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Despite all the hype about celebrity chefs - whether they're on TV or simply known because they're good at what they do - and their cookbooks, the best selling ones are still the same type of cookbooks that have always been popular: basic, all-around cookbooks with tried-and-true recipes. But how could books from Phyllis Pellman Good's Fix it and Forget it series outsell books from the likes of Rachael Ray, whose name alone is definitely a household word?
The answer is simple and lies just underneath the surface of current cooking trends. Right now, both slow food and "30-minute meals" are popular, as are organic ingredients, exotic flavors and learning to cook as a pastime, the premise that reinvented the Food Network. The fact is that, no matter what the trends are, most people already know how to cook something and have been cooking longer than the Food Network has been telling them how to do it. Recipes were passed around and improved over time. It may not have been organic or gourmet, but food had to be cooked and whatever it was usually tasted pretty good to everyone in the family.
Recipes from books in this genre are generally classified as American "regional food," which is a misleading term because it sounds like the dishes, like those in the 7-million copies of the Fix It and Forget It books in homes across the country, are only popular in a few places. More accurately, they are popular in most places because they are simple, tasty and fad-free. Not everyone can or wants to devote a large chunk of their time learning how to make chicken masala or prepare ramps at home. Dishes in these books are more likely to be met with "Thanks Mom/Dad. That was good." than with "Thomas Keller has some serious competition now!" - and isn't that what most people are looking for?
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5-08-2006 @8:54PM Nate Riley said... Kinda like Ron Popeels Rotisserie machine slogan "Set-It and Forget-It" what a great infomercial
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5-08-2006 @9:13PM Bestvnteas said... So very true! Most of us don't cook to impress or to win any culinary awards. In this day and age, we can not afford the time to prepare elaborate dishes every evening. That is why many nutritious, simple and easy to prepare dishes are welcomed with open arms.
Slow and complicated dishes that call for a long list of ingredients are usually weekend projects. However, we have better plans for the weekend than slaving over the stove all day unless our life revolves around foods. In that case, we should be professional chefs.
That goes for preparing desserts - Cakes, cookies, pastries, what have you.
So, more power to basic, grounded recipes that anyone can prepare.
http://www.cookies-in-motion.com
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5-08-2006 @9:52PM Saiyajin18 said... Agreed! No matter how many famous-faced cookbooks my mom stockpiled on her kitchen bookshelf, when we needed to make something for any occasion, we always pulled out the worn, fat little red plaid Better Homes and Gardens New Cook Book. It contains a wealth of consistently easy and great recipes, and covered everything we've ever needed (except for my grandmother's Orahnjaca, when we'd gingerly examine the tattered Croation cookbook she left behind).
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