On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen (1984)

by Harold McGee

Members	Reviews	Popularity	Average rating	Mentions
2,192	26	2,689	(4.61)	18

Add to your library

Add to wishlist

all members

▾Members

Recently added by

KABee13, jordana.mcleod, ALC1, Gemma., kriemer, Peter.Meeus, jmilner1960, hagertyhartfeldt, vegetarian

numbers

show all

▾Tags

(9) chemistry (41) cookbook (96) cookery (60) cooking (385) cooking science (9) culinary (22) culinary science (8) ebook (9) food (371) Food & Cooking (11) food and drink (13) food chemistry (8) food history (14) food reference (24) food science (107) food writing (23) Gastronomy (17) hardcover (8) history (19) kitchen (13) molecular gastronomy (13) non-fiction (136) nutrition (19) physics (8) recipes (15) reference (155) science (181) to-read (24) unread (14)

▾LibraryThing recommendations

see more recommendations for this work

refresh

▾Member recommendations

▾Will you like it?

▾Member reviews

English (23) Dutch (1) Catalan (1) All languages (25)

date ▼ | votes

Showing 1-5 of 23 (next | show all)

Not a cookbook. Everything you ever might want to know about how food works. How ice cream is made, why bread rises, what kind of molds are in cheese, what are the parts of an egg. And yet, readable. Brill. May however, make you annoy your friends with "well you know, cheese on the Asian steppe in the late Iron Age..." (

)

bunwat | Mar 30, 2013 |

One of the few books to look at the science that is behind the art of cooking food. This is not a cookbook though it does contain a great deal of tips, hints and instructions to help with cooking. It is really a book for looking up specific subjects, like an encyclopedia, or for reading a few pages at a time, when nothing else is available. It is an extraordinary book that every serious chef should own as a reference. (

)

icadams | Jul 26, 2011 |

Dutch version: Over eten en koken. Geweldig. (

)

orderflow | Jun 13, 2011 |

This is an amazingly comprehensive study of the history, sociology, chemistry, and physics of human food and its preparation and preservation. I'd checked it out of the library expecting to read it, but it's more of a reference book than a book to be read. (

)

dickmanikowski | Feb 18, 2011 |

A really excellent look at the underlying physical phenomena that go on in the process of cooking; this is one of Alton Brown’s top references. McGee covers the physics and chemistry at a level that should be easy for anyone who made it through high school AP Chemistry and accessible to anyone who finds Scientific American readable. In addition to the science, he also includes interesting vignettes of history and etymology, including excerpts from historical cookbooks.

I don’t do a lot of cooking (yet), but in my limited areas of experience, there were some good a-ha moments. This would be a good book to keep on hand to reference any time you work with a particular ingredient or technique to deepen your understanding and suggest new possibilities. It would also be a good book for any high school chemistry teacher to keep on hand to interest a student who knows more about cooking, or to make cooking more interesting for a science type. (

)

slothman | Sep 2, 2010 |

date ▼ | votes

Showing 1-5 of 23 (next | show all)

▾Published reviews

no reviews | add a review

▾Other authors

» Add other authors (9 possible)

▾Work-to-work relationships

Has as a reference guide/companion

The Encyclopedia of Herbs, Spices, & Flavorings by Elisabeth Lambert Ortiz

view history

▾Common Knowledge

You must log in to edit Common Knowledge data.

For more help see the Common Knowledge help page.

Series (with order)

Canonical title

Original title

Alternative titles

Original publication date

1984

People/Characters

Important places

Important events

Related movies

Awards and honors

James Beard Foundation Award (Reference, 2005)

Andre Simon Award (1986)

James Beard Foundation Award (Hall of Fame, 2011)

Epigraph

Dedication

To my family

First words

Quotations

Last words

Disambiguation notice

Publisher's editors

Blurbers

Publisher series

▾References

References to this work on external resources.

Wikipedia in English (84)

Asparagus

Baked beans

Baking powder

Barbecue in the United States

▾LibraryThing members' description

Book description

Haiku summary

▾Book descriptions

Amazon.com Product Description (ISBN 0684800012, Hardcover)

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.

(retrieved from Amazon Thu, 03 Jan 2013 11:40:10 -0500)

(see all 3 descriptions)

▾Library descriptions

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, and 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.… (more)

» see all 2 descriptions