What recipe books could you not live without?

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My tiny, fledgling recipe book shelf needs some serious work

Nearly five years ago, I sold all my stuff.

It was intentional — my husband and I were packing up our life to travel indefinitely. And at that time, I truly needed what I perceived to be a fresh start and with my flair for the dramatic, I figured I needed to sell or donate everything.

Whilst I don’t miss much of what I eliminated, there are times I miss some of my recipe books. A choice few went for safekeeping at my parent’s house, but many were donated to friends and family.

Since stopping the travel and settling in Porto, I’ve started to buy recipe books again, but in a far more intentional way than before.

Recipe books hold an interesting space in culinary culture. Some of them are timeless — looking at you, Delia Smith’s Complete Cookery Course. Many now are part of what has been dubbed the “fast fashion of the food world,” vast in scope and arguably hollow in substance. I love the former and am trying to avoid the allure of the latter as I re-buy my stash.

I love the recipe books which become the workhorse of your kitchen. The ones you cook from regularly. The ones you want to cook more than just one recipe from (is that the mark of a fast-fashion-type recipe book? I’ve bought more than my fair share of those).

This is what I want to know from you: What recipe books could you not live without? Which are dogeared and stained? Which ones have you annotated in the margin? What are your favourite recipes from the book? Why do you love them so much?

And what are you excited about buying next?

I’ll drop my favourite recipe books in the comments section where you can add your own thoughts and chat with others. I’ll hang out in there a little bit this afternoon and early evening (European time) to see what you come up with. ⬇️

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