Our “local” library is actually a 36 town cluster with a delivery system that I suspect rival’s FedEx. A few keystrokes on my laptop and any book I desire is winding its way to my local library. Ready for me to pick up in a day or two.
Incredibly convenient for my fiction addiction it only recently occurred to me that it’s also great for cookbooks. After buying one too many cookbooks that didn’t live up to the cover, I thought a library loan/trial run was a great way to spend my money wisely.
Here’s what I do. Check out a list like this one at Eater.com, of the best new cookbooks coming out. Or check out the “hot new releases” section at Amazon.com. After a few clicks, I find some interesting candidates and then head to my library branch to pick them up.
Did you know that cookbooks are the 2nd most popular genre of publishing after mysteries? And consumers purchase around 60 million cookbooks per year? Woah!
Cookbook Dork
I am a cookbook dork, my husband knows just to abandon me at the food section when we walk into a bookstore. Once I get my hands on a new cookbook I read it through; looking at recipes and the front of book section for clues into how the author/chef thinks. I’ll try out a recipe or two and if I like the results I’ll go ahead and purchase the cookbook. I do believe in supporting my fellow writers/chefs/entrepreneurs but I want to make sure I’m bringing a useful tome into my house. Unfortunately, a lot of cookbooks have “filler” recipes that aren’t necessarily tasty. A tip I picked up from the folks at Cooks Illustrated.
Related: Do Food Bloggers Post Bad Recipes?
When I’m doing recipe research, I head for the internet, but I also consult my cookbooks that I know I can rely on for good food. I bring a combination of my experience, my cookbooks, and my research when putting together recipes for True Food Movement. When we say we taste-test our recipes we mean it. If it doesn’t taste good (no matter how pretty the picture) we don’t publish.
So how do you acquire cookbooks? Do you binge at the local bookstore or on Amazon? Have you tried the library as a resource? We’d love to know how you collect your recipes.
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