Modernist cuisine : the art and science of cooking. [Volume 1, History and fundamentals

Modernist Cuisine: The Art and Science of Cooking is a revolutionary treatment of cooking that pushes the boundaries of culinary arts. Winner of the 2012 James Beard Award for Cookbook of the Year, inducted into the Gourmand Cookbook Hall of Fame, and named one of the best cookbooks of the century by the New Yorker, its six volumes comprising 2,438 pages explore the history of cuisine and explain the science of cooking in a way that’s accessible to both professional chefs and home cooks. Created by a team of scientists, chefs, editors, and writers, these volumes explore research spanning the field of culinary science with careful attention to practicality and applicability in the kitchen. Through gorgeous illustrations and otherworldly techniques, this set will inspire you to innovate in your own kitchen. A revolution is underway in the art of cooking. Just as French Impressionists upended centuries of tradition, Modernist cuisine has in recent years blown through the boundaries of the culinary arts. Borrowing techniques from the laboratory, pioneering chefs at world-renowned restaurants such as elBulli, The Fat Duck, Alinea, and wd~50 have incorporated a deeper understanding of science and advances in cooking technology into their culinary art. In Modernist Cuisine: The Art and Science of Cooking, Nathan Myhrvold, Chris Young, and Maxime Bilet—scientists, inventors, and accomplished cooks in their own right—have created a six-volume 2,400-page set that reveals science-inspired techniques for preparing food that ranges from the otherworldly to the sublime. The authors—and their 20-person team at The Cooking Lab—have achieved astounding new flavors and textures by using tools such as water baths, homogenizers, centrifuges, and ingredients such as hydrocolloids, emulsifiers, and enzymes. It is a work destined to reinvent cooking.
How do you make an omelet light and tender on the outside, but rich and creamy inside? Or French fries with a light and fluffy interior and a delicate, crisp crust that doesn’t go soggy? Imagine being able to encase a mussel in a gelled sphere of its own sweet and briny juice. Or to create a silky-smooth pistachio cream made from nothing more than the nuts themselves. Modernist Cuisine offers step-by-step, illustrated instructions, as well as clear explanations of how these techniques work. Through thousands of original photographs and diagrams, the lavishly illustrated books make the science and technology of the culinary arts clear and engaging. Stunning new photographic techniques take the reader inside the food to see cooking in action all the way from microscopic meat fibers to an entire Weber grill in cross-section. You will view cooking—and eating—in a whole new light. A sampling of what you’ll discover:

• Why plunging food in ice water doesn’t stop the cooking process;
• When boiling cooks faster than steaming;
• Why raising the grill doesn’t lower the heat;
• How low-cost pots and pans can perform better than expensive ones;
• Why baking is mostly a drying process;
• Why deep-fried food tastes best and browns better when the oil is older;
• How modern cooking techniques can achieve ideal results without the perfect timing or good luck that traditional methods demand.

Many invaluable features include:
• Insights into the surprising science behind traditional food preparation methods such as grilling, smoking, and stir-frying;
• The most comprehensive guide yet published on cooking sous vide, including the best options for water baths, packaging materials, and sealing equipment; cooking strategies; and troubleshooting tips;
• More than 250 pages on meat and seafood and 144 pages on fruits, vegetables, and grains, including dozens of parametric recipes and step-by-step techniques;
• Extensive chapters explaining how to achieve amazing results by using modern thickeners, gels, emulsions, and foams, including example recipes and many formulas;
• Some 300 pages of new recipes for plated dishes suitable for service at top-tier restaurants, plus recipes adapted from master chefs including Grant Achatz, Ferran Adrià, Heston Blumenthal, David Chang, Wylie Dufresne, David Kinch, and many others.

From the professional chef to the home cook, Modernist Cuisine is an indispensable guide for anyone who is passionate about the art and science of cooking.

Winner of the 2012 James Beard Foundation Awards for Cookbook of the Year and Cooking from a Professional Point of View

Winner of the 2012 IACP Design, Professional Kitchens, and Visionary Achievement Awards

cover1 cover2 cover3 cover4 cover5 cover6 cover7 cover8 cover9 cover10 cover11 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 116 117 118 119 120 121 122 123 124 125 126 127 128 129 130 131 132 133 134 135 136 137 138 139 140 141 142 143 144 145 146 147 148 149 150 151 152 153 154 155 156 157 158 159 160 161 162 163 164 165 166 167 168 169 170 171 172 173 174 175 176 177 178 179 180 181 182 183 184 185 186 187 188 189 190 191 192 193 194 195 196 197 198 199 200 201 202 203 204 205 206 207 208 209 210 211 212 213 214 215 216 217 218 219 220 221 222 223 224 225 226 227 228 229 230 231 232 233 234 235 236 237 238 239 240 241 242 243 244 245 246 247 248 249 250 251 252 253 254 255 256 257 258 259 260 261 262 263 264 265 266 267 268 269 270 271 272 273 274 275 276 277 278 279 280 281 282 283 284 285 286 287 288 289 290 291 292 293 294 295 296 297 298 299 300 301 302 303 304 305 306 307 308 309 310 311 312 313 314 315 316 317 318 319 320 321 322 323 324 325 326 327 328 329 330 331 332 333 334 335 336 337 338 339 340 341 342 343 344 345 346 347 348 349 350 351 352 353 354 355 356 357 358 359 360 361 362 363 364 365 366 367 368 369 370 371 372 373 374 375 376 377 378 379 380 381 382 383 384 385 386 387 388 389 390 391 392 393 394 395 396 397 398 399 400 401 end1 end2 end3 end4 An overview of the techniques of modern gastronomy. Nathan Myhrvold, Chris Young, and Maxime Bilet -- scientists, inventors, and accomplished cooks in their own right -- have created a six-volume 2,400 page set that reveals science-inspired techniques for preparing food. The authors and their 20 person team at The Cooking Lab have achieved new flavors and textures by using tools such as water baths, homogenizers, centrifuges, and ingredients such as hydrocolloids, emulsifiers, and enzymes. An overview of the techniques of modern gastronomy. Nathan Myhrvold, Chris Young, and Maxime Bilet--scientists, inventors, and accomplished cooks in their own right--have created a six-volume 2,400 page set that reveals science-inspired techniques for preparing food. The authors and their twenty-person team at The Cooking Lab have achieved new flavors and textures by using tools such as water baths, homogenizers, centrifuges, and ingredients such as hydrocolloids, emulsifiers, and enzymes v. 1. History and fundamentals v. 2. Techniques and equipment v. 3. Animals and plants v. 4. Ingredients and preparations v. 5. Plated-dish recipes v. 6. Kitchen manual.