Welcome to Sunday Sobremesa, a bimonthly thread to discuss food and culture while sipping on a shaken iced coffee (or una clara1, if that’s more your style!).
This week when we were doing some organizing in our kitchen, I started to think about cookbooks. Even though cooking blogs are popular and you can find an abundance of recipes through Google or YouTube, there’s still something about owning a physical cookbook that seems special. I’ve mostly trained myself to turn to eBooks for my general reading (I’m still a sucker for a good coffee table book), but I enjoy having a cookbook in hand while in the kitchen.
I have purchased digital cookbooks, both those directly developed for online consumption and eBook copies of the real thing, and I think they do have their own merits. For one, they obviously take up less physical space (and require no dusting, one of my least favorite household chores). It’s also easier to tap a few buttons to toggle through multiple cookbooks when planning out meals for the week, rather than having to lug four or five books to the dining room table. I highly enjoy the convenience of hyperlinked recipes in the table of contents, and the ability to “go back to [insert page number here]” instead of keeping using my finger or a random object to mark my place (I’m horrible at remembering to use actual bookmarks).
At the same time, there’s something magical about cracking open a physical cookbook. The pictures read more vivid, the words more wise. I grew up with “real” cookbooks. We had a few written by actual chefs, but many from my childhood contained recipes that had been collected from the parents of my classmates at school that were then printed, bound, and sold as fundraisers for field trips or the PTA. Physical cookbooks remind me of a simpler time, like trying to remember which of the three versions of puppy chow in our school recipe book was my family’s favorite.
But enough rambling on my part; this is a sobremesa not a soliloquy! My main question for this week is a simple one: How many cookbooks do you own? If you’re curious, I own around 25 not including the eBooks that I’ve bought.
My intention of “hosting” this sobremesa every other week is not just for you guys to interact with me—although I love that part!—but also for you to interact with each other. I envision this discussion like a true Spanish sobremesa, where there are at least five different conversations going on and things sometimes get a little tangential. So feel free to not only respond to me, but to each other! Also, you don’t have to stick to the original question; if thinking of cookbooks reminds you of a funny story, a beloved dish, or lo que sea2, share it with us!
Just counted, 91 in the house, excluding food reference books without recipes and my own titles, and then I'd guess another 30 on my mothers bookshelves, because I have limited space and she has loads so I often banish ones I'm not in the mood for!
Looks like I have around 35-40 cookbooks these days? With all the moves in the last few years, I admit that I've digitized and donated some to the library.
I have little collections within the big collection...like the ones I bought when I lived in San Francisco or the ones that were personally autographed. :)
Approx 26, ebook excluded! I started buying cookbooks less than a year ago so I'm quite proud of my little collection. My first ever physical recipe book was French Country Cooking by Mimi Thorisson, to which I'm deeply emotionally attached (the book, not Mimi lol). Happy Sunday Kiki 🙋🏻♀️
About 500 give or take. I organize them by color as that's how my brain works. They were even featured on NPR's Weekend Edition once. When I was writing my third recipe book, I decided I should organize them by subject area and author. How grown up, right? Well, I couldn't find a thing! So, now my shelves are mostly back to their colorful selves.
I don’t know how many cookbooks I own! I have cookbooks from churches schools and community cookbooks! I tend to use the school cookbooks because they have a variety of recipes, some may surprise you! Especially the peanut butter candy with a teaspoon of white vinegar! Who would have known? Not me😂
Wow! you all are amazing! I confess I just have 3 books!! But I have a reason for that!! Both, my mother and my mother in law, they taught me how to cook the most everyday dishes... Although I always look at books for new, less traditional ideas. I have my mother's pastries, and my mother-in-law's traditional cooking from the North of Spain.
The only "problem" I have with cookbooks is that, as Kiki says, .... you have to dust them! But I agree that these books have a personal charm.
Sunday Sobremesa #5: How many cookbooks do you own?
Just counted, 91 in the house, excluding food reference books without recipes and my own titles, and then I'd guess another 30 on my mothers bookshelves, because I have limited space and she has loads so I often banish ones I'm not in the mood for!
I’m counting now! 🤣 📚
Looks like I have around 35-40 cookbooks these days? With all the moves in the last few years, I admit that I've digitized and donated some to the library.
I have little collections within the big collection...like the ones I bought when I lived in San Francisco or the ones that were personally autographed. :)
Approx 26, ebook excluded! I started buying cookbooks less than a year ago so I'm quite proud of my little collection. My first ever physical recipe book was French Country Cooking by Mimi Thorisson, to which I'm deeply emotionally attached (the book, not Mimi lol). Happy Sunday Kiki 🙋🏻♀️
About 500 give or take. I organize them by color as that's how my brain works. They were even featured on NPR's Weekend Edition once. When I was writing my third recipe book, I decided I should organize them by subject area and author. How grown up, right? Well, I couldn't find a thing! So, now my shelves are mostly back to their colorful selves.
I don’t know how many cookbooks I own! I have cookbooks from churches schools and community cookbooks! I tend to use the school cookbooks because they have a variety of recipes, some may surprise you! Especially the peanut butter candy with a teaspoon of white vinegar! Who would have known? Not me😂
Wow! you all are amazing! I confess I just have 3 books!! But I have a reason for that!! Both, my mother and my mother in law, they taught me how to cook the most everyday dishes... Although I always look at books for new, less traditional ideas. I have my mother's pastries, and my mother-in-law's traditional cooking from the North of Spain.
The only "problem" I have with cookbooks is that, as Kiki says, .... you have to dust them! But I agree that these books have a personal charm.