siduri comments on Procedural Knowledge Gaps - Less Wrong

126 Post author: Alicorn 08 February 2011 03:17AM

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Comment author: badger 08 February 2011 04:23:43AM *  6 points [-]

I'm not aware of a gap in my procedural knowledge, but many skills are still fuzzy and basic. The internet serves extreme beginners and specialized experts well, but I've found reference books to be the best resource for the middle ground. Some that have helped me domestically:

  • New Best Recipe from Cook's Illustrated: Basic cookbook that explain the testing and intuition behind a recipe.
  • America's Test Kitchen cookbooks: Also from Cook's Illustrated, these books tend to explain why a recipe is what it is and give tips on technique or what cuts of meat work best for what purposes.
  • How to Cook Everything by Mark Bittman: Basic cookbook that presents many recipes as templates, providing variations and room for improvisation.
  • Home Comforts by Cheryl Mendelson: Everything that goes into maintaining a home, from cleaning to food storage to pets to laundry.

Any other quality reference books, perhaps for auto care or personal finance?

Owning up to a particularly fuzzy area: how do you order at a bar? I've been a couple times and managed, but somehow I feel I'm missing something, especially if I extend beyond a beer. Can someone offer a comprehensive account?

Comment author: [deleted] 08 February 2011 04:52:21AM 9 points [-]

I just want to second your cookbook recommendations--Cook's Illustrated especially. Almost all their products are extremely high-quality, and they have a very Less Wrong-friendly stance on cooking, which is to test everything. Before they publish a cookie recipe they'll make like twenty different versions, and have their taste-testers do blind tastings, and they'll publish the one that tastes best.

Alton Brown's "Good Eats" TV show is also probably Less Wrong-friendly because it puts a heavy emphasis on the chemistry and science of cooking.

Alice Waters' "The Art of Simple Food" is another good cookbook for beginners, because it walks you through everything: shopping for ingredients, choosing your pots and pans, the different techniques (i.e. what it means to "mince" an onion versus "dicing" it), prepping for cooking, etc.

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