cooking school cookbook everything you need to know become a great cook

Also by the Editors at America’s Test Kitchen
The Cook’s Illustrated Baking Book
The Science of Good Cooking
The Cook’s Illustrated Cookbook
The America’s Test Kitchen Menu Cookbook
The America’s Test Kitchen Quick Family Cookbook
The America’s Test Kitchen Healthy Family Cookbook
The America’s Test Kitchen Family Baking Book
The America’s Test Kitchen Family Cookbook


The America’s Test Kitchen Library series:
Slow Cooker Revolution Volume 2: The Easy-Prep Edition
The 6-Ingredient Solution
Comfort Food Makeovers
The America’s Test Kitchen D.I.Y. Cookbook
Pasta Revolution
Simple Weeknight Favorites
Slow Cooker Revolution
The Best Simple Recipes


The TV Companion series:
The Complete Cook’s Country TV Show Cookbook
The Complete America’s Test Kitchen TV Show Cookbook 2001–2014
America’s Test Kitchen: The TV Companion Cookbook (2009 and 2011–
2014 Editions)
Behind the Scenes with America’s Test Kitchen
Test Kitchen Favorites

Cooking at Home with America’s Test Kitchen
America’s Test Kitchen Live!
Inside America’s Test Kitchen
Here in America’s Test Kitchen
The America’s Test Kitchen Cookbook


America’s Test Kitchen annuals:
The Best of America’s Test Kitchen (2007–2014 Editions)
Cooking for Two (2010–2013 Editions)
Light & Healthy (2010–2012 Editions)


The Cook’s Country series:
From Our Grandmothers’ Kitchens
Cook’s Country Blue Ribbon Desserts
Cook’s Country Best Potluck Recipes
Cook’s Country Best Lost Suppers
Cook’s Country Best Grilling Recipes
The Cook’s Country Cookbook
America’s Best Lost Recipes


The Best Recipe series:
The New Best Recipe
More Best Recipes
The Best One-Dish Suppers
Soups, Stews & Chilis
The Best Skillet Recipes
The Best Slow & Easy Recipes

The Best Chicken Recipes
The Best International Recipe
The Best Make-Ahead Recipe
The Best 30-Minute Recipe
The Best Light Recipe
The Cook’s Illustrated Guide to Grilling and Barbecue
Best American Side Dishes
Cover & Bake
Steaks, Chops, Roasts & Ribs
Baking Illustrated
Italian Classics
American Classics


For a Full Listing of All Our Books or to Order Titles:
CooksIllustrated.com
AmericasTestKitchen.com
or call 800-611-0759


Praise for other America’s Test Kitchen Titles
“Ideal as a reference for the bookshelf . . . , this volume will be
turned to time and again for definitive instruction on just about any
food-related matter.” 
 Publishers weekly onthe science of good
cooking

“The perfect kitchen home companion. The ​practical side of things
is very much on display. . . . cook-friendly and kitchen-oriented,
illuminating the process of preparing food instead of mystifying it.”
the wall street journal on The Cook’s Illustrated Cookbook

“This nearly 900-page volume lands with an authoritative wallop. . . .
Everything is here. Everything. What’s more, the why and how of
recipes are explained in a way that sets the home cook up with the
confidence to wade right in, no matter the dish.”
The Chicago Tribune on The Cook’s Illustrated Cookbook
“If this were the only cookbook you owned, you would cook well, be
everyone’s favorite host, have a well-run kitchen, and eat happily
every day.” 
 thecitycook.com onThe America’s Test Kitchen Menu
Cookbook

“There are pasta books . . . and then there’s this pasta book. Flip
your carbohydrate dreams upside down and strain them through
this sieve of revolutionary, creative, and also traditional recipes.”
SAN FRANCISCO BOOK REVIEW ON PASTA REVOLUTION

“This book upgrades slow cooking for ​discriminating, 21st-century
palates—that is indeed revolutionary.” 
 THE DALLAS MORNING
NEWS ON SLOW COOKER REVOLUTION

“Forget about marketing hype, designer labels, and pretentious
entrées: This is an unblinking, unbedaz​zled guide to the
Beardian good-cooking ideal.” 
 THE WALL STREET JOURNAL ON
THE BEST OF AMERICA’S TEST KITCHEN 2009


“The best instructional book on baking this reviewer has seen.” 
 The
Library Journal (starred review) on Baking Illustrated

“Expert bakers and novices scared of baking’s requisite exactitude

can all learn something from this hefty, all-purpose home baking
volume.” 
 PUBLISHERS WEEKLY ONTHE AMERICA’S TEST KITCHEN
FAMILY BAKING BOOK
“Scrupulously tested regional and heirloom recipes.” 
 THE NEW
YORK TIMES ON THE COOK’S COUNTRY COOKBOOK

“If you’re hankering for old-fashioned pleasures,look no further.”
People Magazine on America’s Best Lost Recipes

“This tome definitely raises the bar for all-in-one, basic, must-have
cookbooks. . . . Kimball and his company have scored another hit.”
THE Oregonian on The America’s Test Kitchen Family Cookbook

“A foolproof, go-to resource for everyday cooking.” 
 Publishers
Weekly on The America’s Test Kitchen Family Cookbook

“The strength of the Best Recipe series lies in the sheer
thoughtfulness and details of the recipes.” 
 Publishers Weekly onThe
Best Recipe Series

“These dishes taste as luxurious as their full-fat siblings. Even
desserts are terrific.” 
 Publishers Weekly onThe Best Light Recipe
“Further proof that practice makes perfect, if not transcendent. . . . If
an intermediate cook follows the directions exactly, the results will
be better than takeout or Mom’s.” 
 The New York Times onThe New
Best Recipe

“Like a mini–cooking school, the detailed ​instructions and
illustrations ensure that even the most inexperienced cook can
follow these recipes with success.” 
 Publishers Weekly onBest

American Side Dishes




Copyright © 2013 by the Editors at America’s Test Kitchen
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted
in any manner whatsoever without written permission from the publisher,
except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or
reviews.
America’s Test Kitchen
17 Station Street, Brookline, MA 02445
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
The America’s test kitchen cooking school cookbook : everything you need
to know to become a great cook / by the editors at America’s Test Kitchen ;
photography by Daniel J. van Ackere and Anthony Tieuli.
pages cm
Includes index.
ePub ISBN: 978-1-936493-80-7
1. Cooking. I. America’s Test Kitchen (Firm)
TX651.A53 2013
641.5--dc23
2013018559
Manufactured in the United States of America
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
HARDCOVER: $45 US
Distributed by America’s Test Kitchen
17 Station Street, Brookline, MA 02445

EDITORIAL DIRECTOR: Jack Bishop
PROJECT EDITOR: Louise Emerick
CONTRIBUTING EDITORS: Elizabeth Carduff and Bridget Lancaster
ASSOCIATE EDITOR: Alyssa King
DESIGN DIRECTOR: Amy Klee
ART DIRECTOR: Greg Galvan
DESIGNER: Taylor Argenzio
STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER: Daniel J. van Ackere
PHOTOGRAPHY: Anthony Tieuli
ADDITIONAL PHOTOGRAPHY: Stephen Klise and Carl Tremblay
PHOTO EDITOR: Stephen Klise
FOOD STYLING: Catrine Kelty and Marie Piraino
PHOTOSHOOT KITCHEN TEAM:
ASSOCIATE EDITOR: Chris O’Connor
TEST COOKS: Daniel Cellucci and Sara Mayer
ASSISTANT TEST COOK: Cecelia Jenkins
ILLUSTRATIONS: Jay Layman
PRODUCTION DIRECTOR: Guy Rochford
SENIOR PRODUCTION MANAGER: Jessica Quirk
SENIOR PROJECT MANAGER: Alice Carpenter
PRODUCTION AND TRAFFIC COORDINATOR: Brittany Allen
WORKFLOW AND DIGITAL ASSET MANAGER: Andrew Mannone
SENIOR COLOR AND IMAGING SPECIALIST: Lauren Pettapiece
PRODUCTION AND IMAGING SPECIALISTS: Heather Dube and Lauren
Robbins
COPY EDITOR: Jeff Schier


PROOFREADER: Jane Tunks Demel
INDEXER: Elizabeth Parson

CONTENTS
Preface
Welcome To America’s Test Kitchen
Navigating This E-Book
Chapter 1 Cooking Basics
Chapter 2 How to Cook Eggs
Chapter 3 How to Cook Vegetables
Chapter 4 How to Cook Pasta
Chapter 5 How to Cook Rice, Grains, and Beans
Chapter 6 How to Cook Meat
Chapter 7 How to Cook Poultry
Chapter 8 How to Cook Seafood
Chapter 9 How to Grill
Chapter 10 How to Make Stocks and Soups
Chapter 11 How to Make Salad
Chapter 12 How to Make Quick Breads
Chapter 13 How to Make Yeast Breads and Pizzas
Chapter 14 How to Make Cookies
Chapter 15 How to Make Cakes
Chapter 16 How to Make Fruit Desserts
Chapter 17 How to Make Pies and Tarts
Chapter 18 How to Make Custards, Puddings, and Frozen Desserts


Appendix
Master Lesson Table Of Contents

PREFACE
In Vermont, nobody ever tells you what to do—they show you. When I
kneaded bread improperly, Marie Briggs, the town baker, appeared next to
me and kneaded her dough the right way. Not a word said. Or, when I
chainsawed a fallen maple from the top down (the chain binds if the trunk is
lying on the ground), Harley Smith came over, sawed from the bottom up,
and left. This all reminds me of the oft-told story of the city kid up for a
Vermont summer. When he pokes a toad with a stick, a local boy tells him
to cut it out and the city kid says, “Well, he’s my toad, ain’t he?” The
Vermonter shoots back, “Nope . . . in Vermont he’s his own toad.” That
pretty much sums up everything you need to know about Vermonters and
why locals are unlikely to tell you what to do.
When it comes to learning how to cook, even if you are lucky enough to
have a parent, a grandparent, other relative, or a friend to help teach you
the basics, our test kitchen just outside of Boston offers one huge
advantage. We have taken the trial-and-error approach to cooking to a
whole new level by scientifically testing almost every possible way of
cooking just about every recipe in the American repertoire. We boiled 1,000
eggs to find the best method. We cooked 130 old-fashioned chocolate
cakes to get just the right balance of fat to flour. We have roasted, over the
past 20-some years, thousands of chickens to arrive at the very best
methods. This book, therefore, offers more than just one cook’s perspective
—you are getting tens of thousands of test-cook hours, all organized clearly
and simply so you can have instant access to the fruits of our labor,
whether that is the best way to sharpen a knife, roast salmon (preheat the
baking sheet and score the skin), make a pound cake (melt the butter, don’t
cream it, and use a food processor for mixing), make easy-to-roll, flaky pie
dough (use half vodka and half water), or whip heavy cream (add the sugar
at the outset so it dissolves properly).
To some extent, good cooking is about familiarity and predictability. We

find that when one understands the WHYs of cooking, one is much more
likely to use the proper techniques. Once the home cook understands why
some mashed potatoes turn out bland, why roast chicken often produces
flabby skin, and why cakes don’t rise properly, then he or she will take the
time to do it right. That is the essence of this volume—to explain why we do
things the way we do. We know the answers to these questions because
we have actually tested the other methods, so we can speak from


experience. Sometimes a high oven is best, sometimes low. Some dough
has to be kneaded a lot, while other recipes are best if the dough is barely
kneaded but left in the refrigerator overnight. Great teachers have a lifetime
of hands-on experience, and this cookbook offers many, many lifetimes of
experience: 45 test cooks working 5 days per week over 20 years. The
result is an unimpeachable source of solid cooking information that you
simply cannot find elsewhere. (We know that the best way to learn is
through our mistakes and, believe me, we have made thousands of them!)
All of this, one hopes, leads to confidence. A good cook is a confident
cook, able to make midcourse corrections, adjust for the ingredients on
hand, even turn a culinary disaster into a satisfying dinner. You can arrive
at self-confidence through long years of personal experience, or you can
get a helping hand, a jump start on what works and what doesn’t. You will
still need to preheat the oven, cook the meat, sauté the onions, and bake
the biscuits, but you can start with the best cooking school in the world, The
America’s Test Kitchen Cooking School Cookbook. It’s all here—just about
everything we know—on paper, in color, and fully illustrated.
As my Vermont neighbor once replied when I said “nice day” late one
August afternoon, this doesn’t mean that our test kitchen work is done. (He
considered my remark for a bit and then intoned, “Well, so far.”) Nobody
ever finishes learning how to cook, but we think that this volume will be

“useful,” as they say in the Green Mountains. Enjoy the book and enjoy
your time well spent in the kitchen.
Cordially,
CHRISTOPHER KIMBALL
Founder, America’s Test Kitchen


WELCOME TO AMERICA’S
TEST KITCHEN
This book has been tested, written, and edited by the folks at America’s
Test Kitchen, a very real 2,500-square-foot kitchen located just outside of
Boston. It is the home of Cook’s Illustrated magazine and Cook’s Country
magazine and is the Monday-through-Friday destination for more than
three dozen test cooks, editors, food scientists, tasters, and cookware
specialists. Our mission is to test recipes over and over again until we
understand how and why they work and until we arrive at the “best” version.
We start the process of testing a recipe with a complete lack of
conviction, which means that we accept no claim, no theory, no technique,
and no recipe at face value. We simply assemble as many variations as
possible, test a half-dozen of the most promising, and taste the results
blind. We then construct our own hybrid recipe and continue to test it,
varying ingredients, techniques, and cooking times until we reach a
consensus. The result, we hope, is the best version of a particular recipe,
but we realize that only you can be the final judge of our success (or
failure). As we like to say in the test kitchen, “We make the mistakes, so
you don’t have to.”
All of this would not be possible without a belief that good cooking,
much like good music, is indeed based on a foundation of objective
technique. Some people like spicy foods and others don’t, but there is a
right way to sauté, there is a best way to cook a pot roast, and there are

measurable scientific principles involved in producing perfectly beaten,
stable egg whites. This is our ultimate goal: to investigate the fundamental
principles of cooking so that you become a better cook. It is as simple as
that.
You can watch us work (in our actual test kitchen) by tuning in to
America’s Test Kitchen (AmericasTestKitchen.com) or Cook’s Country from
America’s Test Kitchen (CooksCountryTV.com) on public television, or by
subscribing to Cook’s Illustrated magazine (CooksIllustrated.com) or
Cook’s Country magazine (CooksCountry.com), which are each published
every other month. We welcome you into our kitchen, where you can stand
by our side as we test our way to the best recipes in America.



NAVIGATING THIS E-BOOK
This eBook includes a Table of Contents that allows you to jump to any
chapter.
We have also created a Master Lesson Table of Contents that lists all
the recipes in the book, divided into easy-to-browse categories, in one
place. You can access the Recipe Table of Contents from the Table of
Contents. (It also appears at the end of the book.) Each title in the Recipe
Table of Contents is a link that will take you directly to that recipe.
Most eBook reading devices also offer a search function that allows you
to type in exactly what you are looking for. Please read the documentation
for your particular eBook reader for more information on its search function
and any other navigational features it may offer.


CHAPTER 1

Cooking Basics

Cooking isn’t complicated, but it is complex. Small variables can
have a significant effect on the quality of the finished dish. This
chapter will teach you the basics, from how to sharpen a knife and
how to measure properly to the best pots and pans and pantry
items you should stock. There’s a lot of information here, but it can
be boiled down to a single bit of advice: Think before you cook.


Inside This Chapter
12 Tips That Will Make You a Better Cook
Cooking Terminology
Basic Knife Skills
Setting Up Your Cutting Station
Caring for Your Knives
Holding a Knife
Basic Cutting Motions
Food Prep Terminology
Basic Measuring Skills
Measuring Tools
How to Measure
Using a Thermometer
Calibrating an Instant-Read Thermometer
Knowing When Food Is Done
How to Make Food Taste Better
Prep Tips
Cooking Tips
Seasoning Tips
When Seasonings Go Awry

How to Fix Common Mistakes
Troubleshooting at the Stovetop
Basic Food Safety
Keep It Clean
Avoid the Danger Zone
Handle Foods Carefully

How to Equip Your Kitchen
Essential Knives and Cutting Boards
Cleaning and Caring for Your Cutting Boards