“Mark is an important voice in American home cooking, and this new book is essential for anyone wanting tasty, easy, fresh recipes.”
–Jamie Oliver, Celebrity Chef and Activist
Photography by Romulo Yanes
Since its publication in 1998, Mark Bittman’s award-winning How to Cook Everything has become an indispensable kitchen staple. This modern classic serves as both an endlessly inspiring recipe collection and comprehensive reference for cooks of all ages and abilities.
Now, with “How to Cook Everything The Basics,” Bittman has provided a book for true beginners and perennial students, one that captures the pleasure and simplicity of everyday home cooking and makes it accessible to everyone, in full-color, step-by-step action.
The Basics is the ultimate confidence-builder. Whether you’re just learning your way around a stove or are hungry for detailed guidance, Bittman’s sensible approach, along with instructive, realistic photography, offers just the encouragement you need.
“How to Cook Everything The Basics” is a rare cookbook that teaches by example. Each of the 1,000 gorgeous photographs and 185 recipes has a story to tell and a lesson to share (you’ll find a list of them in the back of the book), all in a casual, unfussy way that makes meals as enjoyable to prepare as they are to eat.
The Basics also provides commonsense advice on how to stock your kitchen with equipment and ingredients, while special features scattered throughout offer useful information on general techniques like cooking pasta, choosing and using seafood, making bread, and 26 other skills for identifying and preparing foods from vegetables and beans to meats, soups, and desserts.
Along the way, Bittman’s practical tips and variations, descriptive visual cues, and straightforward explanations will help you recognize doneness, taste and adjust seasoning, and learn to trust your instincts. “How to Cook Everything The Basics” is the next best thing to having America’s favorite home cook right in the kitchen with you.
From the Back Cover
“Cooking, at its heart, is simple and straightforward. Even if you’ve neverpicked up a pot or pan in your life, you can–and should!–enjoy some time in the kitchen every day.”
–Mark Bittman
Hands-On Cooking
In “How to Cook Everything The Basics,” Mark Bittman teaches fundamental cooking techniques and essential lessons through 185 building-block recipes and 1,000 beautiful, instructive photographs. With all the details you need to make delicious food from breakfast to dessert, this is an irresistible, invaluable guide for beginners, accomplished cooks, and everyone in between.
“Mark Bittman has removed the last obstacle to simply great home cooking by including a foolproof, visual, and photographic follow-along component to all the basics. The result is a virtual preface to his seminal How to Cook Everything series.”
–Mario Batali, Chef, Author, and Restaurateur
“Before you can cook well, you need to learn the basics. Mark Bittman’s “How to Cook Everything The Basics” will make you a better cook.”
–Tom Colicchio, Chef and Owner of Craft Restaurants
“Had Mark published this book earlier, I would not have had to go to culinary school. This is a comprehensive guide to making delicious food.”
–David Chang, Chef/Owner of the Momofuku restaurants, coauthor of “Momofuku,” and creator of Lucky Peach
About the Author
Mark Bittman is the author of more than thirty books, including the How to Cook Everything series and the #1 New York Times bestseller VB6: Eat Vegan Before 6:00 to Lose Weight and Restore Your Health . . . for Good. Over his long career at The New York Times, Bittman wrote for both the food and opinion pages, and was the lead Magazine food writer before launching his own popular web site, The Bittman Project.
Bittman has starred in four television series, including Showtime’s Emmy-winning Years of Living Dangerously. He is a longtime TODAY regular and has made hundreds of television, radio, and podcast appearances, including on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, Real Time with Bill Maher, and CBS’s The Dish; and on NPR’s All Things Considered, Fresh Air, and Morning Edition. Together with daughter Kate Bittman, he has hosted their own podcast, Food with Mark Bittman since 2021.
Bittman has written for countless publications and spoken at dozens of universities and conferences; his 2007 TED talk “What’s wrong with what we eat?” has over five million views. He was a distinguished fellow at the University of California, Berkeley, and a fellow at the Union of Concerned Scientists. He has received six James Beard Awards, four IACP Awards, and numerous other honors.
In addition to his role as editor-in-chief for The Bittman Project, Bittman is currently special advisor on food policy at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health, where he teaches and hosts a lecture series. He is also the editor in chief of Heated. His most recent books beyond the How to Cook Everything Series are How to Eat; Animal, Vegetable, Junk; and Bittman Bread.
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