What’s Hot in Food and Cooking – Cookbooks

by | Oct 2, 2022 | Feature, Food

What’s the best, favorite, top selling, most useful kosher cookbook? This question is asked more times than you can count. We decided to ask our staff, contributors and readers what their favorites are and to tell us why. The responses were varied and often included the love for tried and true family recipes. Each of the respondents had a favorite, well loved and often used cookbook. Interestingly, the responses also varied by the age and demographic of the respondent, with more seasoned cooks choosing cookbooks that have stood the test of time and our less seasoned respondents tending toward more recently published cookbooks.

Yaffi Lvova

Loves The Silver Platter because she learned how to streamline her  cooking by using this text. She remembers whining to friends that it took her two hours to get dinner on the table, and that was before kids. She feels like this book actually taught her how to cook. The recipes use simple, commonly found ingredients, but work together to make something special. Even someone who is awkward in the kitchen, like she was, could use this book to create and present a beautiful meal to share with loved ones over smiles and laughter.

Meira Schneider-Atik, Style Writer

She found it hard to choose among cookbooks. But two definite favorites are Kosher By Design: Short on Time‘ and Kosher By Design Lightens Up. She loves the entire KBD series but these two are her favorites. Regarding the former, she can’t stand “potchkying” and likes recipes that are fast and easy. Regarding the latter, the nutritional info is worth reading even without the recipes. But the recipes themselves are great too.

 

Arnie Draiman

As a long-time vegetarian his choices may not necessarily be ‘kosher’ but are reflective of his dietary lifestyle. His favorites by far are The Best of Vegetarian Cuisine by Sarah Brown, Hot & Spicy & Meatless by Dave Dewitt, Mary Jane Wilan, et al. and for more traditional recipes he likes Key to Cooking in Israel by Amit Women.

Our readers all had different picks as well. From anything by Norene Gilitz to regional cookbooks from local Chabad Houses. There were also votes for The Silver Platter, Persian Food from the Non-Persian Bride, Real Life Kosher Cooking, Fresh and Easy by Leah Shapira, and more. The reasons they gave boiled down to all of these books featuring easy, non-complicated recipes that are healthy and easily adapted to personal tastes.

By far the most popular cookbook recognized by our staff, including Penina Taylor, Editor in Chief, Shoshana Isaacson, Food Editor, and Aaron Tal Ohr, Business and Marketing Manager and by many readers as well , is the Spice and Spirit cookbook. Recognized for its classic kosher recipes and the easy-to-follow directions. One of our readers said that the recipes are timeless. Our editors both noted that the recipes are extremely adaptable and can be altered to fit almost any diet.

It should be noted that many of the above staff members and readers alike also pointed out how often the internet has become the go-to for quick and easy recipes. This seems to be a trend as people adopt a more minimalist lifestyle, and more and more people publish blogs and virtual books. This begs the question of whether or not printed cookbooks are on their way out, or if they still have a place in the modern kitchen. What do you think?

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