Twenty
by Michael Ruhlman · first published 2011
90% recommend10% neutral
Why HN recommends it
Teaches cooking through 20 core techniques, such as roasting and boiling, rather than individual recipes, with a handful of recipes per technique. Often named a strong first cookbook for building real cooking skill.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
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I think Ruhlman's Twenty is a great resource for the kind of thing you're looking for. "All cooking comes down not to recipes but rather to techniques. In Ruhlman’s Twenty, cook, writer, and food authority Michael Ruhlman distills…
on “Make Dinner: A Home Cooking Manifesto” ↗…that swear by it. I like it fine! It sort of joins a pantheon of "if you're only going to own one cooking book make it this one" books, which would include Bittman's "How To Cook Anything", Ruhlman's "Twenty", the Cooks Illustrated Cookbook, and, I don't know, maybe "Joy of Cooking"? Of those books, I think Ruhlman's "Twenty" is by far the best. It's similar to "Salt, Fat" in the sense that it breaks cooking…
on “‘Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat’ Is a Love Letter to Amateur Cooks” ↗Ruhlman's Twenty is a great first cooking book. Heartily seconded. I'd get "Ratio", and the Kindle version of "The Flavor Bible", to accompany it. That'll set you up for a lifetime of cooking without ever looking up a…
on “Rice Cooker Hacks - The Ebert Way” ↗For great onion techniques see "Ruhlman's Twenty: 20 Techniques, 100 Recipes, A Cook's Manifesto" by Michael Ruhlman. Before this book I didn't know there was a difference between sweating them and caramelizing them.
on “False information on the internet is hiding the truth about onions” ↗I was underwhelmed by "Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat". Good information, great presentation, but not up there with the very best books, IMO. I like Ruhlman's "Twenty", maybe followed by "Ratio". "How to Cook without a Book" by Anderson is great, although you probably needwhole rooms in your house for food storage if you took her "what you should have in your pantry"…
on “The Why of Cooking (2017)” ↗I was in the exact same position, and I can't recommend Ruhlman's Twenty enough. It goes through 20 techniques/ingredients, from ‘Water’ and ‘Onions’ to ‘Roast’ and ‘Boil’, giving you all the information you might possibly need, and then provides a handful of recipes to explore…
on “The unreasonable effectiveness of just showing up everyday” ↗Seconding Ruhlman's Twenty, it's the book that really taught me how to cook. By focusing on techniques, it allows you to understand that when a recipe says "saute onions on medium-high heat", it really means to sweat them, and…
on “The unreasonable effectiveness of just showing up everyday” ↗…the Cooks Illustrated books. One nice thing about them: they publish new ones every year, so you can get one a few years old for very cheap. If you want to be "interesting" about this: get Ruhlman's Twenty (which is 20 core techniques with sample recipes) and Ratio, and then use the Internet for everything else. If you read Twenty, you'll probably be able to spot bullshit on the Internet.
on “The Minimum Viable Kitchen” ↗…books by Michael Ruhlman, if that's your desire: 1. The Elements of Cooking: Translating the Chef's Craft for Every Kitchen 2. Ratio: The Simple Codes Behind the Craft of Everyday Cooking 3. Ruhlman's Twenty: 20 Techniques 100 Recipes A Cook's Manifesto
on “Make Dinner: A Home Cooking Manifesto” ↗Wholeheartedly agree about process vs. color-by-number recipes... For those who do like to read offline, I do recommend Ruhlman's "Twenty" [0]. It is well written and illustrated and provides a lens into process via carefully selected recipes. [0] Full title being ``Ruhlman's Twenty: 20 Techniques, 100 Recipes, A Cook's Manifesto (The…
on “Why do recipe writers lie about how long it takes to caramelize onions? (2012)” ↗…going to teach anyone much that's meaningful in its current state, but if you change your mind and want to really learn about the glorious complexity of cooking with eggs I'd recommend the book Ruhlman's Twenty as a great starting point. That book does what this app says it does (but doesn't), and teaches you why things are done the way they are. It also occasionally has a recipe. To the authors of the app,…
on “Show HN: Parsnip – Duolingo for Cooking” ↗…"maybes", haven't had time to read/research them fully.] Ivan Orkin (Chef focused on Ramen) Cooking with Kimiko-san Kimiko's World: Cooking, culture, and festivals of Japan ---[Additional]---: Ruhlman Twenty - Michael Ruhlman White Heat - Marco Pierre White Sauces - James Peterson Cookwise/Bakewise
on “Cooking for Founders” ↗