Are most of the recipes in Raw Food/Real World really complicated and time consuming?

[RawSinger]

Also, what is the highest temperature that the authors say to heat your food? That line between raw and cooked is still controversial. Just wondering as I'm considering buying this book.

Thanks in advance :)

[Erika]

I have the book and I still have yet to use any of the recipes but I don't think that they are going to be really time consuming. I just don't have all of the ingredients. I think the recipes in the book are for people who might already know a little bit about the raw world. I did like the little stories in the book that tell about why the authors started eating raw, it tells about their restaurant, cleansing, detoxing, hormones in meats, etc. Wait, I did use the recipe for the avocado salad dressing which has become my favorite dressing to use. I'm going to post the recipe in this board but I've put a little twist on it. One of my favorite things about this book is that it has a list of ingredients, what they are used for and their benefits... AND where to find them. On page 16 it says that when cooking foods to 118 and beyond destroys the enzymes and beneficial bacteria so I'm assuming that they believe that anything below 118 is still considered raw. I hope this helps.

Erika

[gingincal]

There are some rather complicated recipes in RFRW. Some of the recipes have really long ingredient lists which translates to increased prep time. I use Alissa's book and Rawvolution for everyday uncooking. I look to RFRW for glamourous inspiration and fun.

RFRW's grawnola recipe makes the best, hands down, that I've ever had. My entire SAD family loves it, too.

[Erika]

Yeah I have to agree with that. The ingredient lists are kind of long and that's perhaps why I haven't used the recipes much. It's hard to have all of the stuff at the same time.

[RawSinger]

Thank you very much!! I've just heard many good things about that book and RAVE reviews about their restaurant so I was interested. I will have to buy that book eventually.

But that's a little weird about the temperature. Why are there so many opinions on this?? Some say not to heat your food above 105, some say 110, and these folks say 118 degrees. I don't get it. Wouldn't you just have to do one experiment to see what temperature kills enzymes and then that would be that?? It's very frustrating to me. Just had to vent.

[Aleesha Sattva]

118 degrees is when the food dies. Hence why you should try to stay around 105 - 110... so you don't go over by mistake. :)

[jacsam]

The blondie maccaroons are INCREDIBLE and the freezer fudge is too. I don't use alot of recipes out of this book because I like simple and I feel the majority of the recipes are ultimate gourmet, but that's my opinion....oh, yes, I would say that alot of the recipes are time consuming. Personally I need quick and simple because I'm fixing food for myself and also for my family who are vegetarian but not raw. I loved reading the entire book and learned many things....I'm glad I bought the book. It doesn't even compare to Alissa's book, which is COMPLETE in it's recipes and information about being raw.

[RawSinger]

Okay. Would someone mind just giving me a list of all the ingredients in the average recipe in that book? I'm just curious. Are there a lot of very unusual and expensive ingredients used in many of the recipes?? TIA

[Raene]

Does this book happen to have a recipe for candied almonds? I had them at Pure Food and they were SOOOO good.

[RawLibrarian]

Okay. Would someone mind just giving me a list of all the ingredients in the average recipe in that book? I'm just curious. Are there a lot of very unusual and expensive ingredients used in many of the recipes?? TIA

Your request is a bit difficult to answer ... maybe you could try checking the book out of the library. If your local library doesn't have it, they could get it for you via interlibrary loan.

My take on this book is that Matthew and Sarma are professional chefs, and it shows. They know how to do prep work very efficiently when at home, and they have employees at the restaurant do it for them when they are at work. Because they live in NYC, they have access to a wider range of ingredients than most people do. Their recipes are quite creative and can be somewhat challenging.

I've made a few of the recipes that don't require a dehydrator and have found them to be very very good, but overall not ones that I would use on a daily basis except for things like like nut milk. Their recipes are "special occasion" meals for me--the lasagna is exceptional.

I agree about the granola--I ordered some from One Lucky Duck and it was sensational.

[dakinimind]

I ate at Pure Food and Wine when I was in New York...the experience was excellent and insanely expensive! Sarma, owner and author of RFRW, was sitting at a table next to ours.

This was the first raw cookbook I bought. I agree that the recipes are great, but overall, they are expensive and time consuming. It would be a good cookbook to add to your collection if it's already stocked with everyday books like "Rawsome" or "Raw Food for One or Two."