Finally! An Intelligent Cooking Magazine.

Ever wondered why you add salt to cookie dough and sugar to bread dough? What's the difference between broth and stock, and how do you fold a wonton? How do you remove the skin from a genoise cake? Well, okay, I never knew what a genoise cake was, much less why it has a skin, but after reading Fine Cooking, I am a theoretical genoise cake master. I also know the answers to the other questions.

Fine Cooking emphasizes the whys of cooking along with the hows. Good magazines tell you how to cook great food; great magazines tell you why the recipe cooks great food.

I relish Fine Cooking's 'Food Science' articles. In these, Fine Cooking uses scientific terms to explain how basic ingredients affect your food. Issue #1, for instance, tells how gluten in wheat changes the structure, or texture, of baked goods. Armed with this knowledge, I can choose the correct flour and correct methods for my own baking. Issue #14 demystifies the roles egg whites and egg yolks play in cooking. Why did my cake fall like a souffle? The answer could lie in the over-whipped foam of my egg whites.

Fortunately, for a magazine filled with useful information, it doesn't read like a textbook. Contributing writers spice their articles with flavorful personal experiences and family stories, blending age-old wisdom with new cooking techniques. Of course, scrumptious photos of finished food fill the pages. However, Fine Cooking also includes useful how-to photos. They assist the written instructions by highlighting different steps of the cooking process. Issue #18 pictorially shows how to carve a turkey. Thanks to Fine Cooking, my husband carved a perfect Thanksgiving turkey this year--his first attempt ever. He never read the text; he just followed the photos.

In a typical issue, Fine Cooking also features kitchen equipment (pots & pans, cutting boards, blenders, or even the kitchen sink), showing pros and cons and making buying suggestions. The editors answer cooking questions from readers, and share tips--clever solutions for everyday cooking from readers--such as one reader's suggestion to cook stuffed tomatoes in a muffin tin to hold them upright. The magazine reviews books on cooking. Towards the back, it includes a chart with nutrition information for all recipes.

Recipes in Fine Cooking range from the simple basic to the gourmet. Issue #18 contains recipes for 'Roast Turkey' (3 ingredients--turkey, oil, salt) and "Braised Escarole with a Parmesan Crust" (12 ingredients--one of which 'medium head escarole' I had never heard of before.) The recipes are not foolproof, and I don't recommend the harder recipes for the beginning cook. Personally, I tend to stick to the more basic recipes, which are easier on the wallet and have readily available ingredients. I do use the gourmet recipes to enhance my everyday cooking, though. Cooking carrots with fresh ginger and orange juice? I adapted the idea from one of Fine Cooking's 'gourmet' recipes.

Like another of Taunton Press' great magazines, Fine Woodworking, many articles are contributed by people in the field. For Fine Cooking, that's cooks and chefs across the country who are sweating in kitchens and standing by outdoor grills. It's fantastic to share the knowledge of their work. Unfortunately, so many opinions can lead to conflicting advice as to 'what's best' in terms of cooking. However, I believe cooking is personal, and often there is no right or wrong for many dishes. Read the opinions, try different techniques, and stick with what works best for you.

Fine Cooking excels at explaining why you are preparing a food a certain way, or why you should use this knife instead of that knife. In addition, Fine Cooking tells you how to cook great food. I value every one of my issues, and even ordered back issues. I believe it's a great resource for the beginning and advanced cook.