Does anyone subscribe to this? I've had a couple of recommendations that this is the ultimate reference material in technical cooking.

My wife subscribes and I have been the happy recipient of many of their recipies. I have their grilling and bar-B-que book and I find it very useful. I like their semi-scientific approach to "perfecting" classic recipies.

I check out the magazine every now and then and I do like it. However, I do find that their approach can be a bit too fastidious at times.

I subscribe to the print edition. I like it. Agree with Altaholic that they can get a little nitpicky in their procedures, but the results of following their directions fastidiously has yet to yield anything but a delicious result. I'm reupping my subscription.

PH

quote:

Originally posted by PurpleHaze:
I subscribe to the print edition. I like it. Agree with Altaholic that they can get a little nitpicky in their procedures, but the results of following their directions fastidiously has yet to yield anything but a delicious result. I'm reupping my subscription.

PH

So otherwise, Bella Donna shouldn't bother to subscribe.

Au contraire! She should subscribe, and then post her results. We haven't had a good cooking thread from Bella in a long while....

PH

This is a great magazine. Have been reading it for 10 years. ALways great results. They also offer at the end of the year a hardbound edition of all months magazines. I like that a lot.

What's in the mag? Just recipes? If so, do the same ones appear online?

Good question. Anyone got specific examples?

I have a cookbook named "The Best Recipe" that was written by the editors of the magazine. They have disected ever standard recipe and listed their results. It's really a fun cookbook to use for the classics and very educational. I imagine the magazine is great if the book is any indication of the periodical.

quote:

Originally posted by mwagner7700:
What's in the mag? Just recipes? If so, do the same ones appear online?

Lots of recipes. Really thorough tests on kitchen tools (knives, juicers, pots and pans etc.) Kitchen shortcuts. A usually well written and interestting little story by the editor to start each issue.

I've only checked their website a couple times (when they have links that are free) as it's an extra expense and I just haven't needed it. I understand that their entire database of recipes is available there.

PH

I guess that's what I'm trying to decide. Do I get another mag to read on the train (and most likey throw out when done)? Or do I subscribe to the online version, but only have a chance to read it when I'm near a computer?

By the way, if anyone is ordering the print version... use this promo code and get the first year for $20

PO3A222

mwagner7700,

The mag is very thin. A whole year's worth will be less than an inch thick. No ads, all content. It's one of the very few mags I do not throw in the recycle bin.

PH

Mw, thanks for the promo code!

Thanks to PURPLE for starting this topic, and PurpleHaze for talking me into it. I got a print subscription to Cooks Illustrated for my b-day, and this is already my favorite magazine!!!

For thos of you who don't subscribe, but like to cook... don't wait and do it now. This is a cross between Consumer Reports and Gourmet magazine. First off, there are no advertisements. Besides recipes (which there are many), CI rates different kitchen gadgets/utensils, plus different "supermarket" products. (For example, they'll do a taste test on the best jar pasta sauce, or who makes the best tongs, etc.). Now, the best part... the recipes. These guys test the recipe dozens of times, trying to find the perfect one. Not only that, but the writers describe their methods, what worked, what didn't and why. Totally amazing. For example, in the summer grilling guide, they want to make the perfect bistecca. So they try various cuts of beef, various cooking methods, various olive oils and lemons. Different times to apply the oil and lemon, seasoning v/ no seasoning, etc. I think the article said they grilled over 30 pounds of steak before finding the best recipe.

Now this is my type of magazine!!!

My wife has been getting the print version for about 4 years now. The food that comes out is really good........ About the only downside I have seen come from these guys, is that my wife reads the "road testing" of the utensils etc and that means she has to go buy new cooking stuff.....

Yeah, I'd got to get me a Kuhn Rikon Garlic Press. Someday I may actually "follow" a recipe.

The mag has awesome tips...I love the product recs. Ex: their top rec for a knife sharpener was the $10 one found at Ace Hardware.

I also have their book "The New Best Recipe". Excellent book and it reads like the magazine.

http://www.amazon.com/New-Best-Recipe-All-New-Recipes/d...id=1187637225&sr=8-1

There are a few recipes missing that I thought for sure would be their staples. Still a great cookbook to have around.

I agree about this publication’s meticulous and fastidious attention to detail. That is the reason that I dislike it as much as I like it! It is an excellent magazine and the absence of advertising is very refreshing. However, when I cook I really hate to be bound to a steadfast recipe and usually prefer to improvise. More often than not I modify recipes on-the-fly while cooking and discover my own preferences.

Altaholic - I've always found that making a recipe exactly as written is a good practice on the first pass. This way you can establish a "base line" that you can improvise from in the future.

I've found that EVERY recipe that I've followed "by the book" from this magazine has been above average to excellent. There is a real benefit to be derived from their long tinkering process.

PH

they also do a tv show on public television, which is great. recipes, product testing, taste tests. Big fun.

"Big fun"?

PH

I recently started purchasing this individually. I love the product testing. However, I think the magazine is really expensive for how much content and how thick it is. The television show rocks!

I think it's a great value. They occasionally have promotional rates that can save you a ton. Keep in mind that there is zero advertising, so its thinness is actually a blessing. I have found 6-7 killer recipes that will become household staples, and a couple great kitchen tooks in the past year. Worth the price of admission for me.

PH