Molecular Gastronomy: Exploring the Science of Flavor

Most of the discussions revolve around common practices and phenomenon-chilling wine, why spices are spicy, how to best cool a hot drink-but more than a few are either irrelevant or Franco-specific (such as the chapters on quenelles and preparing fondue). This's experimentation, however, is not for the mildly curious, but readers unafraid to, say, microwave mayonnaise will find many ideas here.Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. From Publishers Weekly Originally published in France, This's book documents the sensory phenomena of eating and uses basic physics to put to bed many culinary myths. In the chapter on al dente pasta, for instance, This discusses pa

good on science of food, not useful for everyday cook Having used many books about the science of cooking, this one helped, but most people will want to look elsewhere. I would recommend Potter's Cooking for Geeks or anything from America's Test Kitchen. Don't look here for many molecular gastronomy tips that will use chemicals or liquid nitrogen in the kitchen, this deals more with the science behind food and how human. Much more interesting and readible than the title might suggest For the casual or unprofessional reader a title like Molucular Gastronomy has the allure of eating a bowl of stewed prunes. It sounds like a drudge, but physical chemist author Hervé This on the staff of the Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique in Paris, applies science to questions of food, cooking and eating and keeps it fascinating. He applies scie. COOK LIKE A FRENCH CHEF, STUDY THE SCIENCE OF FLAVOR THIS IS A HEAVY STUFF TO READ, TAKE YOUR TIME TO EXPLORE THE SCIENCE OF FLAVOR AND IT IS THE WAY FRENCH AND THE REST OF THE WORLD COOKS GOURMET

This begins by reexamining and debunking a variety of time-honored rules and dictums about cooking and presents new and improved ways of preparing a variety of dishes from quiches and quenelles to steak and hard-boiled eggs. He goes on to discuss the physiology of flavor and explores how the brain perceives tastes, how chewing affects food, and how the tongue reacts to various stimuli. A chocolate mousse without eggs? A flourless chocolate cake baked in the microwave? Molecular Gastronomy explains how to make them. Examining the molecular properties of bread, ham, foie gras, and champagne, the book analyzes what happens as they are baked, cured, cooked, and chilled. Looking to the future, Hervé This imagines new cooking methods and proposes novel dishes. Bringing the instruments and experimental techniques of the laboratory into the kitchen, This uses recent research in the chemistry, physics, and biology of food to challenge traditional ideas about cooking and