We love hearing from readers, whether it's a comment on something we've made or a question. Recently, David wrote in a with a question:
I have followed your blog and I have to say that I really enjoy it. Thank you for taking the time to put up such great images and recommendations. I was curious to know, of all the magazines you get and read, which magazine do you use most often and would you recommend for someone looking to start a subscription???
Cheers,
David
This is such a great question, and it's a hard one for us to answer. Before we do, here are a few thoughts on all the magazines to which we subscribe:
- Everyday Food: This was our first food magazine subscription. Clay's been getting it since the very first issue. It's probably the most practical magazine we receive -- it has great recipes that easily be used on a weeknight. The recipes won't blow you away -- they're not overly complicated or "foodie," but they're solid and useful recipes for the home cook who wants to expand their stable of go-to dishes.
- Gourmet: Published since 1941, Gourmet is the grande dame of food magazines. As we've said before, we love the editor of this magazine. In addition to dozens of recipes each month, the magazine also features plenty of travel and international food-related content.
- Bon Appétit: The content is similar to that of its sister publication, Gourmet. It consistently has many recipes each month that we want to cook and flag for future use. Outside of food, the magazine also does its fair share of domestic food stories.
- Cook's Illustrated: If the Atlantic, the Wall Street Journal, Consumer Reports and Popular Science collaborated on a food magazine, this is what it would look like. If you like rules and a more precise approach to cooking, definitely check out Cook's Illustrated. Their methods and testing are flawless. And we love when they illustrate, for example, a roast that's too tough, a roast that's too undercooked, and then one that's just right.
- Martha Stewart Living: We love this magazine, but it's not as much about food as it is about a general pleasantness and Martha's overall lifestyle. It's equal parts cooking, decorating, crafting and gardening, which means that overall it has far fewer recipes compared to other magazines.
- Food & Wine: We don't know quite what to think of Food & Wine. We've only been receiving the magazine for a year or so, and it seems to be feast or famine for us. Some months, we mark 12-plus recipes that we'd like to try. Other months, we don't mark a thing. Not to state the obvious, but the focus on wine here sets its content apart from other magazines.
- Saveur: We're only 5 issues into our Saveur subscription. We like it so far, but we're far from in love. The photography is to die for -- absolutely beautiful photos. But we're not finding much in it so far that we want to cook.
So -- to answer Dave's question -- if he was the sort of person who did very little home cooking at the moment but aspired to do so, we'd recommend that he subscribe to Everyday Food to dip his toe into the food magazine world. It'll be very useful and give him plenty of ideas.
But if Dave is the sort of guy who already does his fair share of cooking, we'd recommend either Gourmet or Bon Appétit. They're both wonderful magazines and we look forward to getting them every month. If we HAD to choose just one, we'd probably go with Gourmet, even though we'd feel like parents betraying our other very lovely and gifted child. Thankfully, we don't have to choose.
Incidentally, these magazines are a great deal at the moment. You can get a Gourmet subscription for $9.99 and a Bon Appétit subscription for $15, which is a lot of good reading for only $25.
Do you have a favorite food mag? What would you recommend to Dave? Leave it in the comments!
Have another question? Let us know by emailing us!
