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Cook\'s Illustrated
Cook\'s Illustrated, January/February 2007
Editor	Christopher Kimball
Categories	Cooking
Frequency	Bimonthly
Circulation	1,000,000 bimonthlyCook\'s Illustrated Reaches 1,000,000 In Circulation. PR Newswire (March 21, 2007). Retrieved on Dec 28, 2007.
First issue	1993
Company	Boston Common Press
Country	United States
Language	English
Website	www.cooksillustrated.com
ISSN	1068-2821

Cook’s Illustrated is a bimonthly American cooking magazine published by Boston Common Press in Brookline, Massachusetts. It accepts no advertising and is characterized by extensive recipe testing and detailed instructions; the magazine also conducts equally thorough evaluations of kitchen equipment and branded foods and ingredients.

History

Founder and editor Christopher Kimball launched Cook\'s Magazine in 1980 with money raised from investors. Kimball eventually sold Cook\'s to Condé Nast Publications, which discontinued the magazine in 1989. Kimball later decided to re-launch the magazine, reacquiring the rights to the name and hiring several former Cook\'s staff members. The magazine was rebranded Cook\'s Illustrated and debuted in 1993 with a circulation of 25,000.Candy Sagon. "King Of the Kitchen", Washington Post, 2004-02-18. 

The magazine has grown steadily, reaching 600,000 subscribers in 2004 and one million subscribers in 2007, maintaining a growth rate substantially higher than the general category of cooking magazines. The magazine\'s companion website, www.cooksillustrated.com, has 150,000 paid subscribers. The magazine\'s staff also produces the PBS cooking show America\'s Test Kitchen, and publishes cookbooks including the Best Recipe and America\'s Test Kitchen series. A sister magazine, Cook\'s Country, which emphasizes home-style cooking and reader submissions, was launched in October 2004; the two magazines come out in alternate months. Though the company is still officially known as Boston Common Press, most of its publishing activity is done under the America\'s Test Kitchen brand.

Format

Each issue of Cook\'s Illustrated is 32 pages in length, printed almost entirely in black-and-white. The front and back covers contain color illustrations of various foods and ingredients, and the inside of the back cover contains color photographs of the recipes featured in the issue.

Approximately ten recipes are presented in each issue, taking the form of a narrative in which the author discusses the recipe\'s evolution. The author of each article usually begins by relating the reason why they decided to create the recipe. For instance, they might have enjoyed the dish from their childhood, wanted to simplify a typically time-consuming recipe, or tried a dish in a restaurant that they wanted to recreate. The article then follows the recipe\'s development, which invariably begins with numerous problems in its original incarnation. The author then describes iteratively modifying the recipe\'s ingredients and cooking method, each time presenting the recipe to a panel of tasters who provide feedback. At the end of the article, the author reaches a final recipe and lists the ingredients and preparation instructions, often with minor variants. Recipes typically include hand-drawn illustrations of any difficult cuts or other uncommon preparation.

Recipes in the magazine often utilize unorthodox ingredients and instructions. For instance, a recipe for Chinese barbecued pork substitutes ketchup for the traditional red bean curd, which can be difficult to find in the United States; A method for improving inexpensive beef roasts suggests turning off the oven during the final hour of cooking to improve the beef\'s texture; and a recipe for low-fat cookies includes pureed dates, an unorthodox ingredient that the author preferred over more traditional low-fat alternatives.

Each magazine also includes a detailed taste test, in which a panel of tasters evaluates different brands of ingredients such as ketchup, dark chocolate or balsamic vinegar. In addition to testing each ingredient by itself, tasters also try the ingredient in several recipes, such as pots de crème and brownies in the case of dark chocolate. Often, a category is sub-organized into purposes, such as "best teas plain" and "best teas with milk". Every issue also includes a detailed equipment test, where a panel of users tries a variety of items such as knives, cutting boards or baking sheets. In the case of more expensive pieces of equipment, an overall winner as well as a "best buy" are selected. Both types of tests sort their results into four categories: Highly Recommended, Recommended, Recommended with Reservations, and Not Recommended. As with recipes, much space is devoted to explaining the selection and testing process, and any exceptions to the general conclusions.

In addition to the featured test, most issues test a few other products with less detail, where the best and worst brands in each category are presented with a brief description of the products\' highlights and drawbacks. The magazine also features a "Kitchen Notes" section, providing tips on completing common cooking chores, often relevant to the recipes in the issue; a "Recipe Update", in which the magazine provides variations on recipes from previous issues; "Quick Tips" submitted by readers; and "Notes from Readers," in which the magazine\'s editors respond to reader questions. Many issues also include a two-page spread illustrating details on a general method or task, such as "Mastering the Art of Stew" or "Stocking a Baking Pantry."

Controversy

When subscribers and non-subcribers order a book published by Cook\'s Illustrated by mail-order card, they are automatically enrolled into a "book club." Cook\'s Illustrated upsets many of its newer customers by automatically enrolling them into a continuity where the customer is to automatically receive cookbooks without the customer\'s verbal approval. Cook\'s Illustrated\'s "defense" is that they send out notification of the shipment and that the customer must return the notification card within the listed date. If not returned by the specified date, the cookbook will ship and the customer will have to return the product at their expense.^{[citation needed]}

References

External links

• Cook\'s Illustrated
• Cook\'s Country
• America\'s Test Kitchen

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