Now in paperback!

In this classic James Beard Award-winning book, food writer and culinary sleuth Shirley O. Corriher tells you how and why things happen in cooking, with over 230 outstanding recipes that not only please the palate, but demonstrate the roles of ingredients and techniques.

Can you tell whether a recipe will work before you cook it? You can if you really know what’s cooking. In CookWise, food sleuth Shirley O. Corriher tells you how and why things happen in cooking. When you know how to estimate the right amount of baking powder, you can tell by looking at the recipe that the cake is overleavened and may fall. When you know that too little liquid for the amount of chocolate in a recipe can cause the chocolate to seize and become a solid grainy mass, you can spot chocolate truffle recipes that will be a disaster. And, in both cases, you know exactly how to “fix” the recipe. Knowing how ingredients work, individually and in combination, will not only make you more aware of the cooking process, but transform you into a confident and exceptional cook--a cook who is in control.

CookWise is a different kind of cookbook. There are over 230 outstanding recipes—from Snapper Fingers with Smoked Pepper Tartar Sauce to Chocolate Stonehenge Slabs with Cappuccino Mousse--but here each recipe serves not only to please the palate but to demonstrate the roles of ingredients and techniques. A What This Recipe Shows section summarizes the special cooking points being demonstrated in each recipe. This little bit of science in everyday language indicates which steps or ingredients are vital and cannot be omitted without consequences. No matter what your cooking level, you’ll find CookWise a revelation.