of the Food Network’s 30 Minute Meals and Rachael Ray’s Kids Cook-Off, as well as the Cooking Channel’s and the Food Network’s Week in a Day.
30 Minute Meals is an outstanding collection of Rachael Ray’s best 30-Minute Meals, now in one volume. It features over 150 meals selected from eight of Rachael’s bestselling titles.
This classic Rachael Ray collection will help you get dinner on the table in no time, with easy-to-follow directions and budget-friendly ingredients. With over 120 recipes to choose from, favorites include Quick Jambalaya, Ziti with Sausage and Cannellini, and Fajitas, along with kid-tested fare like Zesty Chicken Cutlets Parmigiana and Mini-Meatball Soup.
https://www.amazon.com/30 Minute Meals
Paul Prudhomme’s Louisiana Kitchen
For those who like to spice it up a bit, you can’t go wrong with either Paul Prudhomme or Emeril’s cookbooks. The book has roots going back over two hundred years, and today it is the one really vital, growing regional cuisine in America. No one is more responsible than Paul Prudhomme for preserving and expanding the Louisiana tradition, which he inherited from his own Cajun background.
Chef Prudhomme’s incredibly good food has brought people from all over America and the world to his restaurant, K-Paul’s Louisiana Kitchen, in New Orleans. To set down his recipes for home cooks, however, he did not work in the restaurant. In a small test kitchen, equipped with a home-size stove and utensils normal for a home kitchen, he retested every recipe two and three times to get exactly the results he wanted. (Amazon)
https://www.amazon.com/s?k=paul+prudhomme+louisiana+kitchen+cookbook&ref=nb_sb_noss
Mastering the Art of French Cooking by Julia Child
For sixty years, this has been the definitive cookbook on French cuisine for American readers. It deserves a place of honor in every kitchen and not surprisingly, it is listed as the #2 choice by teachers.
Featuring 524 delicious recipes and over 100 instructive illustrations to guide readers every step of the way, Mastering the Art of French Cooking offers something for everyone, from seasoned experts to beginners who love good food and long to reproduce the savory delights of French cuisine.
Julia Child focuses on key recipes that form the backbone of French cookery and lend themselves to an infinite number of elaborations—bound to increase anyone’s culinary repertoire.
She was a culinary legend and numerous videos can be found online demonstrating her techniques. (Amazon)
https://www.amazon.com/Mastering-Art-French-Cooking-1/dp/0394721780
Betty Crocker Cookbook
This is the book home cooks have come to trust and it’s #1 on our teacher list. Betty Crocker’s cookbook is the best-selling cookbook in American history, with approximately 75 million copies sold since 1950.
“Not only did it guide generations of women in the kitchen; it was a cultural force, functioning as a blueprint for what it meant to be a good wife and mother. Cookbooks are one of those banal texts that we might ignore or dismiss, but this one, like so many others, tells a story about U.S. food and everything that is wrapped up in it: family, power, class, culture, ethnicity, gender—and what it means to be American.” (Americanon by Jess McHugh)
The 12th edition of the Betty Crocker Cookbook has updated recipes, new photography, plus expanded and new chapters to meet the needs of today’s home cooks.
It may be over 70 years old, but many teachers are still using this cookbook as a vital resource in their kitchen.
https://www.amazon.com/Betty-Crocker-Cookbook-Recipes-Today/dp/0470906022
Other Resources
- https://food52.com/blog/23857-best-cookbooks-of-the-last-decade-piglet-tournament
- https://lithub.com/how-a-single-cookbook-shaped-what-it-meant-to-be-an-american-woman/
What is your favorite Cookbook?
Can’t wait to check these cookbooks out for my next recipe to follow!!!
These are great choices, my favorite cookbook right now is the internet 😂
I’ve never been much of a fan of cookbooks, but I love a good, short, easy recipe!
Cannot wait to read these cookbooks, even though I am not that good of a cook. LOL