"These new titles? They helped us get dinner on the table in so many ways. Books for those willing to explore the wonders waiting in their pantry or those who want to wander around other countries for inspiration. Books that celebrate vegetarian cooking, baked goods, and "good things." There were deep dives into diasporic Pakistani, Ghanaian, Middle Eastern, and Latinx cuisine. With so many excellent titles, how does one go about chronicling the best? By enlisting a group of tastemakers to evaluate and select their favorites."
"While a great cookbook is, as one might assume, a collection of stellar recipes, it should also be enjoyable to read without immediate plans to cook. And wow, do these books deliver on that. Without truly reading these books, we might not have discovered that you don't need to soften butter for a cohesive cookie dough (Nicole Rucker's Fat + Flour taught us this); or that an author's daughter is responsible for curating the playlists peppered throughout the recipe pages (that's in Hetty Lui McKinnon's Linger); or that fonio, a grain indigenous to West Africa, is likely the oldest cereal grain on the continent, but remained mostly unknown to Americans until just recently (shared by Eric Adjepong in Ghana to the World)."
2025 saw a rich array of cookbooks that combined reliable recipes with engaging reading. Titles ranged from pantry-focused guides to explorations of international flavors and diasporic cuisines, including Pakistani, Ghanaian, Middle Eastern, and Latinx traditions. Several books emphasized vegetarian cooking, baking, and everyday "good things." Contributors included editors, cookbook authors, chefs, and food writers who selected sixteen standout books. Practical revelations included techniques such as not needing to soften butter for cohesive cookie dough, the inclusion of curated playlists within recipe pages, and introductions to ingredients like fonio, an ancient West African grain. Sami Tamimi highlighted vegetable-centered Palestinian cooking.
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