Obsessed with the Best: 100+ Methodically Perfected Recipes Based on 20+ Head-to-Head Tests

Ella Quittner describes herself as a flavor maximalist and technique minimalist, and the premise of this book follows directly from that: extensive testing of method and ingredient variations to arrive at the best approach to familiar dishes.

The insights are genuinely useful. Poached eggs benefit from a tall stockpot and a splash of white vinegar. Vodka sauce wants tomato paste alone, no canned tomatoes. Cabbage wedges repay searing before braising. Each of these conclusions then feeds into a wider range of recipes built on the same principles.

The book will appeal most to cooks who like to improvise and want to understand why things work, not just that they do. The 24 head-to-head method comparisons form the backbone, with more than 100 recipes branching out from them. Despite what the cover suggests, with its grids of chocolate chip cookies and pancakes annotated by variation, this is not primarily a baking book. Savory cooking is the heart of it, with biscuits and yellow cake among the exceptions.

One caveat worth noting: Quittner reports what she tested and which result she preferred, but does not document the full performance of each variation. Readers who want to know which approach won will find clear answers. Those hoping to understand how the runners-up compared may find the reporting a little lean.

Reported essays on people and places devoted to finding the best of something are woven throughout, adding texture to what might otherwise be a purely instructional book.

Hardcover. Color photographs throughout.