On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen

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.


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Product Details
Amazon Sales Rank: #313 in Books
Published on: 2004-11-16
Number of items: 1
Binding: Hardcover
896 pages

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Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
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.

From Publishers Weekly
Starred Review. Before antioxidants, extra-virgin olive oil and supermarket sushi commanded public obsession, the first edition of this book swept readers and cooks into the everyday magic of the kitchen: it became an overnight classic. Now, 20 years later, McGee has taken his slightly outdated volume and turned it into a stunning masterpiece that combines science, linguistics, history, poetry and, of course, gastronomy. He dances from the spicy flavor of Hawaiian seaweed to the scientific method of creating no-stir peanut butter, quoting Chinese poet Shu Xi and biblical proverbs along the way. McGee's conversational style—rich with exclamation points and everyday examples—allows him to explain complex chemical reactions, like caramelization, without dumbing them down. His book will also be hailed as groundbreaking in its breakdown of taste and flavor. Though several cookbooks have begun to answer the questions of why certain foods go well together, McGee draws on recent agricultural research, neuroscience reviews and chemical publications to chart the different flavor chemicals in herbs and spices, fruits and vegetables. Odd synergies appear, like the creation of fruity esters in dry-cured ham—the same that occur naturally in melons! McGee also corrects the European bias of the first edition, moving beyond the Mediterranean to discuss the foods of Asia and Mexico. Almost every single page of this edition has been rewritten, but the book retains the same light touch as the original. McGee has successfully revised the bible of food science—and produced a fascinating, charming text.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Scientific American
"In 1984, canola oil and the computer mouse and compact disc were all novelties... [and] the worlds of science and cooking were neatly compartmentalized." A lot has changed in 20 years: magazines and books now discuss the science of cooking, and culinary schools offer "experimental" courses that investigate the whys of cooking. So McGee, a writer who specializes in the chemistry of food and cooking, has completely rewritten his 1984 classic, expanding it by two thirds into a book that weighs in at almost 900 pages. He offers thorough, scientific explanations of countless topics, including why brining your turkey is not a good idea, why food wrapped in plastic often tastes like plastic, why you should never refrigerate tomatoes. And he continues to display, as one admirer said of the first edition, "a scientist's skill and a cook's heart."

Editors of Scientific American


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Customer Reviews
A True Classic
Not available in bookshops here, it took me a while to track down this much praised book, now in a 2004 updated edition. It can be read at many levels: history, folk lore, chemistry and just marvellous explanations of the 'why' of cooking. It must hold great appeal for anyone with a curiosity about the food we eat and what we do to it, for better or worse.

I found it well written with an easy style, making it a genuine pleasure to read, to skim and to quote. And you will quote. It's that kind of book.

Despite its sober title and apparent depth of research, this is no dreary treatise. The explanations are generally easy to understand and often amusing. While some distant memory of high school chemistry may be useful, the author assumes no knowledge of food sciences on the part of the reader. The last section of the book further brushes up on all the chemistry you have chosen to forget.

Food industry professionals may find the book's format perhaps a bit wandering, making it somewhat clunky for rapid retrieval of specific technical information. As a lay person I can't vouch for its academic rigour, but it does include a long list of references and an extensive index.

A book with over 800 pages about food but with no real recipes does sound daunting, but not so. It's full of those "Wow. So that's why... listen to this!" moments that can get just a little trying for everyone else in the room. I realise how much food instruction I have taken at face value in the past. I will never view the humble egg quite the same way again.

And of course, as an added bonus, the book makes a perfect weight to put on top of the Summer Pudding as it sets. It doesn't even show the stains. McGee really has thought of everything.

Technical but fascinating
This is probably more than the home cook ever wants to know but what a great reference book! It dispels lots of myths that bedevil the kitchen and are still spouted by too many TV chefs. For factual information it can't be beaten and I keep it to hand for a quick check whenever I am unsure of what to do with a recipe.

Foodie lust!
I love this book. Even when I know quite a bit about something he manages to tell me more.