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.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #544 in Books
• Published on: 2004-11-16
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 896 pages

Customer Reviews

top stuff
I think it's important to point out this book is realively small for the degree of degtail it contains. If you want to find out the answers to a great deal of cullinary questions without wading through highly verbose food science texts, then this is your book. It is certainly Europe centric.

"On Food and Cooking" by Harold McGee
This book is not for the faint of heart or the casual cook or reader! This is a most complete reference work on the art and science of cooking. If you ever wondered what happens to the food stuff when you cook it or why you do or don't add certain things together while preparing a dish this volume has all your answers. This is not a bedside reader but an excellent addition to your cookbook collection and reference shelf.

teaches only names
McGee's book set out to teach you the science behind cooking--but ends up teaching you only the names of various compounds and reactions. Very little space is given to teaching the reader how to use food science to craft new recipes or to improve the implementation of existing recipes. Neither is any attention given to how our own kitchen experience can help us understand the nature of foodstuffs better. Also, it may be my own ignorance, but the science itself seems mostly descriptive and not analytical. While there is an appendix on chemistry--it is too little too late. Buying this book may help you impress your dinner guests with your talk, but look elsewhere for resources on how to become a better cook.