topic America's Test Kitchen/Cook's Country Website - worth it? in Kitchen

America's Test Kitchen/Cook's Country Website - worth it?

house_cat — Sat, 02 Jan 2021 01:28:43 GMT

So often I want to check a recipe that I've seen on America's Test Kitchen or Cook's Country, but access to the website is $75/year.

Does anyone here subscribe to it?

Can you tell me if it's worth the expense?

Thank you.

Re: America's Test Kitchen/Cook's Country Website - worth it?

furbabylover — Sat, 02 Jan 2021 01:43:31 GMT

@house_cat I waited forever to subscribe and finally did it last week. So glad I did!! I found the most incredible Caesar salad dressing (without eggs), also the best way to cook Prime Rib. The recipes are really easy to print- you have the option of printing just the instructions, or the ingredients, or the explanation for the recipe. There are SO many recipes to choose from, and I took advantage of their offer of a free trial membership to see if its worth the money.

Re: America's Test Kitchen/Cook's Country Website - worth it?

Free2be — Sat, 02 Jan 2021 01:50:27 GMT

I like it. The other day I saw one of their cookbooks advertised somewhere and a recipe looked like something I would make, I was able to access it through my membership. I sometimes wish I had the magazine just because having it in my hand is nice but storage is a problem then accessing the articles in the mags is another problem. Having it all online is so easy.

Re: America's Test Kitchen/Cook's Country Website - worth it?

house_cat — Sat, 02 Jan 2021 01:54:39 GMT

@furbabylover

@Free2be

Thank you!

I'm soooooo tempted!

It sounds like a ridiculous amount of money, but I just love their recipes and wealth of knowledge. Most often I get their recipes by stopping the recording, writing it down and zipping back again until I've got it complete. I'd sure love to have access to their entire archives.

Re: America's Test Kitchen/Cook's Country Website - worth it?

froggy — Sat, 02 Jan 2021 05:04:55 GMT

I just buy the cookbooks that come out every year. I just can't pull the trigger to pay that much for access to their website.

LOL. The latest Cooks Country book weighs a ton. But I do get a lot of good recipes from them.

Re: America's Test Kitchen/Cook's Country Website - worth it?

peachesncream — Sat, 02 Jan 2021 06:09:46 GMT

Recipes from the current season of Cooks Country on PBS are available for free on the Cooks Country website. Here's a link:

Browse Recipes for Season 13 | Cook's Country

There are 26 recipes there. I don't know if that's the entire season.

(If the link is removed from my message, just Google: Cook's Country Season 13 Recipes and then click onto the first thing that comes up.)

Re: America's Test Kitchen/Cook's Country Website - worth it?

Lilysmom1 — Sat, 02 Jan 2021 10:34:17 GMT

@house_cat , I love America's Test Kitchen as well. I have a couple of their cookbooks. Costco sells their magazines with recipes and I buy those as well. With 30% off the price is not bad. It is worth the price to find a recipe worth keeping! S aka Lilysmom

Re: America's Test Kitchen/Cook's Country Website - worth it?

Yahooey — Sat, 02 Jan 2021 12:44:45 GMT

@house_cat

I also love ATK and have bought their cookbook that contains every recipe up to their latest season a few years ago

I also DVR their 'new' programs - i keep the ones, i want to try and transcribe or get the recipe while it is still free during the current season

i guess i'm too cheap to pay 75 a year - did not know it was that much

Re: America's Test Kitchen/Cook's Country Website - worth it?

soonersis — Sat, 02 Jan 2021 18:54:45 GMT

Sometimes if you're lucky you can Google those recipes and find them online without being "blanked" out. I had the online subscription in the past but didn't find I used it often enough or was worth the $.

Re: America's Test Kitchen/Cook's Country Website - worth it?

loriqvc — Sat, 02 Jan 2021 19:24:22 GMT

@froggy wrote:
I just buy the cookbooks that come out every year. I just can't pull the trigger to pay that much for access to their website.

LOL. The latest Cooks Country book weighs a ton. But I do get a lot of good recipes from them.

@froggy - Ditto! I usually buy the books every other year, waiting for them to be on sale, and then sell the older versions on ebay and typically make back most of my money. The printed books are so great that I truly prefer them to the online versions.

@house_cat - And every week, I record the ATK and CC episodes on PBS, watching for recipes I "must have" in the new seasons while I wait for my book purchases, doing the same back-and-forth transcribing you mentioned. Such great stuff!

ETA: If you also enjoy the print versions, check your local library; my sister works at ours and says the ATK offerings are so popular that they typically buy three of each book and they're constantly checked out. I've definitely borrowed many of the "specialty" books that are available from ATK and CC to peruse them before buying.

Re: America's Test Kitchen/Cook's Country Website - worth it?

deeva — Sun, 03 Jan 2021 19:20:44 GMT

I have the all access membership for America's Test Kitchen, Cook's Illustrated, and Cook's Country. They were running a special for $49 for a one year subscription. I really enjoy the recipes and equipment reviews.

Re: America's Test Kitchen/Cook's Country Website - worth it?

deb5555 — Sun, 03 Jan 2021 19:24:50 GMT

We bought the cookbook and love it, all the recipes included.

Re: America's Test Kitchen/Cook's Country Website - worth it?

Reever — Sun, 03 Jan 2021 19:25:25 GMT

@deeva wrote:
I have the all access membership for America's Test Kitchen, Cook's Illustrated, and Cook's Country. They were running a special for $49 for a one year subscription. I really enjoy the recipes and equipment reviews.

After host Christopher Kimball left I stopped watching it.. The show lost something.

Re: America's Test Kitchen/Cook's Country Website - worth it?

Razzy 7 — Wed, 06 Jan 2021 05:52:32 GMT

Yes, I do subscribe and I believe it's worth it to me. I find it a very helpful resource, both for recipes and for product (food processors, for example) and food reviews (chicken broth for example). Give it a try - if you don't like it, cancel your subscription.

Re: America's Test Kitchen/Cook's Country Website - worth it?

Razzy 7 — Wed, 06 Jan 2021 06:02:41 GMT

Sure one can purchase the cookbooks - I assume you mean the one for each season's programs, but these aren't inexpensive. $75 likely wouldn't get you three books, but if you subscribe you get all of their recipes and a whole lot more. They publish numerous cookbooks each year, not just the one for a given TV season's recipes. Cookbooks are beautiful and I love them, but I like being able to do an online search for ANY recipe they've ever published - I don't have to remember which book a given recipe is in if I only had their books. And I can think, "I wonder if they've ever created a recipe for X". I do a search and more than likely I'll find a recipe for what I was searching for.

In the end it's personal preference and one should choose whatever option she prefers.