When I first received a copy of one of this year's great cookbooks, it stopped me in my tracks. There's such a rush of books at the end of the year that I usually make a couple stacks at the far end of my desk, then attack them methodically, but this book was different. The cover was inviting, like I landed in a party where the drinks and people looked fun and beautiful, and at the same time it immediately started answering my questions about the food and culture.
Amazingly, that serendipity happened multiple times this fall. What makes this year's group of best cookbooks unique is that they are all artistic big swings. It’s almost like the authors, photographers, editors, and art department folks stood in a circle, put their hands in the middle, counted to three, and shouted “go for broke!”
Another group—the first five books newly added to the list below—are the classics done right. With an Ottolenghi alum and Samin Nosrat among them, it is overflowing with talent.
This year's bumper crop looks at salsa, salads, instant ramen noodles, Italian recipes, drinking culture, and home baking. Subtle they aren't, but they get you cooking, eating, drinking, and dreaming, which sounds like cookbook perfection to me. Enjoy!
See our recent recommendations of disaspora cookbooks. Also see winning titles from 2024 and 2023. If you have a nice library of cookbooks and you want to get the most out of them, try Eat Your Books, a “cookbook mega-index” that helps you locate standout recipes in the books you already own.