Delia's Complete How To Cook

wonderful careful cook - splendid instructions

A very easy book to follow for beguiners and with lots of recipes and techniques for the more advanced cook... I have been following Delia for a long time, and for me she is the best!

This is the best cookbook for learning how to cook everything from the ground up.You will not be disappointed.

Great book for absolute beginners and experienced alike.However, I ordered my copy from PBShop UK and it arrived in a decidedly secondhand condition. I'd enquire of the company how they pack etc before you buy.Matt

This is, hands down, the best cookbook I have ever read. It is a comprehensive and detailed guide to good, simple, and nourishing food. The thing I really love is that the book is focused more on methods than recipes. She goes into great detail to explain how to do things that I think we all take for granted. Delia also focuses on teaching you how to get the most flavor out of your ingredients. This means that some of the recipes might take a little longer, but the results are miles ahead of most "quick cooking" recipes that we hear so much about these days. This book encourages you to re-claim your kitchen, not get in and out of it as fast as you can! The chapters on eggs, bread, and vegetables should be required reading for everyone!On top of all of that, the recipes are so outstanding. The Roast Pork with Caramelized Apples is so easy to make, but so scrumptious. Adding a little bit of saffron to traditional Roast Potatoes gives them a boost in flavor and an irresistible golden color! The Pork Satay with peanut dipping sauce takes a fairly standard favorite and really amps up the flavor. Using a garlic and herb rub inside a roast chicken infuses the meat with flavor, and later it becomes a stunning sauce. Meringues take 5 minutes to make, but are a light and delicious way to have a treat. I could go on and on (there are 800 pages of recipes.) The point is that these are well tested, very flavorful, and extremely nutritious. I feel very good about giving my family these dishes!Since this book is only published in the UK, US readers will have to deal with the metric system. There are conversion charts, but it is impossible to convert grams to cups. A Cheap food scale and a glass Pyrex measuring jug will make it possible to easily cook with metric measurements. Oven temperatures and pan sizes have already been converted and are included in the recipes. Some names for things are different (Swede instead of Rutabaga for example) but it is very simple to find definitions if you run into trouble.We live in a world that is surrounded by food. We watch it on TV, read about it in magazines, and pay big money for both nice restaurants and fast food. This book counters all of that by teaching us what to look for, how to prepare it, and, most importantly, how to enjoy it. It is a valuable resource in my kitchen and I will never be without a copy. I highly recommend this book! I hope it becomes more widely known in the US.

THis book was advertised as being an “International Edition” I stupidly assumed this would include American measurements. WRONG Kitchen scales are necessary to use this bookHOW DO I RETURN IT?

I have been cooking for over 50 years (crikey!) During that time I have seen an enormous amount of changes in what we expect in our daily meals. I have also seen an awful lot of TV cooks and chefs come and go, and, although some might be sexier (I am a bit of a Gordon Ramsay fan) no one, but no one, in my opinion, comes anywhere close to Delia Smith in giving both the would-be and the experienced cook a rock solid grounding that will stand them in good stead for life.So, we have established that I like Delia. This book is an absolute masterpiece. Even to a keen and competent cook like me it offers a huge amount of inspiration. Beautifully presented, every page is packed with wonderful recipes, tips and information that will, because it is all explained so well, stick in the mind and offer a springboard to creating new recipes of your own. And the recipes all work. It is the only book you need.

A huge book but I love Delia, she makes things simple and easy to understand. I have just made the most perfect proper poached egg after years of disasters (my hubsand likes them extremely runny - yuck!) One or two things are explained in what might be construed to those who know everything as a bit patronising, but then there are those people out there like me who has just found an easier fail-safe way of doing something that was always a bit hit and miss.

Bought for my daughter as her go to cookery book starting out in her first home. Delia does not disappoint. This is a comprehensive guide...easy to follow clear instruction on all things basic in cooking. It's being used on a daily basis so can only assume it has passed muster with a very hard to please young lady. Pricey but worth every penny as a long term investment.

This was a present for an adult who has never cooked a thing. He now made several dishes and really enjoys the explanations and clear pictures to guide him; whilst his partner is enjoying the more adventurous recipes

I'm sure this type of book suits some cooks, but I find it excrutiatingly boring and not something I would pick up again to try to find a recipe. Even the most ancient tome has a recipe for mussels - this index goes from mushrooms to mustard; nothing for shellfish; not a mention of seafood! I would think it very uninspiring and offputting for new cooks and it's definitely not one which lends itself to sitting down and having a peruse to find a recipe to have a go at. All in all - very big and very boring! My loss; charity shop's gain.