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

This is a very informative book for any looking to learn the scientific reasoning behind the hows and whys of cooking, i have greatly enjoyed my reading of the book so far and highly recommend it to all cooks with an inquisitive mind.

Originally purchased because friend said it helped him be more versatile. "It doesn't have specific recipes, but with just what I have, I'm confident I can cook something."

In my opinion, the book has plenty of information. Not quite a recipe book. Definitely a "lore" book. In that sense, it is an excellent work.

Read "On Food and Cooking" for those little tidbits that will help you win The Next Food Network Star. That's the kind of information it has. Helpful things, but not the be-all end-all of cook books - or books on cooking.

If you have any question about cooking- including disaster recovery- you will like this book.
It describes foods from origin through processing for market to cooking information.
It is NOT a cookbook; few recipes. However, lots of information on preparing food, including temperatures & techniques to prepare food. From eggs (hard/soft boil, fry, omelette, scramble, whipping whites, whipping yolks, impact of freshness on preparation ...) to fruits.
Science of cooking described very well.

Fascinating, useful book with molecular explanations of cooking processes along with information about cooking tools and techniques, properties of various plants, and much, much more. Excellent reference to learn about how and why to handle and process foods like how to get a thicker tomato sauce or retain colors and flavors in cooking and preserving. I bought a copy last year and this one is a gift for someone else.

For those of you who love watching the Food Network, This is where Alton Brown gets most of his scientific background material from when he extols the virtues of cooking.

If you are serious about learning the why's and how's of cooking, this is your new kitchen Bible - sorry Betty Crocker - there are things in this book that will lead you into a new realm of cooking that will have your spouse, kids and friends wondering how you learned to do those things.

A great resource and reference for cooks and those that enjoy food. Full of useful information that is independent of the science background of the reader, with references to even more for those that want to delve deeper into the chemical properties and reactions discussed.

The book explains all the ingredients used in cooking clearly and fully. I bought the book for a course I am taking on-line in which Harold McGee is one of the teachers, and am extremely pleased with how interesting and comprehensible he makes every single item in his book.

This is an essential book for anyone who cooks. McGee explains in detail how and why cooking works; if you know what's in here, you can do anything in the kitchen without ever needing another cookbook, because you'll understand how ingredients interact. As a biochemist and physician, I find his science impeccable; as a cook, I find his appreciation of food inspiring.

This is the book you need when someone goes, "Why does lemon curdle milk, anyway?" This exhaustive encyclopedia of food will answer every question you ever had about food science and history, and then it will answer a hundred more questions you haven't even thought of yet.

This book should sit next to Stedman's Medical Dictionary on every physician's shelf. Mr. McGee has done an excellent job of researching and reporting diet related maladies. No hype, no "new age" bravo sierra. Cooking is chemistry. And so is diet.
Of course, it's also an excellent book for those of us who love to cook... especially those of us who prefer the pinch o' this and a dab o' that method.

This book is a must have for the professional or serious cook to understand the science behind ingredients and their Interactions in order to improve your techniques and learn how to fix recipes that do not come up as expected. The science is explained along classical recipes from eggs to classic French sauces.

The understanding of what and how things work is important to me, not just a recipe, the science of coking is important as it all leads to delicious food. Failures are important if we learn from them.

excellent thought provoking book on cooking--the history and science involved is very interesting, particularly on early thoughts on using high heat on everything to keep the juices inside meat--I wish I was a better cook though.

The author provides the why for basic food chemistry in a way that enhances the mystery of food. Once you know the chemistry and basic smells/flavors of chemical combinations the understanding leads to more interest, not less. This chemical results from this process on this raw ingredient handled in that way. You avoid it by doing X, and you achieve it by doing Y in the presence of Z.

The book not only has great information, it is also well written. I'm very satisfied with this purchase.

Whether you are a Certified Master Chef or a foodie that just loves to cook, this book is an excellent source and wealth of information! As a student at the Culinary Institute of America, our Chef Instructor highly recommended this book and boy am I glad he did! This book gives you the history, breakdown, molecular structure, and detailed information that is easy to read and to understand! I thought only cookbooks and text books were the only things that were going to be in my kitchen. Boy was I wrong! This book is well worth the money! Highly recommended!

If you're a professional, most likely you already know about this book. If you're an amateur, you should. It's not a cookbook, per se, it's a tutorial on how to cook. Even if you're not a foodie, this book will help you make anything better.

Found out about this book from listening to Fresh Air. Harold McGee was the guest. I love to cook. The book has helped me tremendously. For example, my Mom's pancake recipe calls for the use of baking powder and buttermilk. From the book, I found out that baking soda is the best leavening when using acidic liquids such as buttermilk. I have started using baking soda. The Sunday special pancakes are even more light and good tasting. For the history lessons (e.g., wine and cheese) alone the book is worth it.

This could have been another Larousse Gastronomique -- fun to have around, but not something you'd ever consider reading from beginning to end. The amount of research that went into this book is encyclopedic in scope, but it's not an encyclopedia. It's more like a collection of short stories. There's enough science scattered amongst the tales of cooking and eating to qualify this as a science book. (Plenty of history, too.) This is what good nonfiction writing is all about.

This book arrived as stated from the seller in great condition even though it was used. The content is great, but you have to love knowing the science behind cooking to appreciate. Limited pictures, I would compare this to 'the joy of cooking' as far as content. I would purchase again from the seller and also the book

If you care about food. If you care about cooking. This is a book to love. McGee demystifies a lot of kitchen bunk. He proves you don't have to add the broth in bits and drabs to make creamy risotto. Just throw it all in at once. Does searing meat keep the juices in? No. The best chef's hat? A baseball hat. Why? Because it keeps the vapors out of your eyes. Lots of stuff like that. Plus a little history on why we eat what we eat and where it came from. Don't let the BIG size worry you. You'll read this like a novel, then start over again. Then it will become a treasured reference.

While coverage in some areas is much deeper than in others, I am continually surprised by the number of topics it covers ranging from the biochemistry of olive brining to cooking of meats, the biological history of where oranges come from, and many, many more topics.

Just open the book to a random location, and you'll find yourself immersed in amazing insights about even ordinary foods.