On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen
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Filed under Cook Books
- ISBN13: 9780684800011
- Condition: NEW
- Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
Product Description
Harold McGee’s On Food and Cooking is a kitchen classic. 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.
Now, for its twentieth anniversary, Harold McGee has 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 give birth to the inventive culinary movement known as “molecular gastronomy.” Though other books have now 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 this 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.Amazon.com Review
A classic tome of gastronomic science and lore, On Food and Cooking delivers an erudite discussion of table ingredients and their interactions with our bodies. Following the historical, literary, scientific and practical treatment of foodstuffs from dairy to meat to vegetables, McGee explains the nature of digestion and hunger before tackling basic ingredient components, cooking methods and utensils. He explains what happens when food spoils, why eggs are so nutritious and how alcohol makes us drunk. As fascinating as it is comprehensive, this is as practical, interesting and necessary for the cook as for the scholar.
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Mauricio Calvet on Fri, 12th Mar 2010 12:09 pm
I wanted a recipe book and this one is theory book. It’d be great to include a better description of the book in order to don’t have mistakes like me.
Rating: 1 / 5
Matt Langley on Fri, 12th Mar 2010 2:05 pm
Obviously Mr. McGee falls squarely into the camp of an out of touch evolutionist. He has fine points to make regarding food, but through food anthropology he espouses the mantra that we humans are nothing more than “animals.” It is unfortunate that such a mind as this would take his knowledge of food history and in the face of insurmountable evidence to the contrary, claim that we are all accidents of nature. Furthermore, Mr. McGee makes points referencing Biblical history, yet utilizes the dating abbreviation of BCE (Before Common Era vs. simply Before Christ) and CE (Common Era vs. the Latin AD – Anno Domini, The Year Of Our Lord) that denies Biblical history as the turning point of our calendar. Obviously in Mr. McGee’s mind the Bible is only useful when it validates his historical timeline.
Mr. McGee should have spared us his political viewpoints and simply focused on the facts. Readers should learn from the facts and ignore Mr. McGee’s personal views. Please take a grain of salt with any rationale that Mr. McGee offers regarding historical epochs.
Rating: 3 / 5
Anonymous on Fri, 12th Mar 2010 3:28 pm
This book is much more about science than cooking. The content is much more technical than most readers will desire (as with, the discussion of the molecular structure of milk in its various states).
Rating: 1 / 5
kevin maldonado on Fri, 12th Mar 2010 3:48 pm
I wish that this book would be delivered, it’s been over a month. I am not at all thrilled with the source from where it was purchased.
Rating: 1 / 5
Phillip H. Roush on Fri, 12th Mar 2010 4:48 pm
This book was purchased as a gift for my daughter. I do not have any knowledge of the book to review or comment about it. She requested it for Christmas.
Rating: 5 / 5