Rating: 
Summary: If you only have one cookbook, it should be this one.
Review: As a child, I remember thumbing through my mother's copy (in French) of Larousse Gastronomique. The words were gibberish, but the pictures intrigued me enough to spur my interest in cooking. I have desired a copy of this book for years now and recenty received a copy for my birthday. It is an invaluable resource not only for French cooking, but for cooking and food in general. Learn about ingredients, learn about processes, and through all this, learn how to impreove the quality of your life and the lives of those you cook for. I can't stress enough how important this book is for anyone who wants to make good food.
Rating:
Summary: The epicenter of any serious cook's library
Review: As a professional food writer, restaurant reviewer and editor, I'm regularly referring to this book. It's one of the books I have a hard time putting down. If you like this book, by the way, you'll probably like Cookwise by Shirley Corriher, and might want to consider the Food Lover's Companion, which is more dictionary than Encyclopedia but also very useful.
Rating: 
Summary: Are you sure this is the one for you???
Review: Don't expect a great recipe book when you buy this. It includes a large number of recipes, but these are there to demonstrate the use of key ingredients rather than as recipes that you are expected to follow.However, the book is invaluable and, I believe, unique as a reference when you come across a question about food and cuisine that is difficult to answer. I've been handed woodcock and expected to cook them - do you remove the entrails or not? You read in a recipe to use a bain-marie - what is it? What is the difference between Anna potatoes, Boulangere potatoes and Chateau potatoes? ... and so on. I don't know of any other book that can so comprehensively answer EVERY food/cooking question that I've come across. In addition to being the best available encyclopaedia of food and cooking, the Larousse Gastronomique is FUN. It is one of those books that can sit beside your bed for browsing ... just open the book at a random page and see where you get to ... every page (and there are a lot of them) has several entries that are interesting and illuminating. In a world that has become dominated by glossily illustrated books by designer chefs, where the typeface and photographs are more important than the contents of the book, this book is a truly refreshing, entertaining and useful volume.
Rating:
Summary: Not a recipe book - but an essential reference for ANY cook
Review: Don't expect a great recipe book when you buy this. It includes a large number of recipes, but these are there to demonstrate the use of key ingredients rather than as recipes that you are expected to follow. However, the book is invaluable and, I believe, unique as a reference when you come across a question about food and cuisine that is difficult to answer. I've been handed woodcock and expected to cook them - do you remove the entrails or not? You read in a recipe to use a bain-marie - what is it? What is the difference between Anna potatoes, Boulangere potatoes and Chateau potatoes? ... and so on. I don't know of any other book that can so comprehensively answer EVERY food/cooking question that I've come across. In addition to being the best available encyclopaedia of food and cooking, the Larousse Gastronomique is FUN. It is one of those books that can sit beside your bed for browsing ... just open the book at a random page and see where you get to ... every page (and there are a lot of them) has several entries that are interesting and illuminating. In a world that has become dominated by glossily illustrated books by designer chefs, where the typeface and photographs are more important than the contents of the book, this book is a truly refreshing, entertaining and useful volume.
Rating:
Summary: A disappointing, diluted version of an epicurean classic.
Review: Don't expect this to be the classic French Larousse, which comes in a condensed one-volume version and a full three-volume set. The American Larousse is, as many things American tend to be, watered- and dumbed-down for our nation's less-sensitive palates. Just as with its French cousin, the American Larousse, contains many color plates featuring dishes and ingredients featured in its pages. However, the the American Larousse appears to have approximately one-third of the content of the French version. As a purely illustrative example, the American version's section on sweetbreads is approximately two columns' worth of loosely-packed print, while the French version features six pages of dense text on the subject. Especially in light of its cost, the American Larousse is a bitter disappointment. The epicure wishing to have ready access to a gastronomic bible would be well-advised to obtain the French version in its place.
Rating:
Summary: A disappointing, diluted version of an epicurean classic.
Review: Don't expect this to be the classic French Larousse, which comes in a condensed one-volume version and a full three-volume set. The American Larousse is, as many things American tend to be, watered- and dumbed-down for our nation's less-sensitive palates. Just as with its French cousin, the American Larousse, contains many color plates featuring dishes and ingredients featured in its pages. However, the the American Larousse appears to have approximately one-third of the content of the French version. As a purely illustrative example, the American version's section on sweetbreads is approximately two columns' worth of loosely-packed print, while the French version features six pages of dense text on the subject. Especially in light of its cost, the American Larousse is a bitter disappointment. The epicure wishing to have ready access to a gastronomic bible would be well-advised to obtain the French version in its place.
Rating:
Summary: Larousse Gastronomique
Review: Great book. A "must" for the beginer or the professional cook. All the way from the basics to the most sofisticated dishes. It will became the most sought reference book. Highly recommend it !
Rating:
Summary: From Basics to Advanced - it has (almost) all
Review: I have had a copy of this book for some 30 years. A great reference work, and a good source of inspiration - many of the recipies are simple, and great for beginners. I am eagerly awaiting the new edition, as someone took my old copy. I have been unable to replace this book in New Zealand - thank heavens for Amazon!
Rating:
Summary: From Basics to Advanced - it has (almost) all
Review: I have had a copy of this book for some 30 years. A great reference work, and a good source of inspiration - many of the recipies are simple, and great for beginners. I am eagerly awaiting the new edition, as someone took my old copy. I have been unable to replace this book in New Zealand - thank heavens for Amazon!
Rating:
Summary: Are you sure this is the one for you???
Review: I think that prospective purchasers of this book should be aware that a three volume Larousse Gastronomique exists and that it is available at Amazon.fr., and, if they would be interested in that one over this one, perhaps they should look into it before buying this one. That set, however, costs.
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