Cook's Illustrated

I just bought a Kitchen Aid stand mixer and in the box was a subscription card for Cook's Illustrated. I've noticed references to this magazine here in the past, is it worth the $20 a year subscription price? If I get it, what kind of articles and recipes can I expect? Thanks in advance.
Don

I started getting CI a couple of months ago and think it’s worth the subscription cost. Each article about a partular food or a preparation method almost reads like a who-done-it with a cliffhanger ending. The stories examine the history, logic, and science behind the particular topic and reports what works, what doesn’t, and presents well-tested recipes based on that experimentation in their kitchens. If you’re a fan of Good Eats on FoodTV, the philosophical approach taken by CI may strike you as similar in its behind-the-scenes research without all the annoying camera tricks.

The magazine doesn’t accept any advertisements so each issue may appear to be skimpy when compared to similar publications. But when all that advertising chaff in the other magazines is separated, CI has about the same amount of usable substance as many of the bigger publications. Plus, I believe the content of CI to be more in line with the abilities and interests of the majority of "real world" cooks.

For about the price of a couple of slabs of baby backs, I don’t think you’ll be disappointed by giving Cook’s Illustrated a try.

I’d like to see what others think.

Have a good weekend and get some smoke in your eyes.

Ken

Don, you can get a free trial issue by going here.

Steve

If you want to check out their methods on TV, watch America's Test Kitchen on PBS. It's hosted by Christopher Kimball, who is the editor of Cook's Illustrated.

Rick

I too get CI and do enjoy it. They just did a write-up on ribs and their advice was pretty good....cook them low and slow. They did call for brining, which I tried and didn't notice a change, but I foil so brining probably won't help me. For those that don't foil, you may want to give it a try.

I've been subscribing for about 7-8 years and feel it is well worth the money. You might find subscribing to the internet version to be better though. There are search capabilities on the website. I subscribed to the website for a year or so but did not use it enough to continue.