Gabriele C. (theoldbookshelf) reviewed Greek Cooking - Traditional Recipes (Ekdotike Athenon Travel Guides) on + 43 more book reviews
i have recieved this book today . i own several greek cookbooks , so i can compare . the "overall " LOOK of this book is nice . very glossy and many pictures of [probably ] most of the recipes . i would also say , that the recipes are more or less authentic . but this is then where it ends . i am a fairly good cook , i own over 2000 cookbooks and i KNOW what i am looking at . this is then where the book fails . to start with , the translation is often far from accurate . i would have thought , if the author is a celebrated chef , that much better care would have been taken in translation and proofreading . i have found many mistakes , where the translation just doesnt make sense --- [ or doesnt match what is shown in the picture ]. the measurements are questionable [ way in the back on the last page is a SMALL reference supposedly to explain WHAT measurements are used , but even THESE are not firm [ 120 - 150 gr of whatever ... 225 - 250 gr ] if you make something specific , you need more accurate weights then what this offers . the other gripe i have is , that the ingredient lists are often incomplete or wrong -- lists ingredients , but doesnt explain how to prep them or how to use . in one recipe it calls for 2 cups of oil , yet there is nothing said , where you would USE that much of this ingredient !!! in other recipes you come accross , where it says 2 tomatoes [ example ] but no mention how to prepare them to be used .
there is just too many variables and missing information . nowhere are any special ingredients explained or even a substitute recommended . some recipes use a horrendeous amount of ingredients , esp in the usage of beans . first of all , you dont know if the beans used are fresh or dried . then ... [ i have seen it !!!!! ] it says in another .. 1 KILO dried garbanzo beans [ excample ] for 6 servings ... do you know how much that will be when they are rehydrated ?? thats a lot of beans !!!!!
the author is supposed to be a celebrated chef ... maybe some of his recipes are measured for restaurant cooking , but i know , my family would tire of any dish , if i used 1 kilo of ANY dried beans ...
overall , i would not consider this a beginners cookbook . too many mistakes , too many variablles ... and because of the way the ingredients are dealt with , inaccurate ingerdients list . if you are a advanced cook and you know your way around the kitchen and know how to use your tools . you will find many interesting recipes in this book .
there is just too many variables and missing information . nowhere are any special ingredients explained or even a substitute recommended . some recipes use a horrendeous amount of ingredients , esp in the usage of beans . first of all , you dont know if the beans used are fresh or dried . then ... [ i have seen it !!!!! ] it says in another .. 1 KILO dried garbanzo beans [ excample ] for 6 servings ... do you know how much that will be when they are rehydrated ?? thats a lot of beans !!!!!
the author is supposed to be a celebrated chef ... maybe some of his recipes are measured for restaurant cooking , but i know , my family would tire of any dish , if i used 1 kilo of ANY dried beans ...
overall , i would not consider this a beginners cookbook . too many mistakes , too many variablles ... and because of the way the ingredients are dealt with , inaccurate ingerdients list . if you are a advanced cook and you know your way around the kitchen and know how to use your tools . you will find many interesting recipes in this book .
