Eater - 5 can’t-miss cooking audiobooks

Breakfast setup with geyser coffee maker, cup of espresso, notebook and mobile phone in kitchen

Shutterstock

Bettina Makalintal is a senior reporter at Eater.com. She listens to audiobooks constantly, lest she ever have to experience a single thought.

In the sense of general cooking guidance, I, like many people, have spent a lot of time listening to Deb Perelman of Smitten Kitchen. But recently, I’ve been spending a lot of time literally listening to Deb Perelman too: mainly, an audio accompaniment to her 2022 cookbook Smitten Kitchen Keepers. Her voice kept me company as I chopped heaps of carrots and celery for recipe testing, waited around for soup to cook, and then worked my way through mounds of dishes. One upside to this approach instead of a chatty friend in the kitchen: It’s less rude to press pause when I get overstimulated.

Whether it’s a straightforward reading of their cookbook or a more piecemeal accompaniment, audio can offer authors a more comprehensive way to interact with their audience and really bring a book to life. Recipe headnotes and blog intros can translate really well into voice note-esque clips. Or audio might offer a helpful backing-track for your cooking, literally talking you through a recipe. Or it can make a textbook-esque cookbook more approachable. Whether you’re already an audiobook fan or simply curious about cooking with a “companion,” here are five suggestions for bringing audio instruction into your kitchen.

Smitten Kitchen Keepers: A Kitchen Counter Conversation by Deb Perelman

For: Smitten Kitchen loyalists who need help figuring out what to make, and anyone who just needs a friend in the kitchen

I love getting a voice message. It feels like such a personal gesture: My friend wanted to make this tiny little podcast, just for me? That’s the vibe here. Imagine you’re supposed to host a dinner party, but you’re at a loss for what to cook. You text your friend Deb. She’s trussing a chicken and can’t type, but a few minutes later, there’s a voice memo telling you all about her meatloaf (hear her out!) and hyping you up to make it. That’s what these “kitchen counter conversations” feel like.

Naturally, this pairs best with the cookbook, since it’s really a collection of snippets of Perelman talking you through each recipe: how she developed it, what makes it a keeper, and what you might want to know if you make it too. But Perelman’s warmth and excitement makes it a comforting listen even if you’re just feeling lonely or like the hum of conversation as background sound.

Breaking Eggs: An Audio Guide to Baking by Ruby Tandoh

For: bakers, especially nervous one

I’ve always appreciated the way Ruby Tandoh considers accessibility. Her second book, Cook As You Are, published in 2021, bills itself as “recipes for real life, hungry cooks, and messy kitchens.” In the same year, she released Breaking Eggs, a standalone audio baking guide. In it, Tandoh walks listeners through baking butter cake, rye apple galette, vanilla custard galaxy buns, and miso chocolate brownies, explaining not only what to do but also why. Her conversational approach to audio instruction feels like another move toward accessibility: Baking can be intimidating and unfamiliar, and not all of us had a mother who made galette dough. Breaking Eggs is a crash course in baking, without having to take an actual class.

Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat: Mastering the Elements of Good Cooking by Samin Nosrat

For: people who listen better than they read, and walkers who love an audiobook accompaniment

A lot of people just “can’t get into” audiobooks, and I get it. Sometimes the narrator is wrong; sometimes it’s hard to find the right topic that can sustain you for several hours. The audiobook of Samin Nosrat’s modern classic, Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat, is a perfect pairing. It simply sounds like hours of Nosrat eagerly talking about food, and I assume that if you’re reading this, you already like talking and thinking about food for hours. This an approachable listen for anytime, whether walking the dog or during a road trip. You’ll feel excited to get back into the kitchen and feel more confident once you’re in it.

Big Heart Little Stove: Bringing Home Meals & Moments from The Lost Kitchen by Erin French

For: people who like food stories

After narrating her 2021 memoir, Finding Freedom, the Maine chef Erin French explored audio with her second cookbook, Big Heart Little Stove. In the audio version, French talks through each recipe in individual tracks and bulks up the book with extra tips for cooking and hosting, as well audio-exclusive interviews with her family and friends, who include Ina Garten, of course. French is a natural narrator and the combination of different formats — from memoir-like storytelling to recipe instruction to conversational interviews — keeps this audiobook engaging. It’s like the best of podcasts, audiobooks, and online classes, all in one.

More Is More by Molly Baz

For: cooks who need a little guidance on structure and pacing, and Molly Baz fans

In her first book, Cook This Book, Molly Baz experimented with QR codes that linked to instructional videos (how to butter-baste a steak, for example). She continues that in her second book, More Is More, but tacks on a few audio recipes too. Whether you love it or hate it, Baz’s work has always been extremely voicey (translated into Bazspeak: Voicey McVoicerson) in a way that feels hemmed in by the format of the page. Her audio recipes — take this one for Mollz Ballz (translated into English: meatballs) — feel like a natural outlet for that energy. These are cook-along tracks, and I appreciate that they’re timed accordingly: Baz offers classical music to pass the time during stretches of simmering and stirring.

More for the table: