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Product Description
The Silver Spoon is the most influential and successful cookbook in Italy. Originally published in 1950, it became an instant classic. Considered to be essential in every household, it is still one of the most popular wedding presents today. The Silver Spoon was conceived and published by Domus, the design and architectural magazine famously directed by Giņ Ponti from the 1920s to the 1970s. A group of cooking experts was commissioned to collect hundreds of traditional recipes from the different Italian regions and make them available for the first time to a wider audience. In the process, they updated ingredients, quantities and methods to suit contemporary tastes and customs, at the same time preserving the memory of ancient recipes for future generations. They also included modern recipes from some of the most famous Italian chefs, resulting in a style of cooking that appeals to the gourmet as well as the occasional cook A comprehensive and lively book, its simple and user-friendly format makes it both accessible and a pleasure to read. It provides an introduction to every course, and an explanation of the main type of ingredients. Never translated before, The Silver Spoon has now been adapted to an international market, with every recipe checked for suitability, measurements converted and methods rewritten to accommodate cultural differences, yet maintaining the authenticity of real Italian cooking. The new layout emphasizes its contemporary appeal and the colour coding of each section simplifies the process of cross-referencing ingredients and methods. A section with original menus from the 15 most famous Italian chefs of the last 50 years has been expanded to include original menus from Italian celebrity chefs working outside Italy. This is a substantial and prestigious cookbook that will share the bookshelves with other titles such as The Joy of Cooking and Larousse Gastronomique, another classic of national cuisine. With over 2,000 recipes illustrated with specially commissioned artwork and photography, the book is destined to become a classic in the Italian cooking booklist for the international market.
Review
First published in 1950 and revised over time, Italy's bestselling culinary "bible," Il Cucchiaio d'argento, is now available in English. The Silver Spoon boasts over 2,000 recipes and arrives in a handsome (and weighty) photo-illustrated edition complete with two ribbon markers. Its chapters make every menu stop from sauces and antipasti through cheese dishes and sweets, with many standout dishes like Genoese Pesto Minestrone, Eggplant and Ricotta Lasagna, Pork Shoulder with Prunes, and Chocolate and Pear Tart; the book also includes a number of "eccentricities," like sections on patty shells and bean sprouts, surely not an Italian dining staple. Meant to be inclusive, the book also offers a wide range of non-Italian, mostly French formulas, supplemented by a few "exotic" and other non-traditional entries. Though the recipe range is vast, it must be said that American readers, anxious to cook this authentic fare, will encounter problems. Translating a cookbook from one language to another requires cultural recasting as well as word substitution, and in this the book's editors have been lax. The problems include non-idiomatic usages, for example, calling for "pans" when "pots" is needed; awkward conversions from the metric system, resulting in requirements like eleven ounces of zite; and the inclusion of ingredients like cavolo nero (Tuscan cabbage), tope (a Mediterranean fish), and pancetta copatta (ham-stuffed pancetta) that are unavailable here and for which no alternatives are suggested. In addition, the recipes themselves are often insufficiently specific or detailed--even seasoned bakers will pause before cake recipes that don't specify pan size--and can also lack yields. Space considerations have also meant printing recipes in single, one-column paragraphs, which can make place-finding while cooking difficult, and there are typos and other goofs (one recipe for four specifies six cups of sliced scallions; another requires that a marinade be "stirred frequently for five to twelve hours"). All this said, many cooks--casual and serious alike--as well as cookbook collectors, will want The Silver Spoon. It's an essential document of the Italian table and as such a classic. Indeed, it would be hard to imagine a complete cookbook library without the book--a welcome evocation of a much-beloved repertoire by those who know it best. --Arthur Boehm
Customer Review:A37MD8RJ0DOODU
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Summary: Fantastic cookbook!
Great purchase. This book is HUGE!! Loaded with quality, easy-to-follow recipes. I'm not kidding when I say this thing weighs like 5lbs!!!! It is the first thing people visiting my kitchen will reach for off the shelf to look through. You'll be very happy with this addition to your cookbook library; I know I am!
Customer Review:A2TWHGHUJ4KBLX
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Summary: The Traveling Chef
One of the best Italian cook books I have encountered. Great detail and great recipes.
A must have, if you are a serious cook in Italian foods.
Customer Review:A3D6N7TDV3BSVX
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Summary: Save your money
I bought this book, thinking it would be a great reference book of italian dishes.
It is not. It is more like Betty Crocker for italians. No disrespect to Betty Crocker.... that is a lifelong favorite cookbook, but not at all what I was looking for in an italian cookbook.
Many classic italian dishes were left out of this book so it is a failure as a reference "go to" cookbook. The regional cuisines were largely unrepresented. The instructions are inexact and weak. There are very few pictures, so you cannot see what the dish should look like. And it is phenomenally heavy despite the shortage of staple recipes.
There are much better books.
Hugely disappointing.
Customer Review:A26FHUN3EAIFWO
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Summary: Measurements can't be trusted...DO NOT bake from this book!
Early in my culinary school training I was asked to prepare a panna cotta recipe from this book for a student get together. Using the exact ingredients and amounts listed in the book I created a delicious "cream soup" that simply would not set. Fortunately I'd done so well in advance of the party, and I had time to make it again using a higher amount of gelatin, and it set just fine.
Quite frankly, if a book cannot be bothered to contain the correct proportions of gelatin in a panna cotta recipe, which is an essential ingredient to its structure, not a question of personal taste, it cannot be trusted. You may have some luck with recipes where the exactitude of baking isn't required for decent results and you can taste as you go to adjust for the editors' errors, but based on this experience I would not purchase this book or bake from one of its recipes again. Why risk wasting valuable product/ingredients and time on a recipe you cannot be sure will perform?
I'm very sorry to say that I'd purchased a copy of this book as a gift for my mother well before this incident, based on its reputation, and have had to warn her not to bake from it either. Both of us are VERY baking/dessert-centric when it comes to cookbook use, so this makes the book almost useless to us.
There are plenty of other Italian cookbooks out there, and several of them are excellent. Purchase one of those instead.
Customer Review:A2WJ570EIZUZBA
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Summary: Should be a Platinum Spoon
A fellow foodie recommended this book to us. We have tried many other Italian recipes, and have eaten in many Italian restaurants, but few meals match what we had during our trip to Italy. This is the exception.
We have had the book for a little over a month, and have already tried beef, pasta, veal, chicken and vegetable recipes. Each and every one have been spectacular. The recipes are relatively simple but allow the ingredients to shine individually and as a whole. We were surprised that many recipes combine butter and olive oil--other recipes use olive oil exclusively. Within our large cookbook collection we have found only a handful that are reliable on every level--this is one.
The price is extremely reasonable, and you won't find more variety and quantity (700+ pages on everything from Frog Legs to Fennel). The photos are great, too.
If you want to prepare Italian dishes that will please guests with discriminating palates, look no further. It would also make a great gift.
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