Earlier this week I told you about the whole gamut of emotions that I felt when I first received the Momofuku Milk Bar cookbook. I also said that it was one of the most unique (weird?) cookbooks I have come across but did not explain why. And now after sharing a couple of recipes from the book with you,
(and this amazing Brownie Pie)
I will break it down for you and tell you my true opinion about the book. I am almost hesitant to step on any toes because this cookbook is so popular right now, but we are all entitled to our own opinions and I have never been anything but honest with you.
So let’s start with the background. What the heck is Momofuku Milk Bar and why would I/should I know about it? Well, in the foreword of the book by David Chang, he tells us about the history of Momofuku Noodle Bar, a restaurant that opened in New York City in 2004. The restaurant initially did not have a dessert menu and if patrons really wanted something sweet to follow their meal, Chang would run across the street to the market and return with some candy or ice cream sandwiches to please them. Enter sweet genius Christina Tosi. Tosi was hired by Chang at Momofuku to help with organization and office tasks. She would bake in her spare time at home and bring in her goods for her coworkers. Chang fell in love with her talent and flavor combinations and now Tosi is the mind behind Momofuku’s pastry department (aka Milk Bar) and has had a cult-like following.
We get to learn about Tosi’s background in the introduction to the book and that is one of the things that is so different about this book. It almost reads like a chapter book with multiple pages of text throughout the book discussing equipment, techniques and the background to many of the “mother recipes”. I have told you before that I appreciate this aspect of a cookbook. I want to be told a story about the food and the person preparing and inventing it and this book leaves me wanting for nothing in the story-telling department.
Another example of the novelty of this cookbook’s recipes is one of the first recipes that Christina Tosi ever came up with during her adventures at Momofuku. Cereal milk. It is exactly what it sounds like it would be. You know when you eat Frosted Flakes, for example, and there is that sweetened milk in the bottom of your bowl after all of the cereal has been eaten? Well Tosi actually uses this sweetened milk as an ingredient for panna cotta, ice cream, etc.
Silly or ingenious? You be the judge.
As far as amount and quality of photos in this book, there are many photos, while not of all finished products. There are photos of Christina in action with her fellow bakers, pictures of ingredients and some photos of what the finished recipes might look like. I am such a visual person that I love to see a photo of each recipe before I begin so I have something to aim for. So in that case, the book is lacking slightly for me.
I know I touched on this a bit in my post with Momofuku Milk Bar’s Compost Cookie recipe, but the overwhelming majority of the recipes in this cookbook are not for the faint of heart. If you were to follow the recipes exactly (which the author flat out tells you that if you do not, you will compromise the integrity of the final product), you would need to acquire several specialty ingredients such as glucose, freeze-dried corn and milk powder just to name a few. This to me overall is a negative of the book. For everyday baking, I don’t want to have to spend time and money hunting down specialty ingredients. For a special occasion, sure, but again, a good majority of the recipes call for at least one uncommon ingredient.
The way that this book is organized is also something that is a bit unusual. Again, there are 10 “mother recipes” and that is how the chapters are divided. So, for example, “the crumb” chapter gives you base recipes for the crumb which is described as “clumpy, crunchy, yet sandy little bits of flavor” and then further recipes for which one of “the crumbs” will be one of many other ingredients. A recipe within a recipe, if you will. More steps, but also more flavor.
With all of that being said, here is my bottom line: if you are a new baker looking for basic cookbooks to get you started, this is not the book for you. However, if you have some experience and are adding to your collection, this book offers a great challenge and some magnificently distinctive recipes. On my list yet to make are:
Confetti Cookies
Birthday Layer Cake (for someone I really,really like because there are quite a few steps involved)
and Grasshopper Pie.
If this book makes me realize one thing, it is that Christina Tosi and the rest of the team at Momofuku Milk Bar are truly artists. The hours, imagination and dedication that has gone into developing these complex and thoroughly thought-out desserts is very admirable. I will be happy to pull out this cookbook when I have a full day that I can dedicate to baking, I am looking for a challenge and something out of the ordinary, or I have a special occasion to celebrate.
