The best 28 Cook Books books

The Plant Paradox (2017) alerts us to the dangers of eating seemingly healthy plant foods. It explores the differences between our diets and those of our ancestors’ and tells us which food products we should eat and which we should avoid to improve our digestion and maintain our optimal weight.

The Whole30 (2015) is a dietary program aimed at improving your health and general well-being. It’s based on the idea that, by cutting out certain harmful food groups and reintroducing others, you can find a diet that works for you.

Salt Sugar Fat examines the rise of the processed-food industry in America and globally, and why it has been fueled by the liberal use of salt, sugar and fat. These three ingredients are near irresistible to us humans, but their overuse also comes with devastating health effects.

In Defense of Food is a close examination of the rise of nutritionism in our culture, and a historical account of the industrialization of food. An expert in food ecology, author Michael Pollan takes a look at the way in which the food industry shifted our dietary focus from “food” to “nutrients,” and thus narrowed the objective of eating to one of maintaining physical health – a goal it did not accomplish.

Mindless Eating explores the diverse messages and influences that constitute our eating habits, which we tend to follow “mindlessly.” It also offers practical solutions on how to exploit these subconscious influences in order help meet our health or weight-loss goals. Please note that the validity of some of the research underlying the author’s work have since been called into question.

The Art of Simple Food (2007) is much more than just a cookbook – it’s also a resource for how to think about food, eating, cooking, and entertaining. Renowned chef and restaurateur Alice Waters starts from the very beginning: excellent ingredients. She then teaches skills and recipes layer by layer, in the same way she builds flavor in a dish. 

The Doctor’s Kitchen (2017) is a guide to healthy eating, backed by extensive scientific research. It shows how eating well doesn’t have to be expensive, difficult, or boring – you just need to stock up on the right ingredients, cook them properly, and develop some good habits!

100 Million Years of Food (2016) is about the foods our ancestors ate and how that diet relates to our eating habits today. These blinks will take you way back in time to explore the evolution of eating. They’ll explain that, while there’s no one-size-fits-all diet, there are a few general rules to abide by.

The Way We Eat Now (2019) offers an overview of the global food system in which we live – and try to eat. It traces our food history to the present day, where hunger is scarce and obesity is abundant. Author Bee Wilson provides an informative overview of today’s food trends, including veganism, meal-replacements and intermittent fasting. She describes what our dietary future may hold, and how we may be on the cusp of a new stage in our relationship with food.

What the Fork Are You Eating? (2014) reveals the hidden ingredients in the food you eat every day and the problematic effects they can have on your body and mind. These blinks give you a plan on how to change your relationship with food and become healthier by eating better and more consciously.

Eat Better, Feel Better (2021) is a guide to cultivating a balanced diet. Based on Giada De Laurentiis’s personal journey to transforming her health, it reveals how you can change your diet to control inflammation and improve your well-being.

Eating and cooking have always been crucial to our survival, but over time they have also become a subject of cultural and scientific interest. In Consider the Fork (2012), author Bee Wilson blends history, anthropology and technology to tell the fascinating story of the evolution of cooking, while also taking a closer look at the creation of cooking tools and how they have shaped our culture and eating behavior.

Cooked (2013) details the history of humanity’s relationship with cooking, baking and fermentation. These blinks explain how cooking became an essential aspect of being human while exploring the varied techniques people have tried and perfected to turn nature’s bounty into a delicious, nutritious meal.

The Kitchen Counter Cooking School (2011) is a practical guide to mastering the art of good home cooking. Kathleen Flinn set out to equip nine insecure home cooks with vital kitchen skills. They learned how to wield a knife confidently, roast a chicken, and bake a mean loaf of bread. But even more importantly, they learned to value food and to make conscious choices about what they ate and how they shopped for food. In these blinks, Flinn compiles the key lessons from her workshops to inspire any home cook.

How to Eat a Peach (2018) is part cookbook, part autobiography and part travelogue. Full of ideas for delicious menus and making a mean cocktail, these blinks tell you everything you need to know about hosting a memorable dinner party. They also give you a glimpse into the mind of a chef who has mastered the art of telling stories through food, and take you on a culinary tour of the places that have inspired her the most. 

Modern Comfort Food (2020) is Ina Garten’s twelfth cookbook, focusing on all-American homestyle favorites to make us feel cozy and cared for. With her trademark chic yet relatable Hamptons style, Ina serves up comforting recipes for every meal of the day, from breakfast to cocktail hour to dessert.

Juicing for Beginners (2013) is a comprehensive guidebook that tells you everything you need to know to get started on juicing. It covers the basics of juicing, from its health benefits and machine types, to different beginner-friendly recipes to try. 

The Inspired Vegan (2012) is a plant-based cookbook featuring original recipes as well as reimaginings of traditional soul food favorites, from johnnycakes to jambalaya. But it’s also a collage of inspiration – author Bryant Terry annotates recipes with recommendations for music, literature, and art to nourish not only readers’ appetites, but their creativity and culinary experimentalism. 

Ottolenghi Flavor (2020) shows home cooks how to create big flavors. It offers guidance about which cooking methods get the best results in a plant-based kitchen; gives advice for pairing different ingredients and selecting the best produce; and provides inspiration for creating exciting and flavorful meals.

The Paleo Manifesto (2013) is the go-to guide to going paleo. It explains why the Paleo diet is in sync with our ancestors’ diet, and how you can use humanity’s anthropological and evolutionary history to get fit, feel great and lead the healthy lifestyle you’ve always wanted to.

The Art of Fermentation (2012) is an award-winning exploration of fermentation – a biological process that offers a key to understanding our species’ evolution and culture. From the emergence of life on Earth to alcohol-loving bats and the art of making sauerkraut, Sandor Katz leaves no stone unturned in this gripping account of the natural and human history of fermentation. 

Flour Water Salt Yeast (2012) by Ken Forkish is a guide to the principles underlying high-quality baking, that you can apply to your own baking at home. By learning the fundamentals and developing a good technique, you can master the art of home baking and develop your own individual baking style.

A Bone to Pick (2015), a compilation of articles originally published in the New York Times, outlines the systemic problems in the American food industry. It lays out the governmental and agricultural problems that are holding the industry back – and harming us and our planet in the process.

Mastering Homebrew (2015) is an accessible guide to the art of making beer. This practical handbook gives a step-by-step overview of the whole process from brewing to bottling.

In Pursuit of Garlic (2012) peels back the thin, papery skin to reveal the inner truths of the miraculous allium whose exquisite flavor and restorative properties have made it a kitchen staple for millennia. A deep dive into the plant’s history, cultivation and culinary and medical uses, this rich exploration of the “divinely odorous bulb” is jam-packed with tasty morsels for cooks, gardeners and history buffs.

The Alice B. Toklas Cook Book (1954) is as much a cookbook as it is a window into the louche world of Parisian expats before World War II. We follow Toklas and her partner, the writer Gertrude Stein, as they traipse all over the country in their Ford Model T, entertaining art luminaries like Picasso and Hemingway, collecting recipes along the way. By cooking Toklas’ recipes, we have the rare opportunity to participate in a long-gone age of carefree sensuality. 

The Third Plate (2014) is about food: the way we cook it, eat it, produce it and the ways in which all these things are intertwined. Barber examines the dangers of monocultures and presents a powerful argument for sustainable food. He not only explains how we can go about making food more sustainable, but how we can make it even more delicious, too.

Animal, Vegetable, Miracle (2007) offers insights gained during the authors' year-long sojourn in the countryside. They lived only on seasonal and local food, and their experiment reveals the right time to eat each vegetable and the importance of investing in the local food made by local farmers.