How did iconic pasta shapes get created?

Until fairly recently, I took pasta shapes for granted. I never thought about when, why, or how different shapes came about, to me they just always were. That is silly, of course, because everything has an origin story, regardless of whether it has been lost to history. The good news is that for many iconic shapes, their origin stories are… read more

Best of the Best 2024

We have assembled 353 lists from around the world to create our 16th annual Best of the Best. The top book of 2024 is Ottolenghi Comfort. This probably is not a big surprise to members who have been following our Best of the Best for years - almost every year Ottolenghi has had a new cookbook published, it has been… read more

Best Selling Books of 2024

Last month our friends at cookbook stores around the world gave us their picks for their favorite books of 2024 which we then included in our Best of the Best of 2024. Now we asked them for their top sellers of 2024 (published in any year). It would be interesting to compare these charts to non-specialist store/online retailer book sales but it is… read more

Cookbook Deals

I will update this post when time permits – new additions are always at the top of each bulleted list below. If no update is available, be sure to check the publisher links and "cookbook deals" links under each region as they are updated periodically. If you spot a deal that isn't in the links below (publishers and or separate entries)… read more

Traditional foods to celebrate the Lunar New Year

Today marks the beginning of a very special time for the Chinese and several other cultures, as it is the beginning of the lunar new year. This holiday, celebrated by 20% of the world’s population, is honored differently in various countries, but food features prominently in all celebrations. For the Chinese new year, 2025 ushers in the Year of the… read more

A deep dive into everything mango

Several days ago I posted the photo below on social media, saying that while medieval European peasants may have had more free time than modern people, they didn't have access to fresh mangoes in the dead of winter so I'll call it equal. Growing up in the middle of North America (very near the geological center, in fact), I suffered… read more

January 2025 New Cookbook Review

Welcome to a new year of exciting books! This January, as usual, the focus is on healthy eating and the books released reflect that. Our 2025 Cookbook Preview Post is continually updated. Don’t forget that you can create a wishlist and share it with your loved ones. In case you missed it, in a recent weekly roundup, I shared a few highlights of this… read more

JoyFull – Cookbook Review & Giveaway

Joyfull: Cook Effortlessly, Eat Freely, Live Radiantly isn't just another cookbook - it's a New York Times Bestseller that brings together Radhi Devlukia-Shetty's unique expertise as a dietitian, nutritionist, and Ayurvedic practitioner. Along with hosting the podcast "A Really Good Cry" and co-founding Juni Tea with her husband Jay Shetty (the global bestselling author and host of "On Purpose"), Radhi… read more

Food news antipasto

The Super Bowl is coming up in a couple of weeks, and fans are preparing their A-game for snacks. There is a new product coming out that might be making an appearance at select Super Bowl parties, as General Mills announced a unique mashup between Cinnamon Toast Crunch cereal and Totinos Pizza Rolls. This puzzling snack (is it made for… read more

And the winner is: 7-Eleven?

The internet-based market research firm YouGov recently held a popularity contest for the most popular grocery store in the US. The company holding the top spot is 7-Eleven, which came as a surprise to me because I don't think of 7-Eleven as a grocery store per se. However, after I thought about it a little more, I believe this makes… read more

It’s not too late to celebrate National Pie Day

Today is National Pie Day and although the day is touted as a ‘national’ event in the US, people from around the world have joined in the celebration of all things pie. Apparently, there are two National Pie Days - December 1 and January 23 - plus the unofficial day of March 14 (pi). I'm someone who believes that pie >… read more

Heritage Cookies of the Mediterranean World – Cookbook Giveaway

Enter our worldwide giveaway to win one of five e-book versions of Heritage Cookies of the Mediterranean World by Scott and Kate Pavelle. Kate and Scott Pavelle are the couple behind the website Heritage Cookies and the author of two cookbooks. Heritage Cookies of the Old and New World and Heritage Cookies of the Mediterranean World. Kate is a fiction writer… read more

James Beard Restaurant and Chef Awards Semifinalists

Today the James Beard Foundation announced the semifinalists for its 2025 Restaurant and Chef Awards. This list includes categories in national awards such as Best New Restaurant, Outstanding Baker, Outstanding Chef, Outstanding Pastry Chef, Outstanding Restaurateur, and Rising Star Chef of the Year, plus regional categories for chefs. 2025 marks a milestone for the Foundation: the 35th anniversary of the James Beard… read more

Feasts of Good Fortune Cookbook Giveaway

Enter our US giveaway to win one of two copies of Feasts of Good Fortune: 75 Recipes for a Year of Chinese American Celebrations, from Lunar New Year to Mid-Autumn Festival and Beyond by Hsiao-Ching Chou and Meilee Chou Riddle. The authors have a few events planned to celebrate this book. Hsiao-Ching Chou is the author of Chinese Soul Food:… read more

January 2025 EYB Cookbook Club Summary

Each month we previously offered at least four cooking options in our Eat Your Books Cookbook Club. This summer we cooked our favorite recipe from any cookbook, magazine, blog or online option and had a huge increase in participation and after a poll in the group we have decided to allow posting from all cookbooks and to offer one featured cookbook.… read more

Charles Phan has died at age 62

Today we learned the unfortunate news that Charles Phan, renowned chef and author of Vietnamese Home Cooking and The Slanted Door: Modern Vietnamese Food, has passed away at the age of 62. Reports emerged over the weekend indicating that the talented chef had been admitted to the hospital. His family has since confirmed that he suffered cardiac arrest. Phan was… read more

Over 170,000 Books in our EYB Library and hints to manually adding books

We have recently achieved a significant milestone: our EYB Library now boasts over 170,000 listed books. Among these, almost 14,000 are indexed, while 410 are currently in the indexing process. Additionally, 945 books do not contain recipes. It is likely that there are many more books without recipes, and we have been diligently marking them as we discover them (let… read more

Food news antipasto

Famed NYC chef André Soltner whose restaurant Lutèce set the standard for Manhattan fine dining, died this week at the age of 92. Lutèce was awarded four Michelin stars and was ranked as the best restaurant in the US by Zagat for six years in the 1980s. After he sold the restaurant Soltner remained activity in the culinary world, teaching… read more

What do you take when you have to evacuate?

The fires in LA county have been devastating, with thousands of homes burning down, including entire neighborhoods and a huge swath of a whole city. Tens of thousands of people have been forced to evacuate, leaving nearly everything behind and hoping for a miracle. One of those people is food writer and editor Kat Thompson, who shared why she didn't… read more

Looking at 2025 cookbooks, EYBD Previews, recipes and more

While most of us are still enjoying the fruits of 2024's cookbook releases, I am already looking at those titles we are looking forward to this year. This week I will highlight a few great books to be placed on our wishlists. The last few weeks, I have been working on adding 2025 titles to the preview post and cleaning… read more

What’s your favorite underrated ingredient?

Just as cooks have a favorite spice that flies under the radar, they also have a favorite ingredient that gets overlooked by others. For me, it's parsley. While it is frequently relegated to being a sad, wilted sprig of garnish in midrate restaurants, parsley possess a get-along-with-everyone flavor that warrants at least co-starring status and can even shine as the… read more

Physical media in a digital age

We have reported before about how cookbooks continue to do well while much of the publishing market struggles with sluggish and even falling sales. The usual arguments for the success of this genre are that people prefer the tactile feel of books, it is easier to cook or bake from a printed page than from a screen, and that cookbooks… read more

The Giveaway Roundup

All of our current giveaways are now on one convenient roundup which will be continually updated! If you are having any difficulties with entering our giveaways, please see our step-by-step help post. Giveaways are tagged by the countries the contests are open to. Bookmark the searches below for easy reference! To enter our contests click on the blue link beneath the… read more

Southern cooking legend Nathalie Dupree has died at age 85

We are saddened to share the news that Nathalie Dupree, celebrated Southern chef and cookbook author, passed away yesterday at age 85. South Carolina chefs shared outpourings of affection for Dupree, with Carrie Morey saying "Heaven just got a little more buttery and delicious...you have always inspired me — to take a chance, keep going, do for others, work harder,… read more

February 2025 Great Big Cookbook Club Summary

As our members know, each month we offer several cooking options in our Eat Your Books Cookbook Club. There are other fun cookbook clubs around the interwebs and we’d like to highlight those for those members who might want to cook or bake something other than our choices.  We want to get this information out to you so you can prepare… read more
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