Every year Becky Krystal of the Washington Post and staff writer of “Voraciously”, a food column with a strong ‘how-to’ focus, chooses the best cookbooks of the year for us. In 2021, she’s focusing on books about baking, an activity she’s passionate about—and many of the rest of us have been doing more of in the past year or two.

If nothing else, 2020 has at least given many of us a lot of time to experiment in the kitchen. Here Becky Krystal, lead writer for the Washington Post’s Voraciously, recommends cookbooks relevant for a year in which grocery shopping has been complicated and the world has become more interconnected than ever.

Fad diets have been with us for generations, but the the truth is that any regime that focuses on excluding whole food groups should be approached with caution, says Tim Spector, Professor of Genetic Epidemiology at King’s College London and author of the bestselling books The Diet Myth and Spoon-Fed. For this reason, he says, intermittent fasting (also known as the 5:2 diet) is the only weight-loss diet he’d truly recommend.

All you need to make bread is flour, water and salt. It’s knowledge, skill and time that turns those basic ingredients into the delicious staple we call bread. Chris Young, coordinator of the UK’s Real Bread Campaign and editor of True Loaf magazine, recommends the best books for baking bread—and explains why ‘real bread’ is the only bread we should be eating. 

Matt Garcia, Professor of Latin American, Latino & Caribbean Studies & History at Dartmouth College, discusses the production of primary foods in the United States and globally—a field that has often been ignored by historians and by society. He recommends five books to learn more about food studies, with particular attention to agricultural workers, often among the most marginalized and least protected members of the US labor force.

Taking in cuisines from Israel to Vietnam and India, Becky Krystal, lead writer of the Washington Post’s Voraciously, recommends some of her favourite cookbooks of 2019. These books stand out for their originality, the accessibility of their recipes and their literary and aesthetic qualities.

Food is an affirmation of who we are. Paul Rozin, food psychologist at the University of Pennsylvania, deconstructs the cheeseburger and busts myths about food consumption: not only is our food budget controlling what we eat, but also the expensive organic foods we’re pressured to buy may not even be healthier—let alone better-tasting—than their alternatives.

America’s master griller chooses books on the world’s oldest cooking method. He discusses why brown tastes better, and how our primal urge to play with fire helped us evolve.

Reading about wine may not be quite as fun as drinking it, but can help open up a world of history, geography, science and culture. The Financial Times’s wine critic and daily writer on JancisRobinson.com, Jancis Robinson, picks the best books on wine.

The authors of Prospero’s Kitchen take us on a culinary tour of Greece and explain how the country’s history has influenced its cuisine in sometimes surprising ways

Claire Ptak, owner of the Violet Bakery in London and former pastry chef at Chez Panisse, recommends some of her own favourite cookbooks. [Since speaking to us in 2015, Claire Ptak has subsequently designed Harry and Meghan’s wedding cake]

In this interview two celebrated chefs discuss the best books to help you capture the complex flavours and colours of Persian food. Along the way they describe their favourite Persian treats, including mouth-watering lattice window syrup cakes and rice with saffron and morello cherries.

Mary Berry has written over 70 books—but what are the cookbooks she returns to, time and again? Here she shares her top five with us.

Cook and bestselling author Diane Seed selects five books on Mediterranean cuisine. From the forgotten spices of Turkey to the stews served to Greek freedom fighters, the variety of the region’s food is unsurpassed

The English chef who studied cooking in Sichuan tells us that there is no one Chinese cuisine, how Western perceptions of Chinese food are changing, and why carrots are called “barbarian radishes” in Mandarin

The author and food writer talks about honey pancakes, mushy peas, drop scones, choux pastry, baked onions and Winnie the Pooh. Perfect lunch-break reading (as long as you’re having a good lunch)

The author, chef, and actress Madhur Jaffrey recommends five of her favourite cookbooks.

Olivier Ward, editor and co-founder of gin appreciation website, Gin Foundry, recommends the best books on Gin — the medicinal drink that came to define the British Empire.

What does it mean to be an ethical meat-eater? Author and journalist Louise Gray chooses five books that examine the impact of our omnivorous lifestyle, and explains why she spent a year only eating the animals she had killed herself.

Most people are illiterate when it comes to food, their views based on a combination of personal beliefs, semi-truths and not fully substantiated scientific claims. Dutch food and agricultural scientist, and author, Louise Fresco, picks five books to help us better understand the food we eat.

Which is the one cookbook the cookery writer can’t do without? Who writes the best recipes? Who is the best writer? Who does he turn to for a breath of fresh air? Nigel Slater picks his all-time favourite cookbooks.

The bestselling author of The Cake Bible, Rose Levy Beranbaum, explains why English cakes don’t rise, how to make the perfect croissant, and how to get holes the size of radishes in your artisan breads

What creates flavour? Our sensory environment, our knowledge, or the existing qualities of what we eat? The philosopher explores the best five books on taste.

Is it possible that a flavour or smell could be as refined and elevating an experience as seeing a painting or listening to a piece of music? Journalist and expert sommelier, Bianca Bosker, describes how the process of training her own senses has transformed her experience of the world.

Yotam Ottolenghi, the accomplished chef and owner of several high-end London eateries names the cookbooks he loves the most.

The London Times award-winning food columnist takes an irreverent look at the world of food writing, from restaurant critics to celebrity chefs

The Californian winemaker gives us a fabulously eclectic reading list for understanding and enjoying the world of wine.

The Puritans got modern American cuisine off to a bad start. But the food writer and critic says subsequent immigrants have helped create a culture where food is appreciated.

Struggling to hold yourself to a calorie-counting regimen? Ignore the conventional advice on losing weight, says science writer Gary Taubes – what constitutes a healthy diet needs to be drastically re-evaluated

Great desserts can be amazingly simple, and even low in fat. The pastry chef and author cooks up a mouth-watering reading list to bring your recipes up to date

Do you know what’s in the food you eat, and how it gets from field to plate? The author of an acclaimed exposé of American agribusiness tells us where to look if we want to become better-informed consumers

A culinary tour of Italian food, with co-founder of the acclaimed River Café restaurant Ruth Rogers. She tells us about the books that have inspired her, including the one she asks all her chefs to read!

Samantha Clark, co-founder of the award-winning restaurant Moro, tells us about the camper van trip to Morocco that inspired her, and why we should all get acquainted with chicharrones and calzots!

From body and blood of Christ or an act of seduction to a means of social control and even a weapon of war – Professor Steven Kaplan picks the best books on the history and power of food.

The co-founder of the Leon chain of healthy fast food restaurants describes his growth as a chef through books, from Orwell to Jacques Pépin

The food writer and journalist says it was a Pole, Edouard de Pomiane, who taught the French housewife how to cook.

The Michelin-starred chef Bruno Loubet chooses the book that taught him the shortcomings of everything he had learned in catering school, and four other favourites. Two are by Australian chef Stephanie Alexander

The architect, writer, lecturer, and director of Kilburn Nightingale Architects says architecture should not be just about buildings, but about everything else in our environment

Celebrated food historian selects five books on cooking that reveal much about our history. During the period that the French and English were at war, roast beef was all the rage and anything ‘Frenchified’ was suspect

The campaigner and historian says that Western countries waste more food than they consume. Believe him: he survives off food scavenged exclusively from supermarket bins

The best cookbooks according to food editor of The Week. Raves especially about the Chez Panisse cookbooks. Says she’d like “it was my pleasure” carved on her gravestone