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10.05.13
Book Review - Aida Mollenkamp's Keys to the Kitchen
If your beginning to cook your first meals or wanting to get back to basics then this is the must have cookbook for your kitchen. “Keys to the Kitchen” is true to it’s title. It’s the essential reference for becoming a more accomplished and adventurous cook.
“Good Cooking is based on a solid foundation,” states Aida, and she proves this theory with providing tips on knowing what to buy including sustainable options, where to buy your food, how to shop and a plan of attack for shopping the produce store. There’s also a handy ‘Label Lingo’ section to decipher all those ambiguous phrases used on food. What exactly is sustainable, conventional and dry-aged? Learn about these phrases and what to look for and you’ll quickly become a master of the market.
After you’ve worked out how and where to buy your produce, Aida outlines in details your next steps to fully equip yourself to become the most efficient and accomplished chef possible. Next steps include:
• Learning different cuts of Pork Beef Lamb, Poultry and Fish, what to look for in these cuts and what they are used for,
• The do’s and don’t of shellfish and how to cook and store,
• An outline of different cheeses, the types, handling and production methods,
• Herbs to explore and Spices to Know,
• How to store your food in you’re fridge, Freezer and Pantry,
• An outline of knives, and a recommended tool kit for cooking.
‘Fundamental rules to cooking’ forms part two, of this cookbook/manual. This section will show you what to do before you cook, take you back to essential preparation techniques and provide vital recipes that every chef should have in their cookery repertoire.
After you’ve mastered the art of shopping, storing and learnt your go-to recipes, its time to put your new found skills to practice with some recipes that are sure to impress. Part three of the book includes recipes for every occasion, breakfast, soups, salads, noodles, chicken, seafood and even meatless mains are just a few of the categories this section covers. Great recipes include hazelnut-cocoa French toast sandwiches, caramelized fennel tarte tatin, Prosciutto-Sage Chicken with Pan-Roasted Figs and Peruvian Skirt Steak Stir-Fry. The best part after learning the tricks of the trade is that these recipes will be a breeze.
Aida Mollenkamp’s “Keys to the Kitchen” is a compact cooking course that is sure to transfer an armature cook into a knowledgeable, skillful and artistic chef. Have a read; you may learn a thing or two.
Aida Mollenkamp's Keys to the Kitchen, Chronicle Books
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