Now, where’s that cookstove?

Posted by mamster on Tuesday, June 26, 2007

This week in Culinate, I tear Christopher Kimball a new piehole.

Real men use cookstoves

But I don’t accept all his advice as gospel. If I hewed to the wisdom of his page-one editorial column in Cook’s Illustrated, I’d move to the country, cook on a wood-burning stove, kill my television, and eschew Southeast Asian fish sauce. Modernist and traditionalist, he’s a microwave and slow cooker rolled into one. The contradictions he presents make me wonder: Which version is the real Christopher Kimball?

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4 Comments »

4 Comments

Comment by Andrew

I agree with most of what you’ve said. I in fact usually skip his editorial in the magazine. I also feel like I’m a pretty good judge of when a recipe has lost too much to be authentic and just avoid those recipes like the plague.

Posted on June 27, 2007 at 7:55 am

Comment by JR

It’s always a little weird to see someone seemingly innocuous heavily and negatively criticized. Mostly it feels strange because you start to realize you really hated the bastard all along. Then you realize you didn’t really hate him, you just didn’t like what he said all that much. And then you realize mamster was right all along.

I subscribed to Cook’s for a short while but it seemed very parental and heavy-handed. And black and white? What the punk? I know, I know - no advertisements. But black and white?

I do think it makes sense in a way for them to try and focus on what you can make w/o searching ingredients out… that is, after all, the story for so many people for a variety of reasons, some of which are outside of their control.

That said, I hated the pad Thai article, too. I think what’s tricky is that they give technical details sometimes that make you feel clued in. It’s Alton Brown in print (and television, but honestly their television might as well be print).

Posted on June 27, 2007 at 8:06 pm

Comment by heather

hmm…who do you think would win in a fight: andrew or neil?

Posted on June 27, 2007 at 8:11 pm

Comment by mamster

And then you realize mamster was right all along.

That’s the point I was getting across.

But I loved the pad thai article, seriously.

Posted on June 28, 2007 at 7:01 am

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