McGee on Food and Cooking: An Encyclopedia of Kitchen Science, History and Culture

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And it makes for a good reference book, if you ever feel like learning about some given food or cooking process. This is a reference book to be consulted often -- but I read it cover to cover, and enjoyed it lots. A kitchen classic for over 35 years, and hailed by Time magazine as "a minor masterpiece" when it first appeared in 1984, On Food and Cooking is the bible which food lovers and professional chefs worldwide turn to 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. I was lucky enough to attend a talk by Harold McGee and he is still just as charming and enthusiastic as he seems in the book.

If you read this book, you will be able to get the most out of every ingredient and piece of equipment in your kitchen. There has been no book like this since Alan Davidson's Oxford Companion to Food, and there a few books so comprehensive, perspicuous or gracefully written on any subject. But super interesting to dip into if, for example, you want to know how caramelization works, what the difference is between the fermentation of sake and beer, or how the compositions of cow, human, and whale milk compare.Cooking is too often about just following a recipe without ever really understanding why things are done. The book is laid out in sections of basic ingredients and explains in layman's terms (mostly) how they're constructed, why they do what they do when treated in a certain way and gives tips that will apply to literally every single meal you cook. 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.

If you cannot handle information purveyed to you in a dry, textbook-like manner this is not the book for you. If you want to know which vegetables were available at the court of Richard II, why fish is white, or the chemical composition of a saturated fat, then this is the book for you. However if you want to know everything there is to know about eggs, milk, herbs, veggies, meat and more and why they all work together so well (or don't) you definitely need to pick this one up!The description of what happens when you make mayonnaise definitely helped me avoid getting it wrong for example. If you've ever wondered why fish goes off quicker than meat; how to tell stale eggs from fresh ones; why you're supposed to leave pancake batter to rest; how it is that cheese can possibly have so many different permutations of flavour and texture; why chopping onions makes you cry; about the health benefits of chocolate and alcohol; why Jerusalem artichokes make you fart; or even how to avoid poisoning your guests - then this is the book for you. 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. Many of the reviews I have read about this book suggest that it should be used more as a reference, rather than a reading book.