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On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of…
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On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen (original 1984; edition 2004)

by Harold McGee

MembersReviewsPopularityAverage ratingMentions
3,667423,410 (4.59)29
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)
Member:SusanGrigsby
Title:On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen
Authors:Harold McGee
Info:Scribner (2004), Edition: Rev Upd, Hardcover, 896 pages
Collections:Your library
Rating:*****
Tags:None

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

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» See also 29 mentions

English (39)  Danish (1)  Catalan (1)  Dutch (1)  All languages (42)
Showing 1-5 of 39 (next | show all)
This is a MUST-OWN book for everyone and anyone who cooks. I read all of it just by having it on my nightstand. Absolutely great and indispensable. ( )
  womanwoanswers | Dec 23, 2022 |
Educational, with a combination of scientific, historical, and practical information about food and cooking. As its encyclopedic length might indicate, this book wasn’t really intended to be read sequentially cover to cover. However, doing that I found the extreme level of detail to be often dry and a bit challenging. For a more casual (or sensical) reader the book is helpfully arranged into subjects; it would be easy to jump to whatever subject one might find interesting. ( )
  wishanem | May 27, 2021 |
It is not a cookbook, but rather the context for all cookbooks: a stupendous compendium of how food -- every type of food -- works. 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? Why do so many foods turn brown on exposure to air? How does the Maillard reaction work, and why is it the greatest thing to hit the culinary art since well before sliced bread? This is a reference book to be consulted often -- but I read it cover to cover, and enjoyed it lots. ( )
1 vote oatleyr | Aug 22, 2020 |
Highly recommended by David Chang
  lulaa | Apr 27, 2020 |
I love this book. Full of exactly what I wanted to know without knowing what it was I wanted. It works beautifully as a general reference and can be read straight. If you eat, read this book. ( )
  Eoin | Jun 3, 2019 |
Showing 1-5 of 39 (next | show all)
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» Add other authors (3 possible)

Author nameRoleType of authorWork?Status
McGee, Haroldprimary authorall editionsconfirmed
Davidson, AlanForewordsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Dorfman, PatriciaIllustratorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Greene, JustinIllustratorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
McGee, AnnIllustratorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
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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.

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