Culinaria

Thought it was newsworthy that several versions of Culinaria are (almost unthinkably) now available at bargain prices. If you're not familiar with the Culinaria series, they are spectacular books that focus in most cases on one country, and then relate almost everything there is to know about that country, from the standpoint of food -- products, crops, specialties, beverages, traditions, culture, farming, history, and, of course, recipes. There are also hundreds of photographs. I already had most of them, but just picked up European Specialties (the only one not limited to a single country) and Russia at Borders -- on the bargain racks. They also had Greece, Italy, Germany, and Spain, but I already had those. Since these were originally $60 for the hardbound and $30 for softbound, getting them for $19.99 and $9.99 respectively was pretty exciting.

I've seen a few others from this series at Half Price Books, but they weren't as cheap as the ones at Borders -- though they did have a few other countries.

So if you need to fill out your foodie-lit collection a bit, these are wonderful options. They'd be as good for trvel as for cooking, as they go region by region, identifying the best things to eat and where to get them. Really delightful fun. And gorgeous to look at, as well.

AWESOME! Thanks for the tip. I have only one Culinaria book, the one on Hungary, and it's the best English language book on Hungarian cuisine I've seen, and very accurate and authentic in ingredients, methods, preparation, and recipes. I've been meaning to pick up more in the series, but they've been quite pricy until now, it seems.

YAY!

Hungary is one of the one's I haven't located yet. I'll have to check other stores -- maybe different ones get different books.

Oh fine! Now that I've bought them all, they go on sale! Well, okay, so I got some at pretty good prices. Still.... Let me add my encomia (?). I have all of them and I think they are excellent. The production standards are quite high, the illustrations excellent, and the writing quite good. I have seen others, with greater depth of knowledge than me, question the authenticity of their recipes in some cases, but I've never been unhappy with anything I've made. I recommend them highly.

They had the softcover versions of several (France, Greece, Germany, Italy) as Costco recently. Got the France version and drool over the pictures, although I wouldn't buy them for the recipies. I think it was $14.99.

Those books are priceless. Love them.

I just picked up Culinaria Germany and it really is the best.

Cynthia wrote:Hungary is one of the one's I haven't located yet. I'll have to check other stores -- maybe different ones get different books.

Yep, definitely try to search it out. That book was actually a very good seller in Hungary, as well, when I lived there, so it was well-received by the local populace. It's not as romantic or old-fashioned as the classic Gundel cookbook, but I would recommend it over Gundel for anybody starting out in Hungarian cooking.

I'm fairly certain each edition has a different author, so I would assume the authenticity of the recipes would vary depending on the country being featured and the author's research. I would not dismiss the recipes out-of-hand or the series as just having pretty pictures and not much else, though. Like I said, my familiarity is only with Culinaria Hungary, and I can pretty much vouch for the fact that there's not a single ingredient or method I can find a fault with in that entire book.

I can't vouch for the authenticity of any, except to say that I randomly made one of the meat patty recipes from Italy and my SO said, "OMG! These are just like the ones Aunt Josephine used to make." Aunt Jo is from Italy.

Cynthia-

Would you mind revealing at which Borders these books were found on the bargain table?

aschie30 wrote:Cynthia-

Would you mind revealing at which Borders these books were found on the bargain table?

I was at the one at Randhurst. A couple were on the racks in the entryway and more were on the bargain racks inside.

Saw the softcovers at the Costco on Clybourn a couple months ago. Don't know if they're still there, but worth a shot. Its a great series.

Saw the one for Germany at a Half Price Books a couple of months back and paging through wasn't too sure about it's authenticity: the photography was that bleached out, sullenly-illustrative variety found in 1970's language skills textbooks. I was already picking up a hundred bucks worth of New Wave Sci Fi oddities and varied firsts so hemed n hawed as to whether I should get it: I decided on "haw."

Anyone read through this particular volume?

I just picked up SPAIN at Borders on State. Just made a quick browse through. Pictures are great and I agree that it looks like it would make a great travel book. $9.99

Also had GERMANY. I may have to go back soon and pick it up!

As of 9 p.m. last night, the Borders in Norridge still had 3 copies of France and Spain as well as 6 of Germany. All soft cover.

Has anyone seen the Russia or the Caribbean volumes anywhere?

Gypsy Boy wrote:Has anyone seen the Russia or the Caribbean volumes anywhere?

Amazon has a number of new copies of Russia through non-Amazon sellers for about $20. There are also a number of copies of the Caribbean volume through non-Amazon sellers, but they start at around $90! I assume the Caribbean volume must be more in demand or quite rate.

Half Price Books in (Arlington Heights? Palatine? -- at the corner of Dundee and Rand near Whole Foods, whichever town that is) had both Russia and Caribbean about a month ago. They have other locations, so you might find one near you that has the the books -- but you might want to call first.

Has anyone seen the Russia or the Caribbean volumes anywhere?

I have the Caribben one - in Spanish. While I can't read all of it, I still enjoy the pictures and can muddle my way through the recipes and short segments. I haven't seen the English version.

My dad is the Director of Operations for a small chain of bookstores and he got me the Caribbean (Spanish) and Italy versions a year or more ago. I saw other versions (Germany, France, Spain - all soft cover) at the Border's on North Avenue a few months ago. I waited to see if I could get them (free) through my dad. Miraculously while helping him pack up a store last month, I was able to snag hard copies of France and Spain. Still no Germany or Hungary, but I'll keep my eyes out. Anyway, if any of you live near a Bargain Books I know they have them...somewhere. They just opened a huge store in Countryside, but I don't know where all of their locations are.

I have never seen Hungry anywhere. If anyone finds a place that has them, let me know. But I think it has been out of print for a while, so maybe secondhand bookstores would be a better bet for that one.

With increasing interest in food, it appears that some of these are coming back into print -- or perhaps they're just digging them out of storage. I just ordered Hungary from Amazon (softcover, $16.47). I looked through the others available, and it looks like most are back in print -- except Caribbean and USA. Fortunately, I got USA (hardcover) ages ago, because the starting price for second hand, at least on Amazon, was over $100. As for Caribbean, one can always hope for a lucky day at the Little City Book Sale next summer.

I just sat and browsed through the SE Asia Culinaria last night, and tagged about a dozen recipes to try. Tonight's reading was the newly arrived Hungary book. One nice thing about early sunset and cold weather, is one has more of an excuse to stay inside and cook.