December 5, 2013 Advent with SusieJ

Michael Ruhlman: Ratio

Ratio: The Simple Codes Behind the Craft of Everyday Cooking made me want to quit my job and just make stock and salmon mousseline for the rest of my life.

I do actually like my job, but Ruhlman makes cooking sound easy and simple (and make no mistake, simple is not the same as easy — biking 50 miles is simple, just keep pedaling). But Ratio does two things to make cooking and baking easier: it really does simplify basic recipes for bread, pasta and sausage down to the bare bones, and thus helps the cook to understand the chemistry of the cooking, and be confident in building on this base.

Ruhlman has a mission to free bakers and cooks from doggedly following recipes without knowing what can be changed and what can't. Half the ratios are baking, and half are for cooking, like making emulsions and stock. Ratios might seem modern, but to my mind they are quite old fashioned; we all have an image of the grandmother who cooked and baked by handfuls and pinches. She knew her ratios so well she needed no scale or measuring cup.

Ratios have saved my Stollen. It was realizing the liquid to flour ratio for the original almond stollen recipe was far out of whack that enabled me to bake an edible loaf. The book has also rescued my stock: less water, more vegetables. Who knew it could be so simple? And Ruhlman's goal is to make recipes so simple to understand that more people to whip up a their own dressing or bread.

One caveat I have for Rhulman's book is that he forgets that not everyone has the time to whip up a batch of stock after roasting a chicken. In other words, not everyone is a freelancer working at home. Some of us finish dinner, bathe the kids, and collapse directly into bed ourselves. But, if you can ignore the occasional blind spot for time, it's an excellent book.