Jay Jacobs (1923–2008)

For the serious cook who doesn't want to waste the tiniest morsel of good food, this book is a treasure-trove. For the capable cook who needs to stretch his food budget as far as possible, this book is a godsend. For the neophyte cook who wants to learn to make the most of everything in his kitchen, this book is the perfect text.

Though it is not set up like a traditional cookbook, with lists of ingredients and a clear "method" section, "Cooking for All It's Worth" will help cooks at every level of expertise hone their skills in extracting the last bit of goodness out of everything they touch.

Paramount is the idea of not wasting food. Jacobs tells how to make magic out of bones, vegetable peelings, and the tail ends of bits of meat. He describes the process of evaluating "leftovers" for their potential in future meals --- usually recreated into something more wonderful than the dish they came from.

Don't throw away those bread crusts and bits of bread leftover after a party! Dry them and process them for a supply of breadcrumbs to use in any one of a thousand recipes. Don't discard the heeltaps of wine ... combine them and save them in the fridge for marinades or other inventive uses.

Jacobs's purpose is to teach us not to view each meal as a separate entity, with discrete ingredients bearing no relation to any other meal created that day or week, but to instead make use of "connective cookery" -- that mindset that causes us to look at the remains of a roast chicken and decide what marvelous creations it can yield before it has given all that it has. If you save those bones and bits instead of tossing them in the trash, six or seven additional meals might spring from that one chicken carcass.

In a day when money is tight and people want to stretch every dollar, this book is a wonderful guide to returning to the days when nothing was wasted --- the days of grandma's stockpot simmering on the stove and making every morsel count. The days of lavish frugality. This book will save you time and money if you only follow a fraction of the excellent advice and suggestions contained within its covers.… (más)