Hailed by Time magazine as "a minor masterpiece" when it first appeared in 1984, On Food and Cooking is the bible to which food lovers and professional chefs worldwide turn for an understanding of where our foods come from, what exactly they're made of, and how cooking transforms them into something new and delicious.
For its twentieth anniversary, Harold McGee prepared a new, fully revised and updated edition of On Food and Cooking . He has rewritten the text almost completely, expanded it by two-thirds, and commissioned more than 100 new illustrations. As compulsively readable and engaging as ever, the new On Food and Cooking provides countless eye-opening insights into food, its preparation, and its enjoyment.
On Food and Cooking pioneered the translation of technical food science into cook-friendly kitchen science and helped birth the inventive culinary movement known as "molecular gastronomy." Though other books have been written about kitchen …
Hailed by Time magazine as "a minor masterpiece" when it first appeared in 1984, On Food and Cooking is the bible to which food lovers and professional chefs worldwide turn for an understanding of where our foods come from, what exactly they're made of, and how cooking transforms them into something new and delicious.
For its twentieth anniversary, Harold McGee prepared a new, fully revised and updated edition of On Food and Cooking . He has rewritten the text almost completely, expanded it by two-thirds, and commissioned more than 100 new illustrations. As compulsively readable and engaging as ever, the new On Food and Cooking provides countless eye-opening insights into food, its preparation, and its enjoyment.
On Food and Cooking pioneered the translation of technical food science into cook-friendly kitchen science and helped birth the inventive culinary movement known as "molecular gastronomy." Though other books have been written about kitchen science, On Food and Cooking remains unmatched in the accuracy, clarity, and thoroughness of its explanations, and the intriguing way in which it blends science with the historical evolution of foods and cooking techniques.
Among the major themes addressed throughout the new edition are:
· Traditional and modern methods of food production and their influences on food quality
· The great diversity of methods by which people in different places and times have prepared the same ingredients
· Tips for selecting the best ingredients and preparing them successfully
· The particular substances that give foods their flavors, and that give us pleasure
· Our evolving knowledge of the health benefits and risks of foods
On Food and Cooking is an invaluable and monumental compendium of basic information about ingredients, cooking methods, and the pleasures of eating. It will delight and fascinate anyone who has ever cooked, savored, or wondered about food.
Sciency and dense, "On Food and Cooking" is very much the nuts and bolts fundamentals of all food and the science behind taste, structure, spoilage, interactions with other food and every other aspect you might want to know about what you eat. If you are happy just making food without knowing what the proteins are doing at each step, or you aren't really into science, then I wouldn't recommend. But if you are interested in why you shouldn't salt scrambled eggs until after they're cooked, or would like to read (translated) Chinese odes to recipes for noodles from 300 ce , then this is the book you need. It's accesible and immersive regarding the science and history of food and is required reading for any science-minded or otherwise curious foodie.
