a must-have cookery book in my opinion (The Dairy Book of Home Cookery - Clark Gellings)

Member Name: freud

Product:	The Dairy Book of Home Cookery - Clark Gellings
Date:	27/04/09 (85 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: easy to follow fail-proof recipes

Disadvantages: may not suit everyone

My Mum seemed to have more cookery books than Waterstones & although I'm not quite as bad as she was I must admit I have far too many for my needs.

I rarely get the opportunity these days to cook lavish meals as the family is always out & about but I'm reluctant to part with any of my precious books & the one I would defintitely never give away is my Dairy Book of Home Cookery.

I've had this for years now & it's so great for basic cookery recipes. It's a 'no-frills', easy to access, clearly written & fail-proof gem of a book & I'd recommend it to people leaving home, getting married or even experienced cooks.

The sections are easy to find - eg starters, fish, poultry, party food, breads, desserts etc & there are clear conversions giving both metric & imperial measurements in the introduction as well as on each recipe page.

I like to read about food sometimes & I enjoy Nigella Lawson, Jamie Oliver books but sometimes I just need to refer/ check on cooking times for a leg of lamb or quantities for a Victoria Sandwich so this basic book is ideal because I can go straight to the information I need very quickly.

It's an A4 hardback & can often be picked up for a song at charity shops or car boot sales ( though I don't understand why people can part with them) & is available on Amazon usually for around £6 or so.

I'd say there aren't many surprises in this book so if you're the sort of person who like to experiment then this maybe isn't for you - but if you want a basic cookbook that you can rely on & access information quickly then I'd recommend buying it without reservation.

The pictures are clear & attractive although not the glossy type that you'd expect to see in other more expensive publications.

summary
~
- a really good BASIC cookbook.
- not really for the adventurous cook.
- easy to access.
- clear preparation, ingredients & cooking guidelines.
- a 'must-have' cookbook in my opinion!

Summary: a great first/ basic cookbook