Rebecca

Julia Child, in books

While looking for a foodie quote, I stumbled upon a treasure trove of Julia Child quotes. That, coupled with our ongoing experiments with French mother sauces, led my brain down the happy rabbit trail of “Julia books”. This is familiar territory, but it’s been a while since last I visited.

Like probably everyone, I was vaguely familiar with Julia Child and her place in culinary history. I did not realize how fascinating a person she was until picking up My Life in France, on a whim one day. I was mesmerized, and since then she’s remained in the background of my bookish radar. From nonfiction to fiction, Julia can be found in the pages of many books. Not to mention the cookbooks!

I need to play catch-up on the Colleen Cambridge mystery series, see if Julia continues to play a pivotal role in the story like she did in the first installment. It was fun to see her mayonnaise struggles in the context of “living her life” and interacting with neighbors – while a murderer was on the prowl. And of course, the dream is to master the art of French cooking, or at the very least conquer the mother sauces! And pastries.

Have you read much about Julia Child?
What about cooking and/or chefs in general? “Foodie nonfiction” is one of my favorite niches, and I’m always happy to discover a new corner of the world.
What is something you would love to learn to cook?

16 comments

  1. I’ve read…..a few books on French culinary culture (French Lessons, French Kids Eat Everything, and French Women Don’t Get Fat), one book by an economist foodie (Food Rules, Tyler Cowan), and several of Michael Pollan’s food-oriented works. Never any Julia Child, though.

    As far as cooking, I’d like it to get cold enough and stay that way long enough to experiment with home-made chili variations!

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    • French foodie books are some of the best! I was actually reading those before I picked up My Life in France, which I picked up more for the French angle initially. 🙂

      Oh man, yes, the major impact of lower temperatures on cooking! Getting to use the oven “for real” … soups and lovely rich savory things …

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  3. I actually didnt hear of her until I saw the film Julie & Julia. I had no clue she appeared in so many books, especially a mystery one. Good luck with your sauce and pastry plans. I’d love to make jam but so far I’ve only tried chutneys. Oh and Vienesse Fingers as proper bakery brought ones just melt in your mouth bit I so rarely see them so being able to make them would be great.

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    • I’m sure I’ve overlooked some too, which is wild to think about! And yes, I saw the film + read the Julie & Julia book {probably due for a reread/rewatch}. There’s also a show on HBOmax, I believe, that dramatizes her life and the creation of her television career – that’s on my watch list as well.

      Jam is fun, or at least the easy version we make is 😉 Ooooh, Viennese Fingers! I don’t think I’ve ever had an official one, but they look so fabulous – and the “related” versions I have tried are fabulous, so I can only imagine. That would be a wonderful baking skill to have 🙂

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      • Is that the one with Sarah Lancashire? I couldnt get into that but I hope you enjoy it more. I think she seemed to be acting the part really well though, from what I remember of the movie depiction too.

        Ah I’ve tried easy versions of fudge and ice cream. I’ll have to look for a jam one as its the setting and sugar thermometer that keeps making me delay trying 🙈

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        • Yeah, I think that’s the one. I’ve only seen a brief bit of it, but keep wanting to go back and give it a try.

          When we make jam, we don’t use a thermometer at all. We do use Sure-Jell, packaged pectin, and a crap ton of sugar (according to the recipe in the Sure-Jell package), and then it’s pretty much just boiling for the designated amount of time and a quick waterbath processing once the jars are filled. So far it’s been very successful for us, and is easy enough that we’ve done a batch after work. 🙂

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          • I dont think I’ve heard of Sure-Jell but to be fair I haven’t really looked. I’ll have to reread the ones in the cookbook I have and if they sound too daunting look into whether we have that here. Glad you’ve found a method thats quick enough to do even after work.

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            • I think there’s other brands too? It’s basically powdered pectin that you boil with the fruit + sugar {so much sugar, LOL}, and it “guarantees” the setting without as much fiddly work 😉

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  4. I know of Julia Child because of the movie Julie ans Julia I think.. the one with Meryl Streep. I had loved that movie! But I haven’t read any of her books yet☺️

    I would love to learn how to bake something one day… but I don’t even own an oven hahaha

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    • That movie was so good – I need to rewatch it now! 🙂

      No oven?! Oh man. I wouldn’t know what to do 🙂 I love to bake, it’s wonderfully therapeutic. I’ve started making our bread, and it’s both satisfying to make and eat 😉

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      • I know right???? I’ve been meaning to buy a small OTG oven since ages but there’s like no space in my kitchen lol.. and I also keep thinking what if this just adds to my workload lol! But also I loooove the smell of freshly baked breads and cakes.. sigh

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