Cookbooks: A Gastronome's Picks

Of the making of cookbooks there is no end. From Mrs. Beeton to Mme. Simone Beck, Shennung to Francatelli, culinary counselors have been with us always. Perhaps 99% of all books on food are out of print, untranslated or forgettable--yet there are at least 2,000 volumes on the subject available in the U.S. today.

TIME asked Manhattan-based Culinary Expert George Lang, who owns 4,000 books on cooking and gastronomy, to draw up a short list of books that he considers essential to the kitchen library. Hungarian-born Lang is a renowned chef, author, designer, restaurateur (Manhattan's charming Cafe des Artistes), and president of the George Lang Corp., which creates restaurants from Manhattan to Manila.

"Nowadays," says Lang, "women often start with elaborate recipes but have no idea how to make a basic cream sauce." Therefore, he recommends that every cook have a step-by-step volume like Irma Rombauer and Marion Becker's Joy of Cooking (Bobbs-Merrill; $10.95 hardcover; New American Library; $4.95 paper) or, for the more advanced practitioner, Jacques Pepin's La Technique (Quadrangle; $25). He would add not only recipe books, but also several volumes that concern the philosophy and history of food. Lang's choices:

The Escoffier Cook Book (Crown; $6.95). Every book that Escoffier wrote is part of the theoretical and practical canon of gastronomy; this is the most useful.

The Elizabeth David Cookery Book Set (Penguin; $13.95). Boxed edition includes French Country Cooking, French Provincial Cooking, Summer Cooking, Italian Food and Mediterranean Food. Elizabeth David is authentic, practical, nononsense, inventive--the most important of the contemporary authors.

The Food of France by Waverley Root (Knopf; $15 hardcover; Random House; $5.95 paper). The authoritative guide to the subject in any language.

James Beard's American Cookery (Little, Brown; $14.95). The definitive, panoramic treatise on our culinary heritage.

Chinese Gastronomy by Hsiang Ju Lin and Tsuifeng Lin (Harvest/HBJ; $3.95 paper). Perhaps the only book on any cuisine that establishes sensible criteria of flavors and textures.

Larousse Gastronomique (Crown; $25). A handsome, one-volume encyclopedia for practical information and good reading.

The Art of Eating by M.F.K. Fisher (Random Vintage; $5.95 paper). Few people have written about the subject with greater gusto and poesy than this California woman who has become a cult figure among gastronomes.

Mastering the Art of French Cooking by Simone Beck, Louisette Bertholle, and Julia Child (Knopf; $30). A classic compendium of recipes.

The New York Times Cook Book, edited by Craig Claiborne (Harper & Row; $15). An accurate, almost complete compendium of the most popular dishes.

The Classic Italian Cookbook by Marcella Kazan (Knopf; $12.95) and The Fine Art of Italian Cooking by Giuliano Bugialli (Quadrangle; $15). Almost a college course in Italian cuisine.

The Cuisines of Mexico by Diana Kennedy (Harper & Row; $15). The English-born author's book is regarded as the best by the highest cocineros.

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