: The Italian Cook Book--The Art of Eating Well--(annotated)

The Italian Cook Book--The Art of Eating Well--(annotated)

Binding: Kindle Edition
Format: Kindle eBook
Label: Bodmas
Languages: EnglishPublished
Manufacturer: Bodmas
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 164
Publication Date: November 25, 2011
Publisher: Bodmas
Release Date: November 25, 2011
Studio: Bodmas

Editorial Review:

Product Description:
Pellegrino Artusi died in 1911 at the age of 91. He was the most famous cookbook author in Italy. His most important book is The Art of Eating Well. As his book both promoted and gained in popularity from the spread of standard Italian (he lived in Florence, birthplace of standard Italian) it persists into today. Maria Gentile was creating an English version that was published eight years later.

The current English version of Artusi's master work begins with broth:

BRODO:
As everyone knows, to obtain a good broth, you begin by placing the meat in cold water and you keep the pot at the barest simmer...

Maria Gentile likewise begins:

BROTH OR SOUP STOCK
(Brodo)
In order to obtain good broth the meat must be put in cold water, and then allowed to boil slowly.

One more example, just for emphasis:

Her first recipe is SOUP OF CAPPELLETTI, which begins:
This soup is called of "Cappelletti" or "little hats" on account of the shape of the "Cappelletti".

Artusi has this as the first entry in the next chapter, this one entitled SOUPS:

CAPPELLETTI ALL'USO
DI ROMAGNA
Cappelletti get their name because they're shaped like hats [the word cappello means "hat"...

She has many of the same titles in her recipes. Now you may think that I am saying she took his book to America in the great immigration following World War I, which she naturally calls The Great War, and takes credit for it in English. Artusi is not mentioned anywhere. But I do not see any point in trying to make any such argument.

First of all, this all happened a whole other Artusi life span ago. Secondly, and more importantly, as much as there are close replications of his entries, she rewrites them freely. For example, Artusi mentions that onions are not suitable for everybody because onion is windy. Gentile would not be so indelicate, and simply drops them altogether. Where Artusi complains that modern doctors have overturned the traditional wisdom that broth is nutritious, he simply admits to not having the competence to prove the doctors' error. But Gentile goes on to make a point that she has a variation that is to be used for invalids. For myself, I am happy to have both of them out together and let the to old cooks have their conversation for my benefit.
You may well start here with Maria because she is free. Pellegrino is running between $75 and $450 for a mint copy. Used start off around $25:
[...]

Amazon sells Artusi's book of the same title but they removed the link from this review so you will have to look it up on your own,, should you be curious.

But I warn you. If you take to her strongly, you will want her great predecessor. The other nice thing about Pellegrino is that he has much less of an aversion to giving each ingredient's measure. Secondly, he comes with an expert editor and translator in the person of Kyle Phillips III. Finally, he is such an Italian. He has lots of extra pages where he holds forth on this and that. Maria is a much more focused, quiet new American.

Which is to say that if you intend to make kitchen use of this book, you must have enough feel for cooking that you can figure your own proportions. These all work fine, but a beginner might feel lost in the suga, so to speak. If that is you, get her anyway and just read for a while. This is an important historical work of proven culinary practice in a great cuisine. The five stars are for what this book has and its place in history and the culinary tradition.

Product Description:
Pellegrino Artusi died in 1911 at the age of 91. He was the most famous cookbook author in Italy. His most important book is The Art of Eating Well. As his book both promoted and gained in popularity from the spread of standard Italian (he lived in Florence, birthplace of standard Italian) it persists into today. Maria Gentile was creating an English version that was published eight years later.

The current English version of Artusi's master work begins with broth:

BRODO:
As everyone knows, to obtain a good broth, you begin by placing the meat in cold water and you keep the pot at the barest simmer...

Maria Gentile likewise begins:

BROTH OR SOUP STOCK
(Brodo)
In order to obtain good broth the meat must be put in cold water, and then allowed to boil slowly.

One more example, just for emphasis:

Her first recipe is SOUP OF CAPPELLETTI, which begins:
This soup is called of "Cappelletti" or "little hats" on account of the shape of the "Cappelletti".

Artusi has this as the first entry in the next chapter, this one entitled SOUPS:

CAPPELLETTI ALL'USO
DI ROMAGNA
Cappelletti get their name because they're shaped like hats [the word cappello means "hat"...

She has many of the same titles in her recipes. Now you may think that I am saying she took his book to America in the great immigration following World War I, which she naturally calls The Great War, and takes credit for it in English. Artusi is not mentioned anywhere. But I do not see any point in trying to make any such argument.

First of all, this all happened a whole other Artusi life span ago. Secondly, and more importantly, as much as there are close replications of his entries, she rewrites them freely. For example, Artusi mentions that onions are not suitable for everybody because onion is windy. Gentile would not be so indelicate, and simply drops them altogether. Where Artusi complains that modern doctors have overturned the traditional wisdom that broth is nutritious, he simply admits to not having the competence to prove the doctors' error. But Gentile goes on to make a point that she has a variation that is to be used for invalids. For myself, I am happy to have both of them out together and let the to old cooks have their conversation for my benefit.
You may well start here with Maria because she is free. Pellegrino is running between $75 and $450 for a mint copy. Used start off around $25:
[...]

Amazon sells Artusi's book of the same title but they removed the link from this review so you will have to look it up on your own,, should you be curious.

But I warn you. If you take to her strongly, you will want her great predecessor. The other nice thing about Pellegrino is that he has much less of an aversion to giving each ingredient's measure. Secondly, he comes with an expert editor and translator in the person of Kyle Phillips III. Finally, he is such an Italian. He has lots of extra pages where he holds forth on this and that. Maria is a much more focused, quiet new American.

Which is to say that if you intend to make kitchen use of this book, you must have enough feel for cooking that you can figure your own proportions. These all work fine, but a beginner might feel lost in the suga, so to speak. If that is you, get her anyway and just read for a while. This is an important historical work of proven culinary practice in a great cuisine. The five stars are for what this book has and its place in history and the culinary tradition.

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