The Silver Spoon

by Clelia D'Onofrio, Giovanna Mazzocchi, Phaidon Press (Publisher)

The Silver Spoon is the most influential and successful cookbook in Italy. Originally published in 1950, it became an instant classic. Considered to be essential in every household, it is still one of the most popular wedding presents today.

The Silver Spoon was conceived and published by Domus, the design and architectural magazine famously directed by Giò Ponti from the 1920's to the 1970's.

A group of cooking experts was commissioned to collect hundreds of traditional recipes from the different Italian regions and make them available for the first time to a wider audience. In the process, they updated ingredients, quantities and methods to suit contemporary tastes and customs, at the same time preserving the memory of ancient recipes for future generations. They also included modern recipes from some of the most famous Italian chefs, resulting in a style of cooking that appeals to the gourmet as well as the occasional cook

A comprehensive and lively book, its simple and user-friendly format makes it both accessible and a pleasure to read. It provides an introduction to every course, and an explanation of the main type of ingredients. Never translated before, The Silver Spoon has now been adapted to an international market, with every recipe checked for suitability, measurements converted and methods rewritten to accommodate cultural differences, yet maintaining the authenticity of real Italian cooking.

The new layout emphasizes its contemporary appeal and the colour coding of each section simplifies the process of cross-referencing ingredients and methods. A section with original menus from the 15 most famous Italian chefs of the last 50 years has been expanded to include original menus from Italian celebrity chefs working outside Italy.

This is a substantial and prestigious cookbook that will share the bookshelves with other titles such as The Joy of Cooking and Larousse Gastronomique, another classic of national cuisine. With over 2,000 recipes illustrated with specially commissioned artwork and photography, the book is destined to become a classic in the Italian cooking booklist for the international market.

Genres: Cookbooks, Cooking, Food, Nonfiction, Reference, Culinary, Italian Literature

1264 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1950

Reviews

[Sandra Noel · Rating 5 out of 5]

First of all, I want to be clear that this review is for the new, 2011 edition. This book has been updated and includes 400 new photographs. I was blown away by the size of this cookbook, and things just kept getting better from there. The quality of the book is outstanding with nice quality paper, sewn binding and a ribbon bookmark. I was a little surprised that there was only one bookmark as another cookbook from the same publisher that is much thinner has two bookmarks. This book could really use at least two, but that's a minor detail and does not detract from the overall book quality. The sewn binding gives it a sturdy feel that gives you the comfort that this book isn't going to fall apart if you use it very often--which I fully plan to do!

First, I have to address complaints I saw in other reviews (I'm assuming they are for the older edition). Some complained that even though they were well versed in making "Panna Cotta", this recipe didn't work. I know it's shocking that as much as I love Italian food I had never made "Panna Cotta" before! (I know, I know. I feel mortified to even admit it!) However, using the recipe from this book I was able to create a truly lovely "Panna Cotta" even tweaking the recipe a bit! I have to make another confession; I started the recipe before pulling out all of the ingredients--something I rarely do--only to discover my daughter had used the last of the sugar making sweet tea. I ended up substituting confectioner's sugar and held my breath. Wow!! Pretty sure I'll be making this often as it was a huge hit with my family. The consistency was so silky and smooth. It was a joy to eat. If there were problems with this recipe, they have obviously been fixed.

Last night we had the "Patate in Terracotta con Cipolle" (Potatoes and Onions Baked in an Earthenware Dish) and "Pollo Impanato E Fritto" (Fried Chicken in Breadcrumbs). My husband has nearly threatened me with bodily harm if I don't make it again! Even though I've lived all over the US, I consider myself a Southern girl and let me just say that the fried chicken is the best I've ever had! (Trust me, that's saying a lot!) I would never have thought to marinate my chicken in olive oil and lemon juice, but it was amazing! The very slight citrus background flavor and fork-tender chicken made it a sure winner. Recipe after recipe calls out to be made, and I know I'll be cooking out of this book for a very long time.

I received a copy of this book from Phaidon Publishing for my honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

[Emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good. Italian. Food. Most recipes have only a few ingredients but produce wonderful results. Beware of funny Italian -> English translations. For example "black cabbage" is not cabbage, it's kale!

My favorite recipe involves baking eggs in custard dishes in with leeks sauteed in butter and nutmeg. The swiss chard ravioli with walnut pesto is also amazing. We consider opening our own restaurant each time we crack open this huge volume of authentic Italian dishes.

[Stephen · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you like to cook, and you like to cook authentic Italian home-style food, then this is the book for you. You might not find the ingredients to some dishes, but don't let that stop you from buying this massive tome of Italian cookery. What makes this book so special was its tradition of a gift from mother-in-law to daughter-in-law. Another way of saying, "your cooking sucks, learn how now?"

Anyway, some of the dishes are obvious, others are eh, okay. But some are splendorous. There is no other word for it. And it's such a good word anyway. If you don't like to cook, it will make you look oh, so cultured to have it on your shelf. If you beat your husband with it, it will kill him, so get your Joy of Cooking for that husband bashing. I advise against husband bashing because when he bashes you back, he goes to jail. Naughty women!

I love this book. If you cook, shell out the bucks and get it. If you don't cook, save your money.

[briz · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was meditating on adding and reviewing this on Goodreads yesterday at dinner, while I was cooking some chicken legs in red wine (and enjoying it very much!). This is the magisterial Bible of Italian cooking: my nonna, my zie (aunts), and mamma mia (!) all have it. It's giant. It covers everything. It's "authentic" - i.e. it's recognized as the Bible of cooking in Italy, so you won't find abominations like "spaghetti with meatballs" or "alfredo sauce" in it. FALSE GODS.

It's served me very well over the years, especially on the go-to's:
- Tiramisu. I've made this 10+ times, it's reliable and delicious and has a big wow factor at parties. Yo, it's easy, you just need mascarpone.
- Pizza dough. Another good wow factor for parties. Also very handy. Also tasty.
- Bolognese sauce. My husband was shocked, SHOCKED, that only tomato paste (and not sauce) is used in this. Yo, it's alllll meat, dude. Bologna! Famous for meat sauces, being sexually subversive, and being super left-wing! And Umberto Eco, I guess?
- Béchamel sauce, for lasagna and crepes and such. This was always mysterious. It's not so hard.
- Crepes.
- A bunch of chicken dishes.

I'd say the tldr of the book is:
- You can cook anything. If you have some leftover broccoli, the Silver Spoon will tell you what to do with them. (And I can probably guess: it'll be - boil them in salt water, fry in olive oil for a bit, and put some damn delicious cheese nearby. ECCOCI QUA!)
- Italian cooking, like Italian fashion, operates on a small number of simple rules of thumb: the soffritto, salting your boiling water, use cheese, blah blah. It also is HIGHLY dependent on the raw quality of the ingredients. A caprese salad is delicious because the mozzarella is watery-milky smooth. If you use rubbery knock-off mozz, I can guarantee you it will suck. (I have tried.)
- This is also the great tragedy of Italian cooking in America. It does not mix well with Big Food in America.
- Why, I remember moving from Rome to DC in 2003. I wanted to make some stuff. I couldn't find a can of beans in the supermarket that just had BEANS in them. Everything had preservatives, chemical ingredients. There's high fructose corn syrup in places you least expect. There's corn starch everywhere. SO MUCH CORN. It's in your diapers. For the love of God. It's awful. Food that's stripped of its taste, and then has the taste chemically re-injected VIA CORN. I'm tearing my hair out here.
- This is why, I think, American cultural manifestations of "Italian cooking" are two-fold: the low end of false god Italian cooking (Olive Garden, spaghetti with meatballs) - i.e. stuff that doesn't actually exist in Italy - and the high end of $30 prosciutto slices at some snobby restaurant. Both lead me to despair. The high-end places put a premium on the ingredients, and heap great snobby praise on them, but, EEN EETALEE, it's just a way to cure ham!! IT'S JUST HAM.

Food quality should not be only for the rich!!!!!

Anyway. The Silver Spoon. It will guide you well. Invest in the quality of your ingredients (good olive oil, good mozzarella, fresh veg and good meat) if you have the means and you'll be fine. Some stuff is hard to find (I've had trouble with ladyfinger biscuits, mascarpone, some prosciuttos, some cheeses), but Italian delis are in most cities. And most Italian cooking is super easy, with a long tail of complex bizarre stuff. Salt + olive oil = happy.

[Brick ONeil · Rating 5 out of 5]

Long desiring the $70 cloth-hard bound version, Phaidon finally came out with this American Glossy hardback version for $15. As a collector of bargain cookbooks, this was too good to pass up. Although this numbers #70 or so in my collection, I can foresee it quickly ranking in the top 10, possibly top 5. I have perused the cookbook over the past week, leafing through the 1200 or so pages of 2000 or so recipes, gained a new respect for Italian and Mediterranean cooking, cooks and food afficianados. There have been many reviewers unsatisfied with the poor translation of the recipes, giving poor measurements, descriptions, no food substitutions and so forth. Although I am a beginner cook, with only 3 years prior high-end restaurant experience, 13 years food/cooking research and only having written 3 cookbooks the past 3 years, I know I am not in a position to give a qualified restaurant/food chef's review of the tome.

However, as a cookbook collector, healthy-lowcarb-low-salt "foodie", I can wholeheartedly give an enthusiastic two thumbs up! Sure, the translation is poor, but I am guessing the publisher/editors were in a hurry to get this to the American public, due to the updated version (which I have not seen). I can guess what the recipe editors and original cookbook recipe authors meant in the recipes. However, I am reading this as a Novel, not as a follow-by-the-word cookbook. Could I follow the recipes? Sure, I've read and reviewed enough cookbooks to understand what the recipes are, the measurements, ingredients/substitutions, pots/pans, bowls, etc to finish the recipe.

The sheer fact that an old Italian cookbook is available to the American public is mind-boggling! There are foods I'd never heard of before-snipe, salsify to just name two off the bat. I'm sure this isn't a comprehensive book of Italian Cooking, because each ingredient has only 5-10 recipes each. Rather, It feels more like an encyclopedia of Italian Cooking, rather than an explanation of Italian Cooking. I love that the publisher, Phaidon, tries to include so many ingredients, even those that have no substitutions in America. The recipes use fresh ingredients from the garden or butcher, they limit or use no processed/packaged foods and limit salt (which is unhealthy for those of us with Diabetes, Heart Disease and other issues, I am excited to have this cookbook in my collection. I can give 5 stars, unreservedly

[Tiemu · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn't know that Cantonese Fried Rice and Indonesian Fried rice are authentic Italian recipes in this 'bible of authentic Italian recipes' (to quote the cover). Now I'm off to check my Chinese cookbook for instructions on making a good risotto.

[Sandra Vel · Rating 5 out of 5]

La Biblia de la gastronomía italiana por excelencia. Imprescindible.

Este famoso libro, publicado en 1950, se ha ido actualizando hasta nuestros días, adaptado a la cocina moderna. Es el único libro de cocina italiana que necesitaréis tener. Es enorme (+1500 páginas) y con una encuadernación preciosa.

La nueva edición incluye más de 2000 recetas con imágenes a todo color, muchas de ellas son recetas típicas regionales.
Sin embargo, además de las recetas puramente italianas, también encontraréis recetas mediterráneas y otras sin fronteras, cosmopolitas, que tienen su origen en otros países pero que se han convertido en universales.

Las recetas están organizadas alfabéticamente y el libro se compone de los siguientes capítulos: tradiciones de la cocina italiana/ glosario de cocina y utensilios/ salsas, marinadas, mantequillas/ antipasti, aperitivos y pizzas/ primeros platos (caldos, sopas, pasta fresca, pasta seca, arroz, etc)/ huevos y frittate/ verduras/ pescados, crustáceos y moluscos/ carne/ aves de corral/ caza/ quesos/ postres y repostería/ lista de recetas e índice.

Incluye además una sección con menús para ocasiones especiales y otra con 23 menús de chefs de prestigio italianos.

Un libro que toda cocina debería tener, para inspirarse, consultar y practicar sin moderación. 100% recomendado.

[Linsey · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is F-A-N-T-A-S-T-I-C!!! (And I'm the sort of girl who usually avoids cooking from recipes...)

The directions are just detailed enough, without being absurd; everything I've tried (Strawberry Risotto, Glazed Radishes, Brased Beef with Barolo, Carrots with Rosemary, and the Penne Rigate in Vodka) has all been wonderful. The only difficulty is that there's no "Pasta" section (rather odd, for an Italian cookbook), and most recipes make no mention of the prep/cook time (apparently "time" is immaterial in Italy)... also, there's some ingredients that strike me as rather odd. What, for instance, is a "chicken brick"? And where do I get a quarter cup of pork fat? Should every well stocked kitchen have an "marjorm sprigs" just sitting around?

[LorCon · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Italian version of this is often given to brides and is considered the "The Joy of Cooking" of Italy. So, the English language translation was eagerly awaited. This is one big book and I suppose you must have it. I use it more as a reference. The recipes are about three to a page, evidently assuming you know a lot by osmosis. It gives me an idea of what an authentic version would be, as opposed to the American restaurant-ization of a dish. Looks great on the coffee table.

[Alexandra · Rating 5 out of 5]

Das Standardwerk bzw. die Bibel der gehobenen italienischen Küche (ist seit 50 Jahren in italienisch auf dem Markt. Auf 1300 Seiten und mehr als 2000 Rezepten vor allem mit viel regionalem Lokalkolorit fällt es einem wie Schuppen von den Augen: Pizza und Pasta haben ausgedient und sind was für Banausen, jetzt kann man richtig fein italienisch kochen. Mindestens für 5 Jahre jeden Tag was anderes - Buon appetito!

[Bryan · Rating 1 out of 5]

It’s a mystery to me why this book is so well regarded. To be fair there are some excellent recipes in it, but what caught my eye were the bizarre combinations that just sound disgusting. Grapefruit crostini, anyone? I don't think so. There is a recipe for pesto, naturally, but many of the recipes that use pesto say just spoon it from a jar. Cooking cauliflower for 20 minutes? Really? And the Irish stew. I grew up in Ireland and it's never, ever made with beef

I trained as a cook and I have many, many cookbooks, probably hundreds. Some have lots of good recipes, some have only one or two, but they are so good that they’re worth keeping. Some have fabulous photography, some have no illustrations. It’s rare that I would part with any of them. This book is an exception. I didn’t find a single inspiring recipe in it, and I did read every page, the photos are mostly far from mouthwatering and the line drawings are childishly dire. It may have been indispensable in the 1950s but the only purpose it has in the 21st century is to show far we’ve come since then.

I bought it at a charity shop last week, and it’ll be going straight back. It’s a waste of trees.

[Bradford · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was called the Joy of Cooking for Italy, just got translated into English, and has a rad/disgusting description of the 30-hour process for getting snails ready to eat. Lots of real simple stuff that tastes really damn good, and measurements are few and far between, because hell you know how much stuff you want in there, right? Like a handful. Or maybe a little more.

Seriously, bigass awesome italian cookbook.

[Suzanne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely one of the best "how to cook" almost anything. A great gift for a young person moving to their own place or a shower gift for a couple. Great photos, well-written, easy to follow. Bought it for my son for his new apartment.

[Bibliophilic Word Nerd · Rating 2 out of 5]

WoW! Great score in the street library.

No, just kidding. An Italian friend of mine told me how lucky I was to have found this in a street library. I hope the person who picked it up since I returned it feels lucky. I found it hard to navigate. It's organization was a bit strange, and the index didn't help at all.

Some of the prose was interesting to read, but in the end I didn't use a single recipe. Not sure what all the fuss is about.

[MaryAlice · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my favorite cookbooks! Most recipes have just a handful of ingredients and the explanation of how to pull the recipes together helps we pedestrian Americans how to cook like proper Italians. Some of the recipes give us instructions that may be a bit difficult to translate. Among my favorites is “half a bunch of basil.” What, I ask every time I make that recipe, is “half a bunch?” I feel just a little bit like I am back in Italy every time I make something from this wonderful book. The photos are fantastic!

[Christopher Cagle · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an awesome good cookbook! Many thanks to my sister-in-law for getting me this. Now’s the time for me to start planning meals and dinner party menus from it. More fun cooking projects to plan. Yay!

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my all time favorite cookbooks! This makes a great gift. Full of recipes but also quick bits of information. I use it often.

[Alanna · Rating 5 out of 5]

I own this book and if you want the “Joy of Cooking” for Italians, this is the book.

[Ash Ponders · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a vegetarian this tome is of slightly less use to me and mine, still country folk don't eat meat all the time so vegetables are treated at length. And regardless of my dietary proclivities, I read the whole book, picking out recipes here and there to slavishly reproduce for my friends. Many were delicious, but none were overwhelmingly delightful. Perhaps it's a defect of my palate, but once I started behaving a bit more liberal with the conceits of the recipes, things got a lot better. Overall, I'm glad I set aside a couple days this year to read a couple thousand pages about Italian cooking. I'm sure I'll still be reaching for this book whenever I have general questions regarding the thrust of certain dishes.

[Elle Belle · Rating 1 out of 5]

Extremely basic; more like a dictionary of recipes rather than something one would make over and over again. If you look into the history of this book, The Silver Spoon is more of a snapshot of what Italians were making in that decade rather than a compilation of authentic, purely Italian dishes. Thus, curry and brioche recipes. I have many other Italian cookbooks that are a million times better and more inspiring than this doorstopper. The only good thing about it is the beautiful red binding.

[Moi · Rating 4 out of 5]

My sister gave this to me for Christmas, and it's become a favorite. Too much of my understanding of Italian cuisine is seen through an American lens; I love having access to an authentic Italian resource. So far my favorite hint from the Silver Spoon is to cook pasta in the sauce thinned with some broth. It's a bit tricky to get the pasta-to-liquid ratio and the cooking time correct, but the result is an amazingly savory pasta, infused with the flavors of the sauce. A real winner.

[Nate · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is such a great cook book! It's like the Joy of Cooking for Italy, but translated into English.

The recipes are so simple, and there's a lifetime of different things to try. I really get turned off by fancy-schmancy froo-frau cookbooks with 50 ingredients, with half from specialty stores that end up costing you more than dinner at a 5-star restaurant!

Anyone can use this book, and everyone will love what you make from it.

[German Chaparro · Rating 5 out of 5]

Regalo de cumpleanos de soyloqueparezco. Es chevere porque tiene un monton de recetas elaboradas que se salen del conchudo canon "rugula con bresaola y parmesano" que tanto vi en lugares turisticos de Italia.

[Tim · Rating 5 out of 5]

THE Italian cookbook.
Managed to buy one from my local library as ' withdrawn ' in virtual ' as new ' !
Wanted a copy for some time but stalled at the price. Why is it that all cookbooks now start at a minimum of £20?

[Leslie Shank · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is one of my favourite go to cookbooks. As the source for Chicken Marbella you gotta love this collection of well crafted recipes.

[Phil · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lots of recipes to transport you to the Italian countryside. Book is high quality with thick pages, beautiful photos of every recipe, and overall well written. Glossary at the start explains how the book works and common kitchen lingo that you'll need to know, so be sure to read that before skipping through to the recipes themselves. Interesting just to read through as it stresses the Italian way of cooking (fresh simple ingredients and courses that work well together) in addition to being a cookbook with recipes.

[Lena Davie · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a cookbook! A staple in Italian kitchens and I can see why. It is MASSIVE and has 2,000+ recipes. You have to have some knowledge of food and cooking as this book does not hold your hand and you have to infer some things (like rinse leeks before using...this book does not tell you to do that) etc. BUT this is a winner! We will use this book often in our kitchen and when we are not cooking from it we can do bicep curls, it weighs a ton!

[Kiki · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's heavy (to be expected when it's nearly 1200 pages) and I'll be honest, I did not fully finish going through all 2000+ recipes. However, I could see this being a useful reference-like cookbook but not super practical for me between its size and almost too many options but not enough that really capture me or seem unique enough to warrant going to a cookbook for the recipe vs just looking up a recipe for that dish online.

[Michele Suria · Rating 1 out of 5]

A bit of a disappointment. I'm Italian and some of the fondamental recipes are wrong. To name few mistakes
1) Pesto: pine nuts missing (disgrace)
2) Carbonara: is made with guanciale not pancetta and u must not use butter and garlic!!
3)Amatriciana: there is no onion in the real recipe.

I'll carry on the reading with less enthusiasm..

[Alison Ivey · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is my Italian cooking bible. It is comprehensive, easy to cook from, and the recipes work. It’s not so much a book to read as it has no photos of food or introductions or anecdotes about dishes, just good, reliable recipes.