Whether you are on Italian Cooking 101, already spend most of your time in the kitchen, or even want to find some of those family recipes that may have been lost, then a good Italian cookbook is always the best place to start. An Italian cookbook is also great for gifting to anyone who has a love of Italian food and culture.
In this article we take a look at a selection of the best Italian cookbooks, some of which are ideal for those who are newer to cooking, as well as the more experienced home cooks. We also take a look at the benefits of using an Italian cookbook and why online recipes can never offer the same experience to the home cook that the cookbook can.Best Pick
Our Best Pick: Is the Lidia’s Mastering the Art of Italian Cuisine: Everything You Need to Know to Be a Great Italian Cook from the award-winning chef, host and restaurateur Lidia Matticchio Bastianich which covers the basics as well as providing over 400 recipes.
Budget Pick
Our Budget Pick: Is the Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking, as an amalgamation and full update of two earlier bestselling cookbooks, this includes an overview of ingredients and techniques as well as numerous recipes.
Quick Comparison: Top 10 Best Italian Cookbooks
1. Lidia’s Mastering the Art of Italian Cuisine: Everything You Need to Know to Be a Great Italian Cook
Highlighted Features
Designed as a definitive guide to Italian cooking, Lidia’s Mastering the Art of Italian Cuisine: Everything You Need to Know to Be a Great Italian Cook includes over 400 recipes. This book, authored by Lidia Matticchio Bastianich and her daughter, Tanya Bastianich Manuali also includes information on ingredients, tools and techniques to allow you to buy and cook with the wide range of ingredients needed for Italian dishes.
The book also includes an Italian glossary to make it easier for you to cook Italian dishes, as well as coming in useful for when you travel and dine in Italy. As well as being the award-winning host of Lidia’s Kitchen, Lidia Matticchio Bastianich has authored twelve other books and owns/co-owns a number of acclaimed restaurants and has her own line or artisanal sauces and pastas.
This cookbook is available as hardcover or Kindle edition and has 480 pages with a red and gold design cover. Some buyers have been disappointed by the lack of images in this book as it can make it more difficult to know if the recipe is being followed correctly and there can be some recipe overlap if you already have some of Lidia’s other cookbooks. A small number also consider that the book binding could be heavier duty.Pros
Cons
2. Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking
Highlighted Features
The Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking by Marcella Hazan is available as a 704 page hardcover, paperback or Kindle edition. This book is an amalgamation of The Classic Italian Cookbook and More Classic Italian Cooking which has been updated and includes 50 new recipes.
Suitable for entry level to more advanced cooks, this cookbook includes information on ingredients and techniques as well as recipes; although some less experienced cooks can find it more difficult to follow some of the recipes. The odd buyer has commented that they do not consider some of the recipes to be as ‘authentic’ as they would like, although as with any recipes, there can be much regional variation. Some cooks would also have liked to have seen more images of the finished dishes.
Pros
Cons
3. The Elements of Pizza: Unlocking the Secrets to World-Class Pies at Home
Highlighted Features
Authored by the award-winning author, Ken Forkish, The Elements of Pizza: Unlocking the Secrets to World-Class Pies at Home is a comprehensive pizza cookbook, starting from choosing the dough, shaping the pie and selecting toppings and cheeses.
This includes over a dozen dough recipes, including one for gluten free dough as well as numerous recipes and also includes stories, history and other pizza-related facts. This is available as a 256 page hardcover or Kindle edition. The odd buyer has commented that this book lacks directions for cooking in a pizza oven rather than a kitchen oven and some cooks would have liked to have seen more pictures in the book as well as more pie recipes.
Pros
Cons
4. Mastering Pasta: The Art and Practice of Handmade Pasta, Gnocchi and Risotto
Highlighted Features
Available as a 272 page hardcover or digital edition, the Mastering Pasta: The Art and Practice of Handmade Pasta, Gnocchi and Risotto is authored by the award-winning chef and restaurateur, Marc Vetri with David Joachim; who has been involved with over forty cookbooks and is a columnist for Fine Cooking.
Alongside his personal stories of his travels and food discoveries, Vetri has also included detailed instructions and techniques on how to make over 100 recipes, as well as discussing some of the science of flour and texture, for those who are interested in learning more.
Some cooks have been disappointed as some recipes require access to specialized ingredients which are difficult to buy, and other cooks have found it to be too technical for home cooking.Pros
Cons
5. Mediterranean Instant Pot Cookbook: 550 Quick & Healthy Instant Pot Recipes That Will Make Your Life Easier
Highlighted Features
Written by the dietician-nutritionist, Alexia Burns, the Mediterranean Instant Pot Cookbook: 550 Quick & Healthy Instant Pot Recipes That Will Make Your Life Easier includes easy and healthier recipes for making in your Instant Pot.
Available as a paperback or Kindle edition, this 292 page cookbook includes limited images, which you may be keen on and the odd buyer has found that some recipes may not have enough liquid in them to prevent the IP from giving a ‘burn’ warning and there can be a risk of occasional overcooking.Pros
Cons
6. The Silver Spoon
Highlighted Features
Often described as one of the leading Italian cookbooks of the last 50 years, The Silver Spoon has been fully updated and revised. The original version of the book was a collection of hundreds of traditional home cooking recipes that were collated and updated by a group of cooking experts.
As well as including over 2,000 recipes and 400 new and full-color photographs, this updated version also includes a section on celebrity chef menus from Mario Batali, Lidia Bastianich, Rich Torrisi and others. This 1504 page book by Phaidon Press is available as paperback or hardcover and is set out in color-coded chapters corresponding to courses, including marinades, antipasti, pizza, meats, desserts and more.
As this is a larger cookbook it can be more difficult to use in the kitchen and will take up more storage room.Pros
Cons
7. The Tuscan Sun Cookbook: Recipes From Our Italian Kitchen
Highlighted Features
Authored by Frances Mayes and Edward Mayes, The Tuscan Sun Cookbook: Recipes From Our Italian Kitchen focuses on recipes prepared in a traditional kitchen using robust ingredients. This 224 page hardcover cookbook has over 150 recipes from starters to desserts as well as tips on stocking the pantry, choosing olive oils and pairing wine with dishes.
Some cooks would have preferred more photos in the book and the odd buyer has commented that some of the ingredients can be difficult to source in the US.Pros
Cons
8. Pasta Grannies: The Secrets of Italy’s Best Home Cooks
Highlighted Features
Authored by Vicky Bennison, Pasta Grannies: The Secrets of Italy’s Best Home Cooks is inspired by the YouTube channel of the same name. This book includes over 80 accessible and easy recipes from grandmothers situated across Italy as well as stories and full-color photos.
This 256 page book is available as hardcover or Kindle edition. Some buyers have been disappointed with the number of recipes in the book compared to what it available on the YouTube channel and although the book does contain images, some would have preferred a few more photos on the actual pasta making techniques.Pros
Cons
9. Felidia: Recipes from My Flagship Restaurant
Highlighted Features
Authored by Lidia Matticchio Bastianich, Felidia: Recipes from My Flagship Restaurant includes 115 of past and current recipes which have been on the menu at Felidia (New York City) since its opening in 1981.
Recipes include antipasti, sides, soups, pastas, breads and more which have been adapted for the home kitchen. This is 288 page full color cookbook available as hardcover or Kindle edition. The odd buyer considers some recipes to be out of date and some of the recipes may also be too complicated for less experienced home cooks.
Pros
Cons
10. La Cucina: The Regional Cooking of Italy
Highlighted Features
Containing over 2,000 recipes, La Cucina: The Regional Cooking of Italy is divided into chapters and the recipes are also set out with their region or origin, although the odd buyer has not been impressed with the layout of the recipes. The original concept evolved from when The Italian Academy of Cuisine was formed in 1953 to preserve Italy’s gastronomical heritage.
The Academy members then sourced recipes – many of which had never been written won – from villages across Italy and these were then published. This is a 928 page hardcover book. Some buyers have also been disappointed with recipes which need more unusual cuts of meat and this cookbook may better suit home cooks who are more experienced in Italian cuisine.
Pros
Cons
Things to Consider Before Buying an Italian Cookbook
Although the source for our recipes has changed in the last decade or so, as recipes from the internet have become the easy ‘go to’ for quick dinner solutions, the importance of the cookbook should not be forgotten.
An Italian cookbook is always a popular cookbook choice; probably the most popular after an American cookbook and not only is an Italian cookbook ideal for gifting; it also looks great in the gap on our own kitchen shelf.
Unlike online blogs and recipe sources, a published Italian cookbook – whether hardcopy or digital, not only contains tried and tested recipes, but these recipes are refined by highly experienced, passionate and often award-winning chefs. Cookbooks also contain key information such as what to look for when sourcing raw ingredients for the dishes and of course, a range of techniques and practical hints to get the most from the recipe.
The cookbook also contributes to our understanding of how to organize menus and what flavors can be served together; important for those formal dinners. Using a cookbook can also improve our knowledge and understanding when dining out in Italian restaurants – not least how to pronounce some of those unfamiliar names.
Many Italian cookbooks also contain generations of culinary and cultural heritage as well as stories of the author’s gastronomical journeys, and these, along with glossy photos, are what can make a good hardcover Italian cookbook a quintessential coffee table book.
A hardcopy of a cookbook is also ideal for adding your own notes and recipe adaptations and of course, as has happened for many of us, it means it can also be passed down to future generations for them to enjoy and add their own notes to.
Sometimes, the quantity of images in an Italian cookbook can be a deal breaker. There are those of us who like plenty of photos so we know that we are following the recipe correctly, while others of us are happy to just cook from the written word or may even dislike too many images as it is only on rare occasions that our finished effort will resemble the picture in the cookbook! If you are choosing an Italian cookbook to gift to someone rather than yourself, then choose one in line with their picture preferences rather than your own.
If you do want to gift an Italian cookbook, then to add something to the gift, why not pair it with a new garlic press, pasta maker or any other kitchen tool that will be invaluable when the recipient comes to try out some recipes from their new cookbook!
Conclusion
In this article we have considered why an Italian cookbook offers so much more than online recipes ever can. Not only does the cookbook provide the recipes, it also offers a glimpse into the culinary journey of the author and chef, often alongside their physical travels and cultural experiences. The cookbook also offers many hints and tips on how to get the most from the recipes – including in some cases what wines to pair with a dish!
We hope you have enjoyed our reviews of some of the best Italian cookbooks and if you are looking for one to add to your own bookshelf or to gift to someone then we hope that the cookbooks we have reviewed have been helpful to you in your choice.
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