The Nordic Cookbook: 0000

The author, in his straightforward scandi-minimalist writing style, sets out the scope of the book at the beginning - you probably aren't going to make everything in this unless you own a smokehouse overlooking a fjord and can harvest your own wild twigs and herbs. It's encyclopaedic as well as instructive, and the stories accompanying some of the recipes are delightful - Finnish guy mixing business with grilled eels and getting eel grease on his car seats. Nilsson has a storyteller's eye and a scientist's objectivity. His in-depth understanding of food, culture and people comes through. Book is also massive; great as door stop or for pressing flowers, if you like the items in your home to be multi-functional.

An excellent cookbook full of variety and traditional scandinavian food. Exquisite combination of cultural information and food recipes, albeit without many pictures. The book is structured well and subdivided into specific sections (i.e. specific meats/fish rather than simply "meat & fish"). While I do not agree with whaling etc, I think it is a shame that the rating of the book is so negatively skewed by the disgruntled animal rights activists.

You shoud be the devoted cook to use this book fully.

Excellent book with superb recipes. I'm dinging one star because the intro was badly scuffed and muddy. That's no fault of the book, the author or the publisher, so it would be grotesquely unfair to ding more than that. It's also very unlikely to repeat, so it would be unfair to imply otherwise to those reading reviews. The recipes, as I've said, are superb and the cultural information and backstory make this book compelling.

One of the most beautifully written and detailed cookbooks I have ever seen. Phaidon is a good publisher of cookbooks so I wasn't surprised but it's definitely my favourite cookbook. It tells you a lot about the context of why dishes are eaten in those countries, something that's extremely important when considering Nordic cuisine and eating habits both now and in the past. Some of the recipes are obviously impractical (I'm not gonna go ferment some shark for my dinner for example) but the majority are doable and delicious. Magnus Nilsson is a genius, if you liked the Chef's Table episode you'll love this!

A wonderful cook book !! Fascinating recpies and easy to follow. 700 pages of gastro fun with everything from the simple to the bizarre. I have used the recipes for the gravlax and the pickled herring and they both worked wonderfully well. After several years of wasted effort trying to get these two things right, I have finally achieved it by following the instructions of Magnus Nilsson. He has certainly triggered an interest in nordic cookery ! A highly recommended book and great value for money. If only his restaurant was closer to the UK !!

Bought as a gift. Seller despatched this very quickly. Although ostensibly a cook book The Nordic Cook Book has lots of background to the provenance of the ingredients and the Scandinavian way if life past and present. Recipes are based on similar ingredients to our own but used in unusual combinations and presented very differently. This serves to make the food exotic and accessible. The many colour photographs are very welcome and atmospheric. Magnus Nilsson is a god - a culinary Thor to be precise.

Great recipes and well written. Interesting ideas for a fresh look at how we eat, and benefits of the nordic style of cooking.