The Bottom Line
"Polish Heritage Cookery" by Robert and Maria Strybel (Hippocrene Books, 1993), is a study in contrasts. It is a comprehensive volume of more than 2,000 recipes, but the sheer number forces the recipes to be printed in narrative form, instead of listing ingredients followed by directions. That's very confusing. Many of the recipes are merely guides to the preparation of a dish and assume prior knowledge of Polish cooking. Some recipes are incomplete or inaccurate, but for sheer effort the book deserves an A.
Pros
- The cookbook includes recipes for the elegant cuisine of Old Poland, as well as those for simple, peasant dishes.
- Some of the recipes are illustrated.
- In some cases, the history of a dish is given and regional differences offered.
- With more than 2,000 recipes, the book is comprehensive and touches on every course imaginable, plus spices, herbs, seasonings and other ingredients.
- There are sections on home canning, pickling and preserving, sausage making, meat curing and smoking, cordials, brandies and liqueurs, converting weights, measures and temperatures, and books of culinary interest.
Cons
- The recipes are written in narrative style instead of listing the ingredients followed by the directions. This can make reading the recipe difficult.
- Some of the recipes are inaccurate or less than stellar, prompting the question of whether they have all been kitchen tested.
- Phonetic spellings for Polish recipe names are not given.
- The photos in the middle of the book do not directly relate to the recipes, i.e., there are no cross-references with page numbers.
- The book can benefit from more illustrations and photographs.
Description
- Polish Heritage Cookery
- By Robert and Maria Strybel
- Hippocrene Books, 1993
- Hardcover, 875 pages
- ISBN 7818-0558-9
Book Review - "Polish Heritage Cookery" by Robert and Maria Strybel
I have mixed emotions about "Polish Heritage Cookery" by Robert and Maria Strybel (Hippocrene Books, 1993). At 875 pages,the book is comprehensive, but therein lies its biggest fault, in my mind.
Because the authors attempt to cover everything from soup to nuts, the recipes are printed in narrative fashion otherwise the tome probably would have reached 2,000 pages. But this can be confusing and difficult for the reader/cook to navigate. Most homecooks are used to an ingredient list followed by bulleted directions. You won't find that here.
I found some of the recipes to be inaccurate or incomplete, which makes me wonder if these were all kitchen tested. I would have loved to see phonetic spellings for the Polish recipe names and more photos and illustrations. But, then, the big probably would have been 3,000 pages long! Perhaps the authors would have better served their audience by publishing individual books in a set? Just a thought.
I find "Polish Heritage Cookery" to be sorely inadequate when it comes to holiday traditions. Robert Strybel has written "Polish Holiday Cookery" (Hippocrene Books, 2003) but, at 248 pages, its brevity makes for inadequte coverage of customs and traditions.
Despite these seemingly negative comments, I still heartily recommend the Strybels' book.
Because the authors attempt to cover everything from soup to nuts, the recipes are printed in narrative fashion otherwise the tome probably would have reached 2,000 pages. But this can be confusing and difficult for the reader/cook to navigate. Most homecooks are used to an ingredient list followed by bulleted directions. You won't find that here.
I found some of the recipes to be inaccurate or incomplete, which makes me wonder if these were all kitchen tested. I would have loved to see phonetic spellings for the Polish recipe names and more photos and illustrations. But, then, the big probably would have been 3,000 pages long! Perhaps the authors would have better served their audience by publishing individual books in a set? Just a thought.
I find "Polish Heritage Cookery" to be sorely inadequate when it comes to holiday traditions. Robert Strybel has written "Polish Holiday Cookery" (Hippocrene Books, 2003) but, at 248 pages, its brevity makes for inadequte coverage of customs and traditions.
Despite these seemingly negative comments, I still heartily recommend the Strybels' book.
