What to read to become a better cook

WHAT’S A COOKBOOK for these days? Not just recipes: those are available online, in multiple versions, inevitably introduced by screens full of faux-chipper stories and browser-crashing pop-up ads. And not technique: again, anyone who wants to know how to clean a squid or spatchcock a chicken can head to YouTube. But while a single recipe or video may inform, neither can really tell a story of a person, place or cuisine. Any cookbook is only “a” story, not “the” story. Cuisines change; they bleed into each other; and they vary with each person who steps up to a stove and a chopping block. An instructional video or online recipe rarely delights, or bears revisiting just for pleasure. A good cookbook should do both. Here are the seven that most deserve a place on your shelf.