La cuisine en dix minutes

La Cuisine en dix minutes, ou l'Adaptation au rhythme moderne
Cover of 1994 US English edition
Author(s)	Edouard de Pomiane
Illustrator	André Giroux
Country	France
Language	French
Subject(s)	Culinary Arts, convenience cooking
Genre(s)	non-fiction
Publisher	Éditions Paul Martial
Publication date	1930
Media type	book

La cuisine en dix minutes, ou l'Adaptation au rhythme moderne (English title: French Cooking in Ten Minutes, or, Adapting to the Rhythm of Modern Life, also Cooking in Ten Minutes, or, Adapting to the Rhythm of Modern Life) by Edouard de Pomiane, published in 1930, was an early and influential title on the subject of convenience cooking. It attempted to render many of the basic techniques of classic French cooking into a quick form for people who did not have time to cook.

Compared to modern convenience cookbooks, almost everything is from scratch, though a good number of recipes call for canned vegetables (a modern cook might use frozen vegetables at the same time) as well as commercially available charcuterie products such as sausages and pâté. De Pomiane also adopts a rather tongue-in-cheek approach to writing and admonishes the reader to limit complexity and plan carefully.

His recipe for Sauce hollandaise:

“

The technique of a sauce hollandaise is considered difficult by experienced cooks. In reality, nothing is easier. If you desire success, do as I tell you. You will certainly succeed. Put a spoonful of cold water, a little salt and two yolks of eggs into a small saucepan. Put this little saucepan into a large one containing boiling water, holding the smaller one firmly. Stir quickly, with a fork, the mixture of water and yolk of egg. This begins to thicken. At this moment lift the small saucepan out of the water, add two ounces of butter cut into pieces the size of a nut. Put it back into the hot water. Stir the mixture all the time with a wire beater. The butter melts and the sauce becomes creamy. Lift it out of the water a little. Add two more ounces of butter cut in pieces. Stir. Put it back into the water. The sauce thickens. Keep on stirring. Dip your finger into the sauce. If it burns, lift the saucepan out of the hot water. Stir fifteen seconds more. The sauce is ready. It should be thinner than mayonnaise. It should, however, coat a spoon which you dip in and lift out again. If you like the flavour of lemon, add a few drops at the beginning of the operation, before the butter. You are then much more likely to be successful with your sauce. I have never succeeded in spoiling a sauce hollandaise. Follow my example. This sauce is a luxurious accompaniment to boiled fish or tinned asparagus warmed in its own juice.

”

The book has been translated into several languages. The first German translation appeared in 1935, the first English translation in 1948. The book is still popular, particularly in the English speaking part of the world. The latest English edition appeared in 2008, in 2010 the British Newspaper The Observer put it on rank 41 on its list of the 50 best cookbooks of all time.

References

• Edouard de Pomiane: French Cooking in Ten Minutes or, Adapting to the rhythm of modern life. Translation: Philip and Mary Hyman. Farrar, Straus and Giroux, New York 1977 ISBN 0-374-15850-9
• Édouard de Pomiane in WorldCat
• Cooking in Ten Minutes. 50 best cookbooks of all time in Observer Food Monthly. The Guardian, 10. August 2010