Why there's more to cookbooks than recipes

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Why do we read cook books (and The Cooking Blog) according to Rachel Cooke in the Guardian?

Well, let's see. What you must understand is that cookbooks are not just for those who cook – though if you do cook, it goes without saying that they are an essential part of your life's quest. Devout home cooks are like something small and hairy out of Tolkien; the search for the perfect recipe is endless. Why? Because cooks are perpetually dissatisfied; too often the making is more gratifying than the eating. The other day, going off-piste for the first time in three weeks, I made a lemon cake from a recipe by Arabella Boxer. It was damp, it was delicious, it looked exactly like the one in the picture. But still, I felt restless… Perhaps there exists an even better lemon cake than this one, I thought, forking it into my mouth. Cookbooks are a repository for such restlessness because only they can deliver the next lemon cake, and the one after that. Like a boyfriend who blows hot and cold, they encourage the chase even as they purport to be able to end it for ever (consider how many cookbooks aim for Bible-status, to be the "only one you'll ever need").

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