Ratio: The Simple Codes Behind the Craft of Everyday Cooking

By Michael Ruhlman

Michael Ruhlman's groundbreaking New York Times bestseller gets at the very "truth" of cooking: it is not about recipes but rather about basic ratios and fundamental techniques.Ratios are the simple proportions of one ingredient to another. Knowing a culinary ratio is not like knowing a single recipe; it's instantly knowing a thousand. Why spend time sorting through millions of cookie recipes online or in cookbooks? Isn't it easier to remember 1:2:3? That's the ratio of ingredients that consistently make a basic, delicious cookie dough: 1 part sugar, 2 parts fat, and 3 parts flour. From there, add anything you want--chocolate, orange zest, walnuts, cinnamon, almond extract, or peanut butter, to name a few favorite variations. Replace white sugar with brown for a darker, chewier cookie. Add baking powder and/or eggs for a lighter, airier texture. Biscuit dough is 3:1:2--or 3 parts flour, 1 part fat, and 2 parts liquid. Vinaigrette is 3:1, or 3 parts oil to 1 part vinegar, and is one of the most useful sauces imaginable, giving everything from grilled meats and fish to steamed vegetables or lettuces fabulous flavor. Change its ratio and bread dough becomes pasta dough; cakes become muffins become popovers become crepes. Once you know the ratio, you no longer need a recipe.Ratio also helpfully teaches readers how the fundamental ingredients of the kitchen--water, flour, butter and oils, milk and cream, and eggs--work together. In a world full of overly complicated recipes, award-winning author Michael Ruhlman delivers an innovative, straightforward book that makes the cooking easier and more satisfying than ever.

• Format: Audio CD
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1797159313
• ISBN13: 9781797159317
• Release Date: December 2023
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio
• Weight: 0.45 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.6" x 6.0" x 5.3"

Customer Reviews

What your mother never told you.

Strangely enough, I took a course in cooking in junior high and have a bookcase of various related books from the beginning of writing to today, yet none of the books and literature have a ratio approach. Much of military cooking is ratio-planned, but that is because the ratio changes with volume. This animal is an eye-opener. I finally feel that I have a handle on the art. I tried a few simple things, but worked my way up. Only a few black and white pictures. But formulas do not require pictures. People may have an issue with what the book is not. However, no book can be an end all be all. With the basic understanding from the sample in the book, it is possible to extrapolate and expand the theory to just about anything you put in your mouth.