Cook's Illustrated

As the other reviews mentioned it goes into such detail that I often times carry it along as reading material for myself when I'm going out of town. I have bought this as gifts for at least 4 friends of mine in the last 2 years alone. I really enjoy the time the writers take in the Test Kitchen's explaining the "why" and the "how" the recipes work or doesn't for that matter. I find that this is one of those Magazine that is worth every penny no matter how much the cost. They review cookbooks and in their very own in depth fashion, go into detail in describing how they test the recipes in these cookbooks. And for someone like myself that buy at least 5 cookbooks per month this cuts down on the cost of buying books full of recipes that really aren't tested. I find it interesting when they "test" various products and appliances... I can't even begin to express what a value this subscription is all I can say is that every person I purchase this for has renewed their subscription on their own.

So what does that tell you huh?

BTW You can always purchase the Cookbook index that they put out at the end of every year it has every issue that came out.

Happy Reading


Generally reliable, a decent read, but sometimes annoying   April 2, 2008
Charleston Dave (Charleston, SC)
8 out of 8 found this review helpful

This is a generally useful magazine with a clear vision, but I don't always find myself agreeing with that vision. Try a couple of issues from the newsstand before splurging on a subscription.

CI is a great choice if you want reliable, no-nonsense recipes that (a) involve foods most people would be open to eating, (b) educate you a bit about the purpose of various ingredients and techniques in a recipe, and (c) involve minimal use of canned and processed ingredients (e.g., not just dumping cans into a crock pot). If you're interested in moving up from typical Better Homes and Gardens recipes or a PTA Cookbook, CI is a reliable source of reliable recipes. Call it serious cooking for the traditional home cook. You won't see restaurant reviews, discussions of molecular gastronomy and Top Chef, or travelogues. I've been a regular reader for over five years, archive all my copies, and cannot think of any recipe which has turned out poorly. There's no "food porn" showing fabulous presentations that are beyond the skills of the average home cook, as the recipes all present themselves as something that a reasonably skilled home cook could achieve. CI is at its best when they happen to feature a recipe for a food you enjoy, or one that you have already cooked and wondered about improving.

On the other hand, the magazine has several annoying qualities. Equipment reviews are not consistently helpful to me as, like Consumer Reports, CI often subjectively emphasizes much different features than are important to me. Ingredient tastings are rarely useful because they invariably choose brands that are not available in my region. Why don't they research which brands are nationally distributed? The opening essay by Christopher Kimball is a maudlin, page-wasting moralistic vanity puff about country living. The recipes often seem recycled, particularly between the related magazines and books (Cook's Illustrated, Cook's Country, America's Test Kitchen, Best Recipes, etc.). It can be difficult to find the recipe that you seek unless you spend more at the website or for additional publications. The magazine is organized by recipes (e.g., Roast Chicken, Brownies, etc.) but not indexed by ingredients, so if you are in the mood for something based on a particular ingredient you may not find it terribly efficient to use. Many of the reviewers here on Amazon seem fascinated with the culinary experimenting and optimization process described in the text before each final recipe, but this doesn't do much for me. I don't always agree with CI's definition of the proper taste, and their experimental procedure is poorly designed. By this, I mean that if a recipe involves ingredients and methods ABCDEF, it doesn't always work to find the best A, then the best B, and so on. It's quite possible that the choice for E makes a different B the better choice in the ultimate outcome. There's a certain pomposity of tone when CI is preparing something outside their own New England regional cuisine. It can be grating to have a Yankee self-proclaimed expert assert how a Southwestern dish is supposed to taste or announce that this-and-that is the "proper" technique to make American Southern biscuits. Sometimes the recipes are too interwoven, as in a recent issue where it seemed they were just thrilled beyond words with their new Dutch oven and everything involved use of the same $240 LeCreuset. It's also annoying to have to buy a hard-bound book or another magazine at the end of the year to get something useful as a reference for the cook's bookshelf. Without spending more money you will not be able to use the magazine as a reference. For example, if I noticed some really striking specialty produce at the farmer's market and brought it home not sure what I wanted to use it for, CI would be at the bottom of the list for sources I'd consult for ideas. The stylistic limitation of using only Wall Street Journal-style monochromatic drawings instead of color illustrations is sometimes useful and sometimes less than ideal. Finally, I find that I frankly enjoy advertisements that are designed to inform me about new cooking tools, products, training or culinary topics, and that can make a magazine more enjoyable to browse. If you enjoy this sort of thing, then CI will seem quite dry as the only advertisements are for more products from their publishing empire.

Bottom line: it's a worthwhile magazine if you are geek-serious about cooking, fussy about making familiar foods better, or enjoy having ideas presented about things you already happen to be considering cooking. It's not so useful as a reference, for quick feed-the-family-in-30-minutes meals, or for those moments when you want to figure out how to make a particular dish you have in mind or how you can use a given ingredient. I'd say it's more useful and archive-worthy than Saveur, Bon Appetit, or Gourmet. It's more accessible than pro-level magazines like Arts Culinaires. Buy a sample copy or two at the newsstand before you decide on a subscription. Myself, I'm leaning toward Taunton's Fine Cooking lately.


The Consumer's Reports of Cooking Magazine   July 9, 2002
phone gal (CHICAGO, IL United States)
6 out of 6 found this review helpful

I was turned onto this magazine a few yrs. ago by a couple of friends; and it's grown to be one of my favorites! The magazine does not take advertising, so each issue is cooking tips from cover-to-cover.

The bulk of the magazine is made up of recipes devoted to different dishes; with the test kitchens testing different ingredients and equipment to determine the best recipe, (ie 'best chocolate chip cookies'). There are also sections devoted to rating cookware and appliances. My favorite guilty pleasure is the front of each issue where readers write in describing an unknown kitchen gadget, and the editors tell them what the item is, and frequently the foreign culture that uses it.

All the techniques are illustrated with easy to follow sketches; so with the exception of the back page, there aren't the shiny, glossy, 'food-porn' photographs that are in other magazines. You can decide for yourself if this is a good or bad thing. Regardless, these are magazines you should love. You can also buy annual bound issues of the magazine.


Not Trendy, Not Slick - Simply Perfect If You Love to Cook   January 29, 2003
6 out of 7 found this review helpful

Cook's Illustrated is the one magazine that I renew immediately because I never want to miss an issue. It is packed full of information in its brief pages, and the recipes actually work in a typical, non-gourmet kitchen. If the process of preparing food doesn't really interest you, or if you are more interested in fabulous photos of resturant food that no one actually makes at home, then this is not the magazine for you. But if you want to understand the cooking process and want recipes for classic dishes that will actually work, there is no better publication. I have several hundred cookbooks, and yet often find myself turning to Cook's Illustrated when I want a great recipe for anything. I have subscribed since the premier issue, and my only complaint is that it is too long between issues. Fabulous!