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

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All homes could use a small shelf of reference books: the dictionary, an encyclopedia, a basic cookbook. This is a reference book to be consulted often -- but I read it cover to cover, and enjoyed it lots. Quite in-depth and probably best suited to readers with a reasonable understanding of school science.

This new edition is the most complete book on food that I have ever seen, and it is easy to read-an inconceivable amount of information made incredibly accessible. 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. The breadth and depth of topics covered was fantastic, and all of the accompanying information made this book absolutely fascinating. How does the Maillard reaction work, and why is it the greatest thing to hit the culinary art since well before sliced bread? It is heavy on chemistry (and its closing pages are a chemistry primer I wish I'd had in high school; read this first), but also patient explanations that a layperson / foodie will like: What is emulsification?I believe it will remain my favourite book of all time (and I read a lot of reference books on many subjects). The writing is succinct but not tedious to follow, and every chapter packs in a spectrum of interesting facts. The diagrams and tables are OK, but the publishers and printers have really let down the content here.

Throughout "On Food and Cooking", McGee manages to cover a huge range of foods, from raw ingredients like fruits, vegetables, and eggs, to more complex creations such as sauces, breads, pastries, and candies. Classic book for the cook who wants to know a little bit more about the science of food and cooking. I asked my brother (scientist and cook) to get me something like that for my birthday, and he sent this book. I know of no chef worth his salt who doesn't keep a copy of Harold McGee's masterwork, On Food and Cooking. For example, he describes buffalo milk as being barnyardy and reminiscent of mushrooms and freshly-cut grass.Nothing could be more welcome than a revised and expanded verison of Harold McGee's On Food and Cooking. The work is separated into sections that focus on the ingredients, providing the structure for the author to speculate on the history of foodstuffs and cookery, and the molecular characteristics of food flavors, [6] while the text is illustrated by charts, graphs, pictures, and sidebar boxes with quotes from sources such as Brillat-Savarin and Plutarch.