| Title | : | Jamies 30-Minute Meals |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | 0718154770 |
| ISBN-10 | : | 9780718154776 |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Hardcover |
| Number of Pages | : | 287 |
| Publication | : | First published January 1, 2010 |
| Awards | : | Australian Book Industry Award (ABIA) International Book (2012) |
Jamies 30-Minute Meals Reviews
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Allow me to doubt the 30 minutes or, if those are really possible, maybe find a new place to have the actual meal, 'cos the kitchen sure as hell cannot be used for a while.. Most of the recipes are based on pasta, rice or potatoes, while I would have liked to see more vegetable side dishes. Also, many ingredients are harder to find in some countries or do not come in semi-prepared form (eg. the half-hour allotted would be spend only scrubbing the mini carrots from one of the recipes; also, here we rarely find butchers that portion the meat as asked, so there's a lot of time spent there too).
The pictures are gorgeous, the organizing tips are useful, but I have to admit that, overall, I'm disappointed with the book. -
I was completely unaware of the Naked Chef until I picked up this gorgeous cookbook at the library. Apparently, he's been on tv for years...lol. The food is gorgeous, healthy, substantial.
However, there's no way that these are "quick, throw-together" recipes. At least one ingredient in each recipe is difficult to obtain (suggesting websites for online ordering). I had to google ingredients to even understand what the American translations would be.
Finally, I found one to try to duplicate, with less exotic ingredients I could find in grocery stores. Without going into great detail, I will say that it was a disaster. I made a wrong turn when I decided last-minute I did not want to put raw sausage in my blender (to add further spices to the meat-mixture). What was the point of all this? I almost forgot in the middle of the ordeal -- making a new pasta sauce from scratch (although sausage-based). Needless to say, my picture did not look like their picture. And I'm not a slouch in the kitchen, really.
The book did inspire me to cook something, but he doesn't translate well to typical, suburban American life. Martha could take him with one hand behind her back, in delivering beautiful, quality new dishes to try, with just the right amount of challenge.
His methods for reducing time are sort of interesting, though, and pretty much involve chopping all ingredients with one swipe of the knife or not chopping at all (boiling entire head of cauliflower) (let it fall apart after or as it cooks) and always keeping a kettle of water boiling to add to other pots, eliminating the wait for those to come to a boil.
I have since become more aware of Jamie and his efforts to take on corporate McDonald's (I believe his statement accused them of feeding food not fit for dogs to humans on a worldwide scale) and to improve the horrid food served in public schools. He's a great guy -- I wish his cookbook was great, too. -
OK, so you might not cook the meals in 30 minutes. Who cares!? OK, he cheated, the 30 minutes doesn't include cleaning all the crap off of your kitchen surface and chopping up all the ingredients. Who Cares?
I still have the zing of chilli on my lips after having the Satay Chicken with fiery noodle salad. It was utterly gorgeous and took me an hour from beginning to end.
You do have to know how to cook before you start this. The recipes are stripped down and at times timings and techniques are skimmed over or left out altogether. It is not a book for a beginner. -
This cookbook has an interesting concept. It includes the recipes and shows you how to use your time to prepare the individual dishes so a complete, rather impressive meal is ready all at once. This is not a bad idea in theory. In practice, it is tricky, because you may want to have an individual dish without having the entire meal. Also, several people follow "restrictive" diets (e.g., vegan, gluten-free, etc.) and this cookbook is more geared towards those who are fairly open to all foods.
That said, although there are some slightly advanced cooking skills required, I think this book may appeal to the beginning cook who is still developing the "flow" to creating an entire meal. It reminds me a Whole Foods or Central Market cooking class in which people build cooking competence and enthusiasm by cooking a wonderful full meal under the guidance of a pro. We all have to start somewhere in the kitchen and it's far more rewarding to end with a Jamie Oliver created meal than mac & cheese (not that there's anything wrong with mac & cheese, of course.)
Jamie encourages cooks to use ethical, higher welfare food sources. Thanks, Jamie! You have earned a bonus star for this. There are also a variety of recipes that draw from several types of cuisine. I can't say that anyone would necessarily cook every meal in this book, but I think even the pickiest eaters could find ones to enjoy.
Finally, I believe Jamie Oliver is genuine in his love for food and for his concern about others' health. Can't complain about that! -
I admit it, I love Jamie Oliver's philosophy of cooking and methods of presenting, as well as his efforts to make food preparation fun and easy for normal folk. His books just get better and better. Spectacular pics. Great recipes. Easy prep. If the recipe doesn't work for you, find one that does. He really wants you to cook for yourself and family. And I do too.
Falling back on fast food options is hurtful in so many ways. Even if you were raised, like I was, on crap fast food. You can change that. You can make that difference in your life. This is Jamie's message. You can change the way you eat for the better. And it doesn't have to be a hard change. It can be fun and flavourful and most awesome. Real food tastes nothing like the fat/salt/sugar saturated menu you'll get when short cutting to fast food.
Real food is...succulent, savoury, and oh so tradition causing.
If you have a mom, dad, grandma, grandpa, who is holder of the food tradition. Learn as much as you can, while you can.
If you don't have a holder of knowledge, learn from the cookbooks out there. You can reclaim your heritage by learning how your specific culture cooked traditionally. I've done this. It connects me to my ancestors.
But I don't limit myself. I love to explore all cultures. The food in all is amazing. No more fast food for me. -
This book really helped me get some more interesting foods into my diet!
When I was working 11 hour shifts, I didn't have much time for food prep. So I picked up this book.
With practise, it is possible to do the recipes within 30 minutes, providing you have all the equipment. (Jamie makes a note of this at the start - I didn't have a mircowave, so some meals were going to take me longer.) Even so, any meals I've cooked I've done so in under an hour.
I found the format fairly easy to follow, as each section of the meal is under a header, so I just skip out the dessert parts if I just want to do the main meal.
(The school-days trick of read the whole thing before you start helps here, so you know what you are doing!)
I found the range of meals to be good, and it is possible to swap out ingredients you don't like, providing you don't mind that it may take longer (or sometimes less time!) to cook. For example, the Green Thai Curry works as well with Quorn pieces as with Chicken.
I also find it very helpful that there is a colour photograph of every meal, so I know what I am aiming for. (I hate cook books with no pictures!)
Overall I'd thoroughly recommend it. :) -
I have worked in the food industry for years, for a global company. I have worked alongside factory workers to some of the countries top chefs. This book has a fantastic combination of flavours. I have heard people moan that it has taken them 40minutes.... so what? He does say that if you can get everything ready, it will save your time.
The main thing is that there are ready meals out there that take 20-30minutes. This book shows you that you can still make a quick meal, from fresh, with excellent flavours.
I can't sing the praises of this book enough. This guy has made cooking easier for people. There are no exotic hard to get ingredients. Unlike some, where they ask you to get a rare spice from outer mongolia. This is all available in your local supermarket.
So... if you like food, then this is a staple cookbook to have on your shelf. I heart Jamie. -
Excellent book. Had it years and dipped in and out tried many, many more of the recipes during lockdown. Always work out well, family always really enjoy the end result. Good variety of meals and love the salad and dessert suggestions.
This is a well thought out book that puts tasty good cooking into the average kitchen. (Just give yourself an extra 15min to take any stress out of the cooking.) -
Maybe I am being rash by giving this cook book 2 stars. It's not bad per se. In my mind, cook books should be rated based on 3 things. They are, "Am I inspired to cook after reading this book?","How many of the recipes in this book interested me and how likely am I to cook them?" and finally "How did the recipes turn out(ease of instruction, ability to find ingredients, low fail recipes)?".
I haven't cooked a thing yet from this book. I will. I have made copious notes of that which interested me. That being said, Oliver's instructions are never hard to follow and the guy knows what he is doing. He gets props for that. I have no doubt that they will turn out.
I do find some of his recipes though throughout his books are sometimes a bit out of the ordinary. He whips stuff together than I would never eat and I know my family wouldn't dream of consumming. Some of his ingredients are not easy to find at your local supermarket. Minus points to these two areas I am afraid.
Was I inspired to cook after reading this book? No. Did some things look interesting? Yes. Do I think I can whip up any of the meals in this book in minutes? Hell no. How many recipes did I make a note of from this book? Only a small handful. I would not rush out and buy this book. Get it from the library like I did. -
Ich habe mir das Buch gekauft, weil ich die Fernsehserie Jamies 30 Minuten-Menüs sooo genial finde. In exakt 30 Minuten fabriziert Jamie dort ganze Menüs live und ohne doppelten Boden (z.B. vorbereitete Sachen). Die Rezepte sind wie immer teilweise sehr einfach aber wirklich sehr raffiniert, vor allem mit den vielen Kräutern und Gewürzen.
So und nun kommen wir gleich zum größten Manko und Ärgerfaktor: Ich finde die Rezepte nur genauso sequentiell wie in der Fernsehserie. Ok es gibt selbstverständlich ein Register, in dem man, wenn man weiss wonach man sucht, auch suchen kann. Aber wo ist die Strukturübersichtsseite, die mir die Rezepte in Vorspeisen, Suppen, Hauptspeisen, Nachspeisen... einteilt? Die habe ich verzweifelt vergeblich gesucht. Ich will ja meine Menüs auch mal etwas anders zusammenstellen, als dies Jamie Oliver getan hat. Wenn man eine so gute Serie ins Medium Buch transportiert, müssen doch medientypische Vorteile genutzt werden und eine derartige Übersicht mit Seitenangaben hätte hinten nach dem Register maximal 10 Seiten belegt.
Schlampig, schlampig ausgeführt! Zerstört völlig die Qualität des Buches weil ich nichts finde! -
This is a great companion to Jamie Oliver's Meals In 30 Minutes series, which is available by DVD (in the UK).
Pros: The beginning of the book features a list of essentials which will help you prepare the meals. Recipes are listed in metric and imperial measurements. The meals are laid out for you and he breaks everything down step-by-step. I have prepared many of the meals in the book, and only one was a miss. The rest of the meals were a hit!
Cons: I wish that nutritional information was listed for the meals. These meals are NOT 30 minute meals. I consider myself an experienced home cook, but the majority of these meals took 45-60 minutes to prepare. (Perhaps repeats of the meals should go faster.)
If you are trying to prepare healthy meals for your family, this is a great book to add to your shelf. There are a number of family meals that are bound to be a hit! -
3.5 stars.
I actually liked the layout. My copy has a blue ribbon, so I can easily mark the page if I want to mix & match.
So far I've made three of the recipes & one of the sides - they were all keepers & I had lots of compliments.
I have marked it down from 4 stars as I think cookbooks need to be value for money & you may find this book isn't great in this regard. Out of 274 pages approximately 172 were pictures - & a fair few were of Jamie himself. Um Jamie... you are famous, we know what you look like. Some of the pictures were helpful (I liked having a picture of how Jamie visualised the chicken pie) some quite unnecessary. (like a hand holding some fresh herbs) this filler makes the book both heavy & expensive - & with Jamie's goal of converting the masses to good food, shouldn't his cookbooks be as affordable as possible? -
Generally I really like Jamie's cookbooks and I have one at home. My two star rating on this one had nothing to do with the recipes. My husband made the tomato soup from this book and it is the best tomato soup I've ever had! The low rating is because of the layout. The problem is that you are given instructions for a complete meal with side and a salad and possibly a dessert. In theory this sounds good but the cooking instructions are laid out as though you are making all of these things at once. So it alternates between the dishes as though you are prepping and cooking many things at once. If you want to make just one thing the instructions are very annoying to follow. Not going to buy this one but will keep checking out his cookbooks.
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Цялото ревю е тук
И тогава започва серията от вкусотии, чието приготвяне, освен добре описано, е и разграфено по минути и илюстрирано със страхотни висококачествени снимки. Като Оливър не пропуска да обясни още в самото начало на книгата, че абсолютно държи пропорциите на продуктите и времето за тяхното приготвяне да се спазват пунктуално. Е, ако искате да си сготвите нещо конкретно, може, казва той. Затова и се е постарал на края на книгата да има достатъчно добър указател с всички рецепти.
Цялото ревю е тук -
I was surprised to read that other accomplished home cooks were frustrated with this cookbook's formatting. I guess 'different strokes for different folks', because I LOVED it. I went out and bought it after drooling over it at a friend's house in Ireland.
As a home cook, I sometimes get in a rut of 'side dishes' and desserts. I love that he offers a complete meal suggestion. And I have made individual recipes from his book as well. I wasn't put off by the 'prep notes' as they were. I still found it simple to use for individual recipes, and loved the breakdown for making an entire meal at once.
We have made several of the meals, and several of the individual recipes from this book, and we have loved them all. -
I usually love his books, and his recipes are great. This book is also beautifully photographed, and I love his style. While I agree with his point (that it's generally quicker, healthier and less expensive to cook than to order in/take out), I don't like the way the recipes are set up here. It was tough to isolate a dish if you don't want the whole meal, and it's 30 minutes active cooking time - not chasing kids, answering the phone, etc. Unfortunately, that's not something I have a lot of. This works almost like a Rachel Ray cookbook, and that's not something I'm into. So, if you're looking to try one of Jamie's books, I'd pick something different.
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As much as it pains me to give Jamie Oliver 4 stars, it has to be done. Bought this with the intention of photocopying and selling it on, but now use it at least once a week. Have almost overcome the embarrassment of having this guy on my bookshelf...
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I haven't cooked anything from this yet as it is new, but it is full of lots and lots of recipes that I can't wait to try. Lovely looking recipes using healthy, fresh ingredients. Just what I feel like after the greed and gluttony of the Christmas season.
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pat - winter 2011
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Spinach and feta pie took nearly one and a half hours! The cooking time was completely inadequate but the end result - when it finally emerged from the oven - did taste good.
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30 minutes my bum!
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3.5
"30 minutes," they said..."It'll be simple," they said.
30 minutes just for prep, bro. -
Προσωπικά, ένα από τα αγαπημένα μου hobbies είναι το να μαγειρεύω, τόσο σε καθημερινή βάση για την οικογένειά μου, όσο και για φίλους σε πιο ιδιαίτερες περιστάσεις. Ουσιαστικά, θεωρώ πως η μαγειρική είναι ένα είδος τέχνης, καλλιτεχνικής έκφρασης και εκδήλωσης δημιουργικότητας και ναι, συμφωνώ με τη θεωρία που θέλει τον καθένα από εμάς ικανό να μαγειρέψει, αρκεί να έχει την όρεξη και τη διάθεση για να κάνει κάτι τέτοιο. Γιατί η μαγειρική, θέλει να την αγαπάς. Γιατί μόνο τότε μπορείς να αποδώσεις, να μάθεις, να γίνεις καλύτερος και γιατί όχι, να οδηγηθείς σε δικούς σου πειραματισμούς. Ένας τρόπος να μάθεις, τα τελευταία χρόνια τουλάχιστον, είναι οι διάφορες εκπομπές μαγειρικής. Βέβαια, οι περισσότερες από αυτές, δείχνουν gourmet συνταγές για εσ��ιατόρεια και όχι κάτι απλό, καθημερινό, οικογενειακό. Αυτός είναι και ο λόγος που μου αρέσουν οι εκπομπές του Jamie Oliver. Θυμίζουν κάτι από σπίτι.
Ξέρω πως ίσως να σας φαίνεται παράξενο που μπαίνω στη διαδικασία να σχολιάσω βιβλία μαγειρικής, ωστόσο, οφείλω να τονίσω πως πρόκειται για δύο ιδιαίτερα βιβλία, πολυχρηστικότατα και που καμία σχέση δεν έχουν με τους παραδοσιακούς "Τσελεμεντέδες" που κληρονομήσατε από τις γιαγιάδες και τις μαμάδες σας. Στα δύο αυτά βιβλία του Jamie, μπορείτε να βρείτε συνταγές απλές, εύκολες στην εκτέλεσή τους, με υλικά που σχεδ��ν πάντα υπάρχουν σε κάθε σπίτι, τις οποίες επεξηγεί βήμα προς βήμα με οδηγίες που είναι κάτι παραπάνω από κατανοητές. Βέβαια, υπάρχει ένα μικρό μειονέκτημα, αλλά αυτό έχει να κάνει και με το κατά πόσο πολύ χρησιμοποιείται την κουζίνα σας, ως χώρο, και κατά πόσο κάνετε μέσα σε αυτήν πράγματα πέραν το να βράζετε ένα αυγό ή ένα πακέτο μακαρόνια. Κι αναφέρομαι φυσικά στον εξοπλισμό που απαιτείται για να ολοκληρώσετε τις συνταγές αυτές, όχι γενικά, αλλά μέσα στον χρόνο που γίνεται από τον Jamie. Πάντως, αν αποφασίσετε να ασχοληθείτε σοβαρά και δεν έχετε κάποια είδη του εξοπλισμού, μπορείτε πάντα να τα αγοράσετε καθώς είναι επένδυση και δεν στοιχίζουν και τόσο.
15' γεύματα, λοιπόν, που αποτελούνται στην πλειοψηφία τους από ορεκτικό, κυρίως πιάτο και σαλάτα, ή πιο περίπλοκα κυρίως πιάτα που συνδυάζουν περισσότερα από ένα, πράγματα. 30' γεύματα που ναι μεν απαιτούν τον διπλάσιο χρόνο, αλλά είναι άκρως ολοκληρωμένα, περιλαμβάνοντας μέχρι και επιδόρπιο που συνήθως, είναι το πιο δύσκολο, απαιτητικό και χρονοβόρο στοιχείο ενός γεύματος. Ε, λοιπόν, ο Jamie έχει μικρές λύσεις για μεγάλα πιάτα που δεν θα σας εξαντλήσουν και που δεν απαιτούν να είστε σεφ για να πετύχετε το σωστό αποτέλεσμα, ούτε να έχετε στην κατοχή σας πανάκριβες συσκευές που θα τις χρησιμοποιείτε σπάνια έως ποτέ. Κι αν νομίζετε πως τα βιβλία είναι ακριβά, πρέπει να σας τονίσω πως όχι μόνο πρόκειται για δύο εξαιρετικές εκδόσεις, αλλά που περιλαμβάνουν πλούσιο φωτογραφικό υλικό και που κακά τα ψέματα, σε βάθος χρόνου, θα σας κάνουν να εξοικονομίσετε χρήματα αλλά και χρόνο, με τις συμβουλές που σας δίνουν. -
While Jamie Oliver always has a certain appeal, this cookbook has so many problems for the average home cook. Initially, this premise is really great: everything is grouped into meals (usually an entree and either two accompaniments or a salad and a dessert) and the instructions are written to have you cooking all components simultaneously. Everything is thought out and planned for you! Awesome, right?
If you are part of a foodie couple, or a family open to all foods with no health concerns, it would work fine. If you are like most families, dinner hosts, etc. you are contending with special diets, picky eaters and other issues. It is very hard to go through and mark which ones can be cooked, as is. It is also very difficult to extract one aspect of a meal you want to try and mix with something else. It can be done, but even Oliver says it is best to make the meal at least once before trying to extract elements.
I don't want to poo-poo cookbooks that have planned meals, as life is tough, time is finite and we all need a little help. They make a great addition to any cookbook collection. However, they have to be part of a collection; this cannot be your everyday, go-to cookbook. It is equally drool-worthy to all his other books (Bloody Mary Mussels. Genius!) and, with some misé-en-place, the recipes can be made fairly easily (the instructions have his usual clarity). If you are trying to master cooking an entire meal with different dishes simultaneously, this is a good practice book to work through. I just do not see this as a cookbook you will be using daily.
Note: I don't know about different editions, but mine has American references, American terms and Imperial measurements. -
Although Jamie's 15 Minute Meals left me a little frazzled when trying to keep to the clock, it has turned out to be a really good book. Admittedly I don't really use it to create the full 30 minute meals but pick and choose bits from it. The fail-safe recipes have turned out to be excellent mid-week saviours and perfect for last minute dinner guests.
Roll on a year and a half, and with a baby now in tow, time has become ever the more critical. There could be no more relevant book to land on my doorstep than Jamie's 15 Minute Meals because that's pretty much all I have to knock up a meal these days.
For this latest book, courses or meals have generally been trimmed to two dishes maximum but this suits our mid-week eating better, we are not really a pudding household unless you count eating Nutella out of the jar! Flicking through, I could easily eat most of the food here. I like the relaxed yet often indulgent recipes and most would be a welcome break from the usual pasta and sauce, minestrone and risottos which form the bulk of our standard dinners.
Photography-wise, this book is very on-brand with the Jamie empire; spalttered platters and creative mess which makes the food look all the more deliciously relaxed. The book itself seems to be less "designed" than past titles and relies heavily on the good food photography for interest. It's passable, but not as beautiful or well crafted and the typography (which really gives the last few of Jamie's books an edge design-wise) is bland and awkward in the introduction sections of this book, although clear and simple for the recipe layouts. -
Innovative - I liked this book & the recipes, the instructions are set out in order of preparation for making say for example a starter maincourse & dessert, even if one moment you are cooking the chicken or the next making custard for the tarts etc etc, the recipes are in the order you need to prepare different items in the most efficient manner. Genius. If you have watched his t.v program 'Thirty Minute Meals' the recipe book will make sense. I bought this after watching the program, love the lavish colour illustrations, easy & extensive instuctions, plus addded in the introduction are the reasons why you do have time to & how it can be cheaper & more satisfying. I know I feel a sense of acheivement, when I cook.
As a family we do not have three course meals but I have taken alot from the watching Jamie cook & reading the book, I take bits & pieces & parts of recipes that I know would appeal to my familiy personally,because the recipes are refreshing, different, very easy to make & very tasty, my kids love it & I get a sense of satisfaction, whether I just pick out one dish or for special occasions do the whole shabang....
It may not be for people who like a traditional cook book i.e making one dish individually before going on to the next, but for those who want to be more efficient, this maybe the answer....
