The best
Wine Tasting books:
Reddit reviews
From 3.5 billion Reddit comments
The best of Wine Tasting books by number of unique Reddit comments:
![Bitter: A Taste of the World's Most Dangerous Flavor, with Recipes [A Cookbook]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51o7OR9lIgL._SL500_.jpg)
Top Reddit reviews mentioning Wine Tasting books:
The Science of Good Cooking has pretty much every answer to those types of questions and comes with a crap ton of recipes
Tasting Beer by Randy Mosher is my go-to response to this question. There are a ton of great beer books out there, but this one covers all the basics in a concise format that's easy to read and can be read either cover-to-cover or in parts as a reference. If you don't already have it, I can't recommend it enough!
If you want to learn about Whiskey, read this book! Great information and really an enjoyable read. I've read it twice
Here are a couple of things that helped me:
Binging with Babish Cooking Equipment- This will give you an idea of the right tools that will help. If you can only afford one of these, get a knife. You can get like a $30 knife on Amazon here. I use this one and it's great. You don't have to spend $150. Some of these tools will be unnecessary for a beginner, but you'll start to get an idea of some of the most helpful tools.
How to Cook Everything: The Basics- I recently bought this book because I wanted to learn some of the easy things (how to cut a chicken, how to make the best eggs, etc). This book is GREAT - it assumes you know nothing. It has pictures of what the recipe should look like during prep, during cooking, and when finished and that is SO helpful. I've made probably 25% of the recipes in it (that's a lot in one book, for me). Read through the summary sections (he also includes a more thorough - and probably more realistic - equipment list) before you start to cook, and it'll give you a great ground level to start on.
It sounds like you're on the right track regardless. Hope these recs help.
If you can, get a copy of Randy Mosher's Tasting Beer, along with all of the other suggestions (Somm, describing what you're tasting) this is a great resource.
Additionally, depending on your location - see if there is a BJCP competition that is happening. Either volunteer to judge or steward. If you judge, you will be paired with an experienced judge (assuming it is a well run competition) and then talk with your partner judge(s). If you decide to steward, then be attentive and hover while working. Listen to what others are saying, and when the flights are done, sample the same beer.
Tasting Beer by Randy Mosher is a good place to start. I'd buy the book, then start reading the style descriptions. Buy a beer from each style (listed in the later chapters) and read the earlier chapters while drinking these beers. When you get to the chapters on styles, finish out whichever are left. That'll allow you to use the beer you're currently drinking to understand the various aspects of tasting beer each chapter covers while trying a wide variety of styles. This should let you know what you like and what you don't as well as giving you an appreciation and understanding of what each style is. You don't necessarily need to do all that, but it's a fun way to cover a lot of ground and give you first-hand experience.
Also, going to a good beer bar and trying a sampler tray of 3-4 oz tasters is a great way to try a lot of different things. Most good beer bars have good beer bartenders who can help with descriptions and recomendations, too.
Ya know! I wish I could tell you. It was given to me by an amazing friend for Christmas
I found this link however it doesn’t appear it’s available right now. I’m sorry to see that! https://www.amazon.ca/dp/0789331144/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_XUO-Fb8J9QNEQ
classic cook book is "How to cook everything: the basics". I believe the first recipe is how to boil water (for later how to boil an egg). It grows in complexity to recipes such as pizza. It details what tools you need and how to wash vegetables
https://www.amazon.com/How-Cook-Everything-Basics-Food/dp/0470528060
​
YouTube is your friend. Most cookbooks don't have enough pictures whereas, in the video, you can see all the in-between information (ie just how vigorously do you stir it) that the new cook will not know but is easily filled in by veteran cooks.
For anyone else looking. They sell the Holy Grail on Amazon for $12.
Not sure if this is the same book, but did find a BB Cookbook on Amazon! https://www.amazon.com/Bobs-Burgers-Burger-Book-Recipes/dp/0789331144
Shoo Shoo Kidney Stone.
My father was just in the ER a couple of weeks ago for this same reason. He has to have A LOT of morphine as well. My father was discharged the next morning and is fine, thank goodness.
I'm glad to hear your mom is doing better and it's not anything worse!
Here is a cookbook, Bob's Burgers Cookbook and if you haven't ever seen the show, it's not a deal breaker. They have some very crazy burger combinations that actually sound pretty delicious!
https://www.amazon.com/dp/0789331144/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_glt_fabc_T5Z4454MPST4FT3V6YPQ
Thanks for hosting!
Or even better, the Bob's Burgers Cookbook.
https://www.amazon.com/Bobs-Burgers-Burger-Book-Recipes/dp/0789331144 the Bob's Burgers subs has posts where people share pics of their burgers. Bet It All On Black Garlic, New Baconings, and Baby You Can Chive My Car are very popular.
Hm, well, a friend has said How to Cook Everything: The Basics is good, and I'm inclined to believe it, given that it's by Mark Bittman. So you might check it out. It does look like a decent chunk of it is devoted to meat, poultry, and fish, though, which might make it less useful to you. And a book can only do so much when it comes to know-how sorts of skills, even when it has excellent photos.
One resource that was excellent for me when I got more interested in cooking was Alton Brown's Good Eats. He'll spend time breaking down the chemistry and physics behind certain techniques, and when he does the basics he really shows you how to do it. It's not great if you're looking for a crash course, since the stuff on the basics is strewn throughout the various ingredient-themed episodes. (E.g. he goes into braising while doing an episode on pork/ham.) But if you've got time (and don't mind some corny humor), it's a pleasure to watch through the many episodes, and you'll learn a lot.
Another thing to do is try to find some good youtube videos on basic technique. I'd say the first things to get under your belt (if they aren't already) are knife skills, sauteing & sweating, and roasting. (Goddamn if some roast vegetables aren't just ten kinds of tasty.)
I started after reading http://fourhourbody.com/ and decided I wanted to improve my health and strength. Ferris has some good advice on how to cook for those stuck on the "bachelor chow" habit.
From there, I started on http://www.amazon.com/How-Cook-Everything-The-Basics/dp/0470528060.
Also, cooking has been a great way to bond with people: both people who like to cook and those that like to eat (uhm, like everyone!). I also know it is a great way to get to date...
Non-mobile: The one book you need on beer
^That's ^why ^I'm ^here, ^I ^don't ^judge ^you. ^PM ^/u/xl0 ^if ^I'm ^causing ^any ^trouble. ^WUT?
Honestly, the Bobs Burger Burger Book really upped my burger game. you should check it out.
https://www.amazon.com/Bobs-Burgers-Burger-Book-Recipes/dp/0789331144
I second "The Food Lab," and also really like this one: "The Science of Good Cooking: Master 50 Simple Concepts to Enjoy a Lifetime of Success in the Kitchen (Cook's Illustrated Cookbooks)"
It took me a while but I remember thinking the same thing. Great advice above. These sites and books are basically what taught me how to cook:
https://www.amazon.com/How-Cook-Everything-Basics-Food/dp/0470528060
And
https://www.budgetbytes.com/ this has a ton of pictures per step and videos. I haven’t used the app but that could help. They also have meal plans so you could try for like a week with that and it gives you the grocery list and everything.
Hang in there, it gets easier!!
"Tasting Beer" by Randy Mosher is probably your best starting point.
Spend a little time reviewing Ye Olde Beer Flavor and Aroma Wheel to get a sense of what kind of words describe certain aromas and flavors.
Avoid any kind of subjective scoring or evaluation. If a beer has a strong pine flavor and aroma, you might not like that... but someone else might. The goal is to help other people make informed decisions.
Not OP but Liquid Intelligence by Dave Arnold is one of my absolute favorite books. He really pushes the boundaries in this one. Here is him making a Daquiri, and he explains the importance of water management in frozen cocktails.
Just keep on practicing cooking! People may not like to hear this, but practice makes perfect—well, it at least makes you better!
If I could recommend one thing for mindset, I’d consider getting yourself some cookbooks! For me, I really enjoy reading through them and imaging all the recipes I could make, or techniques I could learn. It just makes me really pumped up to get in the kitchen! You might check out some of the America’s test kitchen or cooks illustrated books (or magazines)—I’m particularly a fan of Cooks Illustrated “The science of good cooking”
It’s like $20 on Amazon, not very expensive for what it is! I feel like it has a good combination of both basic and more difficult recipes, and lots of ‘lessons’ on basic cooking concepts that can help you out a lot!
Good luck, hope this helps!
If you don't know how to cook at all, I recommend buying a book like How to Cook Everything.
If you’re looking for something educational, it is really hard to beat this book,
Tasting Whiskey: An Insider's Guide to the Unique Pleasures of the World's Finest Spirits https://www.amazon.com/dp/1612123015/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_G8HC3JPRXWS5PEJZ5H6T
It is the best piece of whiskey literature I’ve read.
You're welcome.
Years ago when I was first dipping my toes into the world of beer, the selection was a bit less diverse and I found that I wanted (needed) to understand the classics a bit better. Kind of a similar situation that you are in right now. I picked up a book
The Complete Beer Course: Boot Camp for Beer Geeks: From Novice to Expert in Twelve Tasting Classes https://www.amazon.com/dp/1402797672/ref=cm_sw_r_apan_i_68RRV8P5VZZSJ6KQDGEZ
and I thought it did an excellent job of explaining basically everything about beer, from history to brewing process, to archetypes, without becoming too dense or too light. It may be a bit out of date at this point - some of the American beers listed as examples may not be around still - but still a solid starting point.
Also,
>Does this mean that all dunkles are also inherently different from weissbeer?
Yes. Because weissbier is top fermented; it's an ale. So it is inherently different than a dunkle that is brewed with bottom fermenting yeasts, even if it is also clearly a wheat beer.
- Are you an electrician or electrical engineer?
- I know what you mean about the cooking bit. I've been getting better at identifying good recipes, and follow them.... Lately I've been wondering about the "why in cooking." As in, why do I use spice A vs. Spice B, why do you cook stuff in a certain order, etc. I have this book sitting on the bookshelf which talks about some of those topics - https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1933615982/
Non-affiliate link: The Science of Good Cooking: Master 50 Simple Concepts to Enjoy a Lifetime of Success in the Kitchen - currently on sale @ $20.99.
Tried and true.
A clear 1¼" cube has a tactile difference to a 2½" cube? Funny, they feel the same to me.
Read Liquid Intelligence to learn about chilling and dilution. The cocktail should be finished before our choice of ice becomes an issue. If you're relying on large format ice to chill longer than a Kold Draft, the cocktail is way overdiluted and long past the point of any quality experience. Perhaps try serving smaller cocktails? The 2½" cube has 6x the volume. It dumps a lot of water into the cocktail as it melts.
The only reason to use large format ice is presentation. It looks pretty, no doubt. But with greater than 3x the energy use and the increased cost and time investments required to maintain a craft ice program, our resources are better allocated elsewhere. The large format ice is as pretentious as mustaches and garters.
This is one of my favorite cookbooks (The Science of Good Cooking: Master 50 Simple Concepts to Enjoy a Lifetime of Success in the Kitchen (Cook's Illustrated Cookbooks) https://www.amazon.com/dp/1933615982/ref=cm_sw_r_apan_glt_i_TVCZ4T3N5WV87SYXKP3D?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1).
I like to know why things work the way they do so I know which method works for which situation. This explains the science behind the recipe and why it works, and the recipes I've tried have all been delicious. That being said, as you learn, you'll tweak and personalize the spices and cook times and cooking temps (learned the hard way that "medium-high heat" as described is not the same thing as the medium-high on my stove when I started cooking a few years ago).