Children’s Gift Idea: Cookbooks!

I don’t care how old a child is, I’ll bet he or she loves to cook (am I right?).

Growing up, my mother encouraged all of us to cook including my brothers, who were otherwise inclined to do nothing in the house. Why?

For one, cooking uses almost every skill that you can learn in school: math, science, reading. It even uses Social Studies – you can use the opportunity to talk about different cultures. My mother thought it was good practice for us.

And two, practically, you need to know how to cook. If you don’t, you’ll become one of those sad people that calls your mom when you’re 20 to ask how to make spaghetti (you know who you are).

And finally, life skills, schmife skills. Cooking will get you a date. Girls, men like a woman who can cook. And boys, women really like a man who can cook. Trust me on this one.

So, without further ado, here are some reviews of cookbooks for children…

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Okay, first things first. My favorite is the Better Homes and Gardens cookbook.

It’s well organized and the recipes are kid favorites. Each recipe has nutrition info and serving info – important for moms – in a clear, easy to find box at the top. Many have serving suggestions or interesting facts about the food.

The food is simple, nothing earth-shattering or fancy, but lots of kid favorites – and even a couple of craft recipes in the back. Of all of the cookbooks, it’s by far the better value.

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For the most part, I’m an Emeril fan.

I think he’s a little over the top these days but I’ve been to his show and I can attest to the fact that he’s a showman and a cook. Sometimes, the TV personalities on cooking shows forget that last bit.

I actually bought this book myself, at full price. It wasn’t a gift or a comp. I liked the idea of the international flavors. We try to get our kids to eat a lot of different things.

I found some of Emeril’s choices a bit odd, I have to admit. I’m not sure why he chose some things (German apple pancakes) over others (no pretzels?). But the availability of choices is good – considering it’s geared towards kids, there are a lot of countries represented from Cuba to Morocco to Ireland.

Emeril spends a lot of time giving cooking advice in the beginning. I’m not sure why this was included. Chances are, kids won’t read that bit, and parents should already know a lot of the safety info. That said, the “Caution symbols” for each recipe are a good idea to alert you as to whether the recipes might be appropriate for your age child.

Each recipe has a blurb about the history or culture for the dish and a map of the country of origin. There is surprisingly no nutrition info. It’s an attractive and informative cookbook but not very useful.

And the “Emeril Restaurant Guide” at the end was self-indulgent and not necessary.

All in all, I think it’s great to expose kids to culture in books and that includes books about food. But I think you have to be careful to ID many of these books for what they are: entertainment. If you’re looking to seriously interest your kids in food, I suggest that you stick with the classics and keep it simple.

Bon Appetit!

(And psst, more cookbooks reviews on tomorrow)

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cookbooks, Emeril, Better Homes & Gardens