Continuation of Volume I. This volume has breadmaking for one that wants to duplicate wonderful French bread. Unless you live near a fabulous bakery, the recipes in the bread and pastry section will make life better.

Both Volumes I and Volumes II are must have and make absolutely wonderful gifts for any new bride.

Being french and a lover of cooking, and living in United States for the last 15 years, I was intimidated by this thick and presumably academic American Cook Book, until I read "my life in France" also written by Julia Child.
In this book,the way she describes how she wrote "Mastering the Art of French Cooking" was so lively and appealing that I decided to give it a try.
And I was not disappointed.
Not only she gives all the equivalent proportions, quantities and temperatures, but she explains very clearly and simply how to make a dish a success. I tried several of the recipes, my best being a "souffle with orange and Grand Marnier" .
To get the most of her explanations I also borrowed a couple of DVDs of her first cooking shows from my local library, and I got the same good feeling.
The reason I gave only 4 stars is because of the presentation of the recipes, with a very detailed master recipe, and just a few lines for the variants. That makes a little bit uneasy to go back and forth during my usual rush cooking time. But that is part due to my own lack of organization.
I was so thrilled by this book that I also gave it , as a gift , to a friend who loves cooking.

Julia's book was recommended to me by a French Chef we met in the Caribbean. It is the perfect book from which to learn French cooking. Julia's instructions are very detailed and make it easy to prepare each recipe. I highly recommend this book.

This book bring together years of cooking by recipe. It actually explains things so I can understand why I'm doing them.

The best Coq au Vin and Boeuf Bourguignon recipes you'll find are in this book. I've had Mastering the Art of French Cooking for years and recently gave one to my son, who also loves to cook. This cookbook tells you what to do, how to do it, and where to easily find the ingredients in your American supermarket. I don't do much (any?) baking, so don't have Volume II Mastering the Art of French Cooking Vol. 2 (Paperback), which I understand is primarily about baking, but this one, Volume 1, is fantastic.

This book and The Joy of Cooking by Irma Rombauer, Marion Rombauer Becker and Ethan Becker Joy of Cooking: 75th Anniversary Edition - 2006 are the first ones I turn to in the kitchen. Together, they will teach the new cook how to cook and the experienced cook how to cook much better.

For those who wish to venture into the world of culinary genius, Mastering the Art of French Cooking is the Bible. Specific, thorough, and accurate recipes guide even the novice to achieving gastronomic perfection. This is the first serious cookbook I owned as a young housewife. Now, I purchase the book for every serious cook. Simply a must have!

We have always enjoyed watching and reading about Julia Child. My husband asked for this book for Christmas, and although we haven't had a chance to peruse it thoroughly, he is very pleased with the gift. He bakes bread often and is interested in her recipes for breads as well as other French recipes.

Julia Child explains with no secrets how those spectacular dishes from all over France are made.
If you're beyond eating Big Mac's, you'll find this book really interesting.

I have the Volume I and II. You really don't need another Cook Book. These are my all time favorites. I highly recommend these books. I am a Professional Chef and I find myself always going through these Cook Books. I mean, that is all I really use. Not only for seasoned Cooks but specially for not so experienced Cooks. These books are the real "deal". If you like to cook you got have these.

My wife and I have been looking for Volume one for ages, without luck.
This book came out as a 20th anniversary edition. Maybe other websites carry
this now, but it was easy to find on Amazon.

I bought it for my daughter for Christmas. Then I bought a new oven for myself with plans to borrow the book to get good at making French bread Julia's way. For anyone interested in high quality cooking, this is a must have for the book shelf.

It is painfully obvious alot of thought went into this book,but then again what would you expect from a master like Julia Child.I am in the reading stage and have'nt made any recipes yet,but was impressed early.This book is for anyone that loves to cook,amateur like me or pro.

Overseas 'customers'of Amazon are disadvantaged by the price of postage and often waiting time therefore it was gratifying to get 'Mastering the Art of French Cooking' within a few days. It is helpful for our customs if such packages are marked 'BOOK ONLY'. The book was in prisine condition. All books I have bought through Amazon have been in the condition stated but occasionally have taken a long time to arrive.
Jan Birmingham, Sydney.

On the cover of this hardcover classic is the following statement: "The only cookbook that explains how to create authentic French dishes in American kitchens with American foods". I think this was key to the success of this cookbook; you could use what you could find and not have to scour the earth for the right ingredients.

I was looking at the copyright on the book. My mother gave me hers about two decades ago; but the original date on her edition was October 16, 1961 (amazing) and this book is every bit as useful for me today as it was for my mother.

The chapters are laid out as follows:

Kitchen Equipment
Definitions
Ingredients
Measures
Temperatures
Cutting
Wines (offering the right accompaniment to each dish)
Chapter I - Soups (onion, potato, cream of sorrel, cabbage, fish)
Chapter II - Sauces (white, brown, tomato, hollandaise, vinagrettes, etc.)
Chapter III - Eggs (poached, shirred, scrambed, omelettes)
Chapter IV - Fish (even recipes from Provence)
Chapter V - Poultry (roasted, casserole, sauteed, duck and goose, etc.)
Chapter VII - Meat (beef, lamb, veal, ports , kidneys)
Chapter VIII - Vegetables (greens, carrot, cabbages, etc)
Chapter IX - Cold Buffet (aspics, mousses, pates, etc.)
Chapter X - Desserts and Cakes (souffles, tarts, savarins, and much more)

The recipe for the bouillabaisse alone (page 52 and 53) is well worth investing in this cookbook. Julia Child knew what she was doing and the adaptation of these classic techniques to the American kitchen is stunning. I noticed that there was a paperback available as well; the hardcopy is the one that I would get so that it could stand the test of time like mine has. Bon appetit.

Bentley/2007

Mastering the Art of French Cooking, Volume One

Everyone should have this book! There is nothing like learning French cooking from the Goddess herself, Julia Child!
After reading this book and cooking with Julia you will become French!!!
Oh la la!!!

A substantial book, with none of the usual colour photos, relying on limited black and white line drawings. Good range of recipes although some of the favorite French ones are missing, presumed in Vol 2. Good instructions and general how-to instructions. Overall a good book of na older style.

Everyone should have this book! There is nothing like learning French cooking from the Goddess herself, Julia Child!
After reading this book and cooking with Julia you will become French!!!
Oh la la!!!

A substantial book, with none of the usual colour photos, relying on limited black and white line drawings. Good range of recipes although some of the favorite French ones are missing, presumed in Vol 2. Good instructions and general how-to instructions. Overall a good book of na older style.

This was the first cookbook I bought for myself and my wife after we were married 34 years ago and had migrated to Perth, Australia from San Francisco. I knew almost nothing about cooking and Julia, along with Simone and Louisette, taught me how to cook.

The book is far, far more than a collection of recipes; it is a university course in French cooking but after plumbing the depths of souffle's and quenelles, terrines and crepes, you can attack any recipe from virtually any region of the world. It might be like climbing Everst as your first mountain--after that everything is a piece of cake [pardon the expression].

Even as a total neophyte, and this is not to pat myself on the back, the explicit and extremely clear directions will lead, after a careful reading, to a successfully completed, eminently enjoyable and some would say, very complicated dish suitable for any luncheon or dinner. These three women have drained away from these recipes all the little blank spots that inevitably occur in most recipes; those little places where the recipe does not fully explain the next step. The women that wrote this superb book, really a manual about how to cook, dissected the recipe steps precisely to the extent that there are no blanks anywhere in any of the recipes that I have tried add I have tried a great many in the 30 plus years I have been cooking from the book.

At this point one may well ask, "Why am I writing these comments now, thirty-some years after buying and using the book"? The answer is that last night I made a pork chop with a mustard-cream sauce that was superb, as usual, and believe me that says infinitely more about the clearity of the book than my cooking. I love the number of sauces in the book so I looked specifically at the second chapter about sauces to find some for vegetables. It has been my primary cook book for all these years and I wanted to write something complementyary about this fabulous work.

Treat the book like a university textbook--read it carefully, underline appropriate passages and then go back and take written notes on the material; you won't be disappointed and you will learn cooking, "... the way its 'spossed to be".

I received this book as a gift almost 30 years ago, when I was a bachelor simply trying to figure out which end of an egg is up! Now I am married with two grown kids and a fairly accomplished cook, having taking over those duties upon my retirement from the military. I have 40 or 50 cookbooks, including Bon Apetit, Amer. Culinary Institute, and all the other classics. But this Mastering the Art of French Cooking is number one on my list. Every step of the way, this is first book I consult when trying to figure out the best way to cook something. Buy it as a gift for an aspiring cook--it will be the cookbook they will refer to the most!

I have been using this book for 35 years & am on my third copy, the first two having dropped to pieces. I have also given copies to three near & dear ones. I can do no better than quote Elizabeth David, the doyenne of English cookery writers : "In the English language there can be no cookery book so conscientious & methodical since Eliza Acton's Modern Cookery appeared 130 years ago."

I am an amateur cook at best but this book makes me feel like a pro. The recipes are well organized but I think the best feature is how the recipes have recommended side dishes which makes planning a meal very easy. The instructions are easy to follow even if the recipe is more complicated than average. So far everything I have tried from this book has turned out great, and I can't wait to try out even more.

Julia has set the standard for French food cooking in the US. This is the book that started it all. This one has all the classic methods. It is not dummied down, it can be fussy, but you will not get better results.

A text that should be on every kitchen shelf. Recipe directions are complete and easy to follow. The results have been excellent. Collateral information is interesting and informative. The index is EASY to use.

I found just what I was looking for with this book!

I purchased this volume after reading Julia Child's My Life in France, a wonderful memoir of the dynamic and driven gourmette. The recipes in the book are simple yet complex and her style of writing makes you feel as though she is standing in the kitchen next to you, guiding you through each step. I highly recommend the book for any person interested in learning more about French cooking, it is indeed a "must-have" resource.

For those interested in learning to cook classic French recipes from the American queen of classic French cooking. What more can I say?

This book represents Julia Child's first collaborative effort with two French friends to share the divine cuisine of France with Americans. The recipes are easy to follow. If you salivate at the thought of eating a succulent roasted chicken, you will appreciate this book. Years of research went into proofing each terrific recipe. A must for anyone that likes to cook.

This work is more of a 'textbook' than a simple 'cookbook.' It should be approached methodically, and with a goal of mastering the details of processes, rather than just creating something tasty for dinner---while that is still certainly the outcome. It is a masterpiece as a culinary educational tool.

I ordered this classic book for my step-sister for her birthday. She is a gourmet cook and had always wanted this book by Ms. Child. It was on her Wish List created at Amazon.com. She was elated to receive this Volume One and so my review is based on her exhuberant response!

I got this book recently and I am super-pleased with it. The writing is very enjoyable and the directions on the recipes and added cultural information are superb. This classic belongs in every kitchen, so don't hesitate to purchase it. If your still not convinced here's some good reasons for you to get it:
-The book itself is exquisite and I love the cover colors (very French) and the illustrations.
-The list of utensils that you should have is very helpful especially if you're setting up your first kitchen.
-When you start to read it, you can tell that not only was great care put into its writing but a lot of love.
-Everyone who wants to be successful in the kitchen needs to know some basic techniques, this books clearly explains them. Think of it as cooking for dummies.
-French cuisine is very versatile and if you can succede here, you'll be set for other cuisines.
-If you're stumped on the perfect gift for a freshman or newlyweds, be stumped no more. You've found the ideal gift.

Full of information, and still relevant for todays cooks, these books should never be out of print.

I have always enjoyed cooking, but had never read this book. I thought that traditional French cooking would be difficult to master, high in fat and unnecessarily time-consuming. Also -- I'm an Italian-American -- I thought that Hazan was the last word in cooking. Boy, was I wrong.

A few months ago, my teenage son returned from his first trip abroad raving about the meals that he'd had in Paris. I knew from experience how great those meals could be and, to please him and provide my family with a new dinner experience, I bought "Mastering" and tried a few recipes. I am now totally hooked. Julia's recipes are clear, well-organized and easy to follow. The book is exquisitely -- and logically -- organized, with each section beginning with a master recipe and continuing through several variations on that theme. This method of organization teaches the structure as well as the ingredients of each recipe, thus encouraging further experimentation by the reader. In other words, by following the recipes, you learn to cook. (Having recently read "My Life In France," I now know that this was Child's intention: "Mastering" took years to write, with each recipe tested and refined many times.)

Some recipes contain too much butter or cream for modern diets, but these recipes may be easily modified. The techniques, however, are flawless: my pie crust was flaky and did not shrink; the ratatouille (which is low in fat) was perfect and beautiful; the swordfish provencale was so good that my son, who never eats leftovers, ate the leftovers cold out of the refrigerator. Indeed, the pastry dough recipe works so well that, after turning it out into the pan, I exclaimed aloud, "Julia Child is brilliant!", much to the surprise of my plumber, who was working in the house at the time and had walked into the kitchen to ask about a leak. In sum, if you have been afraid of this book, don't be, and if you think that it has become dated or irrelevant -- a mere collector's item -- you are very wrong. I still love Hazan, but "Mastering" is the master class.

I have always enjoyed cooking, but had never read this book. I thought that traditional French cooking would be difficult to master, high in fat and unnecessarily time-consuming. Also -- I'm Italian-American -- I thought that Hazan was the last word in cooking. Boy, was I wrong.

A few months ago, my teenage son returned from his first trip abroad raving about the meals that he'd had in Paris. I knew from experience how great those meals could be and, to please him and give my family a new dinner experience, I bought "Mastering" and tried a few recipes. I am now totally hooked. Julia's recipes are clear, well-organized and easy to follow. The book is exquisitely -- and logically -- organized, with each section beginning with a master recipe and continuing through several variations that build on the basic theme. This method of organization teaches the structure as well as the details of each recipe and encourages further experimentation by the reader. In other words, by following the recipes, you learn to cook. (Having recently read "My Life In France," I now know that this was Child's intention, and that "Mastering" took years to write, with every recipe tested and refined a multitude of times.)

Some recipes contain too much butter or cream for modern diets, but these recipes are easily modified. The techniques, however, are flawless: my pie crust was flaky and did not shrink; the ratatouille (which is low in fat) was perfect and beautiful; the swordfish provencale was so good that my son, who never eats leftovers, ate the leftovers cold out of the refrigerator. Indeed, the pastry dough recipe works so well that, after turning it out into the pan, I exclaimed aloud, "Julia Child is brilliant!", much to the surprise of my plumber, who was working in the house at the time and had walked into the kitchen to ask about a leak. In sum, if you have been afraid of this book, don't be, and if you think that it has become dated or irrelevant -- a mere collector's item -- you are very wrong. I still love Hazan, but "Mastering" is the master class.

This is the cookbook that formed the foundation for Julia Child's famous series "The French Chef." Some parts of this edition recognize the new appliances available since the book was published 25 years before, like the food processor. The recipes, however, are still classics. Although Julia apologizes in the foreword for being neither French nor a trained chef, it is this well-written, comprehensive cookbook that helped to change the way Americans eat. Although some of the recipes are a bit intimidating like entirely boning a chicken or duck, most are attainable. For the best quiche you've ever made - buy the crust if you can't bake - make Julia's recipe for this Lorraine classic.

This is one of two books to get, to kick you from
"macaroni and cheese" to cheese souffle. The second is
"Mastering the Art of French Cooking, Volume 2".

The book takes the reader from the basics of equipment,
cooking terms, methods of preparation, and finally, eases
the reader from the simple to the most challenging aspects
of the art of French cookery.

I've owned my copy for over 10 years, and to this day, I can
still learn from it. The basics of saucemaking (introduced
in one of the earlier chapters), for example, is still
basically the same for both the home chef and the
four-star saucier.

Thanks to this classic work, Julia Child has empowered
countless home chefs (and quite a few professional chefs)
to practice this tasteful art.

Twenty five years ago I developed a taste for cooking. Just out of the Marines, I picked up the Julia Child set after seeing and enjoying her show on PBS. This set is a personal treasure and one that got me started on my collection of more than 100 cookbooks today.

First, I cannot cook. other then basic heat and serve.

So I bought a ton of cookbooks and tried a ton of recipes from the food network. Still could not cook.

Picked up this book at a flea market ( the 1963 printing ).

This book is incredible. My kids not only will eat the food, but they love it. ( and they demand the food now ).

I do not agree with other reviews about complexity and cost of the recipe's. She provides both easy and complex recipes.

The recipes are well thought out, with step by step insrtructions and illustrations. The illustrations are priceless, cooking is alot of technique, and the illustrations walk you through it. Every question I would have had about the ingredients or prep are covered.

Oh, and ingredients.. She assumes that the grocery store is the only place you have to shop. So she notes how to adjust for canned or frozen vs fresh, and what you can substitute. Not some cute ethnic market in New york city where everything is always in season from the 4 corners of the world. You can literally take the book to the grocery store to buy your ingredients. and come out with everything you need. ( I have a 40 year old copy of this book, and Julia's assumptions about what I will be able, and will not, to find in my grocery store is 100% correct. )

Crepes - been trying for a year to make the kids crepes. tried several recipes online. failed. first attempt with Julia, and viola crepes.

Omlette - so I could always make an omlette. or at least I thought. now I am an omlette gourmet cook.


I cannot wait to graduate to her other cookbooks.

First, I cannot cook. other then basic heat and serve.

So I bought a ton of cookbooks and tried a ton of recipes from the food network. Still could not cook.

Picked up this book at a flea market ( the 1963 printing ).

This book is incredible. My kids not only will eat the food, but they love it.

The recipes well thought out and the step by step insrtructions with illustrations. The illustrations are priceless, cooking is alot of technique, and the illustrations walk you through it. Every question I would have had about the ingredients or prep are covered.

Oh, and ingredients.. She assumes that the grocery store is the only place you have to shop. So she notes how to adjust for canned or frozen vs fresh, and what you can substitute. Not some cute ethnic market in New york city where everything is always in season from the 4 corners of the world. You can literally take the book to the grocery store to buy your ingredients. and come out with everything you need.

Crepes - been trying for a year to make the kids crepes. tried several recipes online. failed. first attempt with Julia, and viola crepes.

Omlette - so I could always make an omlette. or at least I thought. now I am an omlette gourmet cook.

I cannot wait to graduate to her other cookbooks

yes it is true,if you can read you can cook french.Julia and frendshave made it most easy to cook the french way and enjoy it.

As a Christian I found this book to be quite distressing. The children should be reading the Bible, not mastering the art of french cooking. A shame.

A book of unique importance in the culinary (& cultural) history of the United States. Before Child, this country was mired in a cuisine that had never really emerged from the depradations of wartime rationing, was being manhandled into the unsavory tinned world of industrialized food (soup in a can, noodles in a box, adulterated, nothing fresh), & had never had much in the way of a national cuisine. Onto this bare plate Child (& her co-authors) placed a sumptuous feast of perfect French food, & with it, an awareness of a better way of eating, a better way of living.

A watershed, a monument. But how does it stand up as a cookbook? In a word, it remains one of the best cookbooks ever written. The recipes are elegant & their products are nearly without exception delicious. The writing is graceful, witty, & informative. The index & glossary are excellent.

This book can teach you to cook. If you can cook, this book can teach you to cook better. If you can't cook, but love to eat, give it to someone who will cook for you, & you will eat better.

Try the Potage Parmentier. The soul of simplicity & gustatory delight.

When I went to culinary school, the first several months were spent mastering basic cooking techniques. As an avid Julia Child fan, I had already been introduced to all of them via her book. All the techniques of are in this volume, and in the order they should be mastered. As a professional chef, almost every other American born chef I know can trace their interest in cooking to this book.

Rarely are we able to say with certainty that a book is at the top of its subject in regard and quality. This book, `Mastering the Art of French Cooking' by Julia Child, Louisette Bertholle, and Simone Beck is certainly in that most unique position among cookbooks written in English and published in the United States.

With Julia Child's celebrity arising from her long series of TV cooking shows on PBS, it may be easy to forget how Ms. Child rose to a position with the authority that gave her the cachet to do these shows in the first place. This book is the foundation of that cachet and the basis of Ms. Child's influence with an entire generation of amateur and professional chefs.

It may also be easy to forget that this book has three authors and not just one. The three began as instructors in a school of French cooking, `Les Ecole des Trois Gourmandes' operating in Paris in the 1950's. And, it was from their experience with this school that led them to write this book. To be fair, Julia Child originated a majority of the culinary content and contributed almost all of the grunt work with her editors and publisher to get the book published.

The influence of this book cannot be underestimated. It has been written that the style of recipe writing even influenced James Beard, the leading American culinary authority at the time, to change his style of writing in a major cookbook on which he was working when `...French Cooking' was published. Many major American celebrity experts in culinary matters have cited Child and this book as a major influence. Not the least of these is Martha Stewart and Ina Garten. It is interesting that these first to come to mind are not professional chefs, but caterers and teachers of the household cook. Child was not necessarily teaching `haute cuisine', she was teaching what has been named `la cuisine Bourgeoise' or the cooking of the housewife and, to some extent, the cooking of the bistro and brasserie, not the one or two or three star restaurant.

The table of contents follows a very familiar and very comfortable outline, with major chapters covering Soups, Sauces, Eggs, Entrees and Luncheon Dishes, Fish, Poultry, Meat, Vegetables, Cold Buffet, and Deserts and Cakes. The table of contents does not itemize every recipe, but it does break topics down so that one can come very close to a type of preparation you wish from the table of contents. One of the very attractive schemas used to organize recipes in this book is to take a general topic such as Roast Chicken and give not one, but many different variations on this basic method. Under Roast Chicken, for example, you see Spit-roasted Chicken, Roast Chicken Basted with Cream, Roast Chicken Steeped with Port Wine, Roast Squab Chickens with Chicken Liver Canapes, Casserole-roasted Chicken with Tarragon and Casserole-roasted Chicken with Bacon. Thus, the book is not only a tutorial of techniques, it is also a work of taxonomy, giving one a picture of the whole range of variations possible to a basic technique.

The book goes far beyond being a simple collection of recipes in many other ways without straying from the culinary material. Unlike books combining regional recipes with anecdotal memoirs, this book is all business. Heading the recipes is a wealth of general knowledge on cooking variables such as weights versus cooking time and conditions. Headnotes also include general techniques on, for example, how to truss a chicken (with drawings) and many deep observations on professional technique. The notes on roasting chicken instructing one to attend to all the senses in watching and listening to the cooking meat in order to obtain the very best results. This may have easily come from the pen of Wolfgang Puck or Mario Batali.

The individual recipe writing is detailed in the extreme, and recipes typically run to two to three times as long as you may see in `The Joy of Cooking' or `James Beard's American Cookery'. The recipes are also very `modular'. A single recipe may actually require the cooking of two or three component preparations. This is not an invention of Julia Child. I believe she has captured here an essential characteristic of French culinary tradition. The most common of these advance preparations is a stock. More complicated examples are to make a potato salad, a dish in itself, as a component to a Salade Nicoise. What Child may have originated, at least to the world of American cookbook writing, is the notion of a Master Recipe, where many different dishes are presented as variations on a basic preparation. This notion has been used and misused for decades.

This book has become so important in its field that it seems almost irreverent to question the quality of the recipes. I can only say that I have prepared several dishes from these pages, and have always produced a tasty dish and learned something new with each experience. While there are other excellent introductions to French Cooking such as Madeline Kamman's `The New Making of a Chef', one simply cannot go wrong by using this book as ones entree into cooking in general and French cooking in particular.

The more I read other cooking authorities' writing, the more I respect the work of Julia Child and company. Observations on technique that went right over my head two years ago are now revealed as signs of a deep insight into cooking technique.

As large as the book is, the material presented to Knopf in 1961 was actually much larger and the second volume of the book is largely material created for the original writing. To get a reasonably complete picture of French Cookery, do get both volumes at the same time.

A true classic with both simple and advanced techniques. A superb introduction for someone who is just beginning an interest in food.

I love to cook and I have bought many cookbooks over the years. This is my favorite french cook book ever!!!!! This should be in everyone's collection. I honestly think it is one of the few cookbooks that are worth the price.

I'm delighted to see that Julia's cornerstone book has been re-issued. It is a must. If I were sent to a desert island and allowed to bring only two cookbooks I'd take this and Joy of Cooking. Julia adds not only relatively more sophisticated recipes, but the techniques Joy lacks. Beard's Theory and Practice of Cooking would be third on my list for a new cook.

Begining cooks need not be intimidated by Julia's book. At the time it was written most Americans had no knowledge of French cooking. This was THE book designed to introduce Frence ingredients, recipes and techniques. It still does that with good illustrations and recipes any cook can execute to perfection. Experienced cooks will be delighted with the variety of excellent recipes, many well suited to low carb cooking. This a book that has served me well for over 30 years.

Every recipe I have made from this book has been amazing! I would not, however, recommend it for anyone looking for quick or cheap recipes or those uninterested in cooking. Julia is serious with her art, and it is art! These recipes are fairly complex and many of them involve looking at two or three different recipes at a time. However, they are worth every bit of effort.

I really loved the beginning of the book, too. I learned some new things about my ingredients! The beef stew was absolutely succulent, and the mornay sauce was beyond words. I would not have thought it possible for me to make such things at home, but I was surprised every time!

I've been in the restaurant business for 10 years... over the past 3 years I have bought several books including french laundry, sauces (James Peterson), CIA professional chef, along with other less pricey books... but Julia Child Mastering french cooking is the one I always turn to (aside from to look at pictures.) All the recipes I have used so far have turned out perfect. Plus it is so diverse and thorough... I think it is the best all around fundamentally sound cookbook out there.
Chef recommended

There are two reasons to buy this book, along with its companion, Mastering the Art... Volume 2.

First, and most important, "Mastering" is an essential reference book on the French style of cooking. Whatever you're trying to make -- from simple things like chicken stock or scalloped potatoes or coq au vin to something that would try the patience of Job -- it's probably here, and with detailed, step-by-step instructions. Whether you follow the recipies literally or devise your own shortcuts, you'll know what's "right" and be able to make your own choices about what to do.

Secondly, it's a breakthrough book and a classic, capturing the state of French cooking and Americans' knowledge (or lack) at a particular point in time. In addition to the step-by-step instructions, the recipies are full of offhand comments about who taught Julia what and on the nature and source of the ingredients.

There are two aspects of these books which make them not for everyone. First, Julia brooks no shortcuts. Even relatively simple dishes can take some time. Second, the instructions are extremely detailed. This can be a virtue, but it can also be frustrating. A recipie can run several pages. This makes it a bit challenging to see the big picture of how the recipie is structured, or to find your place again once you've cleaned your knives and your hands (for the fourth time.)

That having been said, if you like to cook French and you have any interest in the classic recipies prepared the classic way, this book is indispensible.

I think the best measure of a cookbook is how many times you have to practice to get a recipe right. I had owned this book for a couple of months and had been regularly adding to my repertoir with gratin dauphinoise and steak au bercy when I came across a recipe for steak au bearnaise. I knew little about bearnaise and hollandaise and less about making them. Even with this it took only one try to get a perfect bearnaise to go with my steaks. This book is the measure of delicious and authentic food as well as relative ease of use.