Customer Reviews

On Food and Cooking

5 star:		(46)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This book is NOT a cookbook, but it's a damned good reference for figuring out why your sauce was flat.

I first received this book from a friend, about 3 years ago. I read it, then re-read it, and was amazed that the technical references and jargon were so easily described.

As a chemical engineer by trade and a cook by avocation, I loved this book, both for the technical details and the writing, as well as the explanations of the science behind the "obvious". If you're a technically-inclined person, you'll appreciate the references and notes. If you, like some unnamed previous reviewers, are looking for an easy guide to food, this isn't it. This book appeals to cooks who know how to make things, but want to know why those things are made. This isn't a compendium of recipes, nor is it a guide to cooking. It's an easily understandable review of why foods do what they do.

If you enjoy cooking and wonder why "browning" makes a tastier dish, get this book. Nothing here is a surprise to the seasoned cook. There are no de rigueur recipes. Whatever.

The many flaws in this book originally led me to give it 3 stars, but the more I look at other sources for the same information, the more I realize that for all its annoying qualities, this book really does appear to be the most comprehensive work on this subject. As such, I have to recommend it more highly, simply because you're not going to get the same infomation in any other single book. Be prepared to work hard for the knowledge, however.

"On Food and Cooking" is a very comprehensive work that contains a lot of very useful and interesting information. It also contains a lot of less useful information, random historical musings, and general digressions. As a result, the useful/interesting information density is much lower than I'd like, particularly given the general "verbiage density" of the text. Perhaps part of the problem is that I've gleaned too much of the information already from other sources, so that I feel like I'm wading through a lot of common knowledge to get to the bits I care about.

The book goes into a fair amount of historical detail about various ingredients. It doesn't focus on the historical aspects enough to be a "history of food" book, though, and the historical perspective tends to detract from the scientific content ratio simply by increasing the overall amount of text.

Also, there are many variations on ingredients, food safety issues, etc., that were not considered significant in 1983, but which are more relevant today. There's no discussion of salmonella in the section on eggs, for example, and no discussion of things like the impact (or lack thereof) of RBGH on milk quality. The effects of organic methods in general are given short shrift. I have observed various quality differences in organic ingredients relative to more conventional ingredients (both for better and for worse), and had hoped for some quantitative discussion of what the physical differences are, and why.

Compared to "The Science of Cooking" (my most recent read on the topic), this book doesn't cover some of the physics and organic chemistry as well, but it does go into better detail on some of the more biologically oriented topics. For example, osmotic pressure, the process by which salt and sugar preserve food, is covered fairly well in this book, while it is never directly mentioned in "The Science of Cooking".

I also wish there had been better organization of the material in the book. "The Science of Cooking", for example, is organized like a textbook, with well-marked side bars and tables, allowing you to easily skip to (or over) information that may or may not be relevant. "On Food and Cooking", however, is organized more like a novel, making it difficult to use it for reference, and complicating efforts to skip over material that is not of interest.

Also, some sections (for example the discussion of cheese) assume too much knowledge about the basic processes, making it sometimes challenging to correlate the underlying chemistry with actual kitchen mechanics. In general, the book has very few examples of "kitchen experiments" you can try yourself to develop an integrated sense of the qualitative and quantitative aspects of cooking. There are many discussions, for example, of the effects of pH on various processes, but little discussion of ways to manipulate the pH using different ingredients to help balance flavor against the needs of the chemical processes.

I still haven't found the ideal source for this sort of information. "The Science of Cooking" is at least concise and very clear in what it does cover (which is why I gave it 4 stars instead of 3), but as I look back and compare it to "On Food and Cooking" again, I see some of the major holes in that book (which doesn't deal with the role of pH in cooking at all, for example). And so, my search continues.

Why does waiting a few days before boiling your eggs make them easier to peel? Why is fish so soft and flaky compared to beef or chicken? What makes white and red meat different? Why does bread rise? Why does flour thicken a sauce? Why do vegetables become softer as they cook? This book answers all these questions and many more.

We learn to cook by following recipes from grandma, from books, or from TV; that is by following step-by-step instructions. But, for example, why do we have to brown a slab of beef before roasting it? McGee describes in great detail the properties of the materials we cook with (meat, milk, vegetables, and so on) and the effects when we simmer, broil, grill, steam, or braise them. So a quick browning of a block of meat caramelizes the outside, which creates complex flavours as the dish is then slowly roasted; browning doesn't seal in flavours already present, as is commonly thought. That's a useful thing to know, and can be applied to other things besides roasting meat. For instance, do you want those complex flavours in your soups? If so, stir fry the vegetables a few seconds before adding them to the stock. Do you want a lighter, softer sauce? Then don't broil the bones before simmering them to make the stock you'll use.

The section on sauces is perhaps the most useful in the book. We find out the characteristics of a good sauce, how they are classified, how to make them, and why each step followed is needed. Understanding all that will improve your gravies and sauces immensely, without having even to follow the rather heavy demands of professional sauce making.

This book belongs in every family's kitchen and in every chef's private library. McGee's clear and detailed explanations will improve your understanding of cooking and thus the quality of the meals you prepare. I've had it for five years now, and refer to it constantly.

This book gives Totally Too Much Information (TTMI) to be read in one sitting. (Danger, Will Robinson! Information overload!) Like how one feels towards the end of Thanksgiving dinner! In a pinch, it may also be used to "boost" shorter members of the family up to the table ;-)

Mr. McGee's tome should be savored in digestible, bite-sized morsels. Read it while cooking up a big feast or nuking a quick snack. There is an excellent Index in which the reader may browse for specific items. As the author explains in the Introduction: "This is not a book of cookery - it offers no expert recipes - it is meant [to explain] the nature of our foods, what they are made of and where they came from, how they are transformed by cooking, when and why particular culinary habits took hold. Chemistry and biology figure prominently in this approach, but science is by no means the whole story. History, anthropology, and etymology also contribute to our understanding of food and cooking."

This is an essential treatise on the *science* - not art - of cooking. It explores *how* the traditional techniques (recipes and routines) work. We might have known the principle, but never put it together in the concept of Kitchen. For instance: that ugly "skin" when heating milk or reheating a cappuccino: "Whether fluid milk is used to make a soup or a sauce, scalloped potatoes or hot chocolate, the tendency of its proteins to coagulate can cause problems. The skin that forms on the surface of boiled milk or cream soups is a complex of casein and calcium and results from evaporation of water at the surface and the subsequent concentration of protein there."

To me, this is WAY more palatable than that Organic Chem 101 text with which I happily parted years ago. Better living through [cooking] chemistry!

Admittedly, you have to be the right type (aka. geek) to appreciate this book, but if you are, Boy Howdy!!

Harold McGee patiently describes the chemical and, to a lesser extent, physical processes that 10,000 years of cooking has made routine and traditional. He gives interesting, thorough, and clear explanations on many important pillars of the dining Who's Who. And, in several cases he admits to the remaining mysteries of digestion or coagulation or whatever else he happens to be describing, inviting you to "investigate along at home."

I have always had a deep love of cooking and even deeper love of eating (we spent the summer in France doing nothing but visiting wineries and restaurants) and I can honestly say my passions have been redoubled by the thought of protein zippering.

I can guarantee this scientific explanation will make food more of a wonder and a mystery, while stimulating your mind and your palate.

For those who are interested in the physics and chemistry of cooking, this book is one of the few in existence that gives a fairly detailed overview. The author's account is purely descriptive, and does not involve any mathematics, but it is very interesting reading and is accessible to all who want to approach cooking in a more in-depth fashion. My review will cover the 1984 edition of this book.

A lot of my questions regarding utensils, baking and frying temperatures, and food preparation were answered by the author. Specifically, the following questions, some of which I wondered about while musing in the kitchen over the years, are answered by the author (and other readers will no doubt find many more of their own answered also): 1. What are the role of casein particles in giving milk the appearance it has? 2. How does the homogenization of milk prevent milk from separating and forming a layer of cream at the top? 3. Why do some people prefer acidophilus milk? 4. Why should milk be kept out of high intensity light? 5. Why is it best to chill the bowl and beaters before whipping cream? 6. What is the basic structure of butter? 7. What is the difference between "ghee" and clarified butter? 8. How is cheese made? 9. What factors contribute to the degradation in flavor of eggs after being laid? 10. What is the role of water loss in the effective cooking of eggs? 11. What is the occasional greenish-gray appearance on hard-boiled eggs? 12. What is the optimum temperature range for frying eggs? 13. Why does the egg yolk degrade the volume of egg foams? 14. What keeps the egg foam from collapsing in the actual cooking phase? 15. What role does cream of tarter have in the volume of egg foams? 16. Why do you whip egg whites at room temperature? 17. Is there really an advantage in using copper bowls to whip egg whites? 18. Why is fish flaky rather than firm like birds and mammals? 19. Does the way an animal is slaughtered play any role in the flavor of the resulting meat? 20. What is the role of aging on the flavor of meat? 21. Why do meat leftovers typically taste different than the freshly cooked? 22. Does the searing of meat really retain the inner moisture? 23. Why is it best to cut off the green tuber portions of potatoes before preparing the potatoes for consumption? 24. Why should one refrain from eating apple seeds? 25. What is the role of ethylene in speeding up ripening? 26. What is the optimum temperature range to cook french fries? 27. How does okra thicken soups and sauces? 28. Why is saffron so expensive? 29. What is converted rice? 30. Why does popcorn pop? (The author gives an "educated guess"). 31. Why is a diet dominant in corn dangerous? 32. What are the historical origins behind the names Kellogg and Post? 33. How is soy sauce made? 34. Why do legumes cause gas after consumption? 35. What is the role of gluten in the kneading of bread dough? 36. Why does bread go stale in storage? 37. How does starch thicken a sauce? 37.What is the best way to make fudge? 38. How is beer made and what are the most critical factors in the process? 39. How long in human history have additives been put into food?

The author also inserts many interesting photographs into the book, such as photographs of a yolk granule and the ripening bacteria in Gouda chesse, both taken through a scanning electron microscope. In addition, detailed discussions are given of general nutrition and body chemistry. The book ends with a helpful summary of the general principles behind cooking.

This is an excellent book and should be on the shelf of all who are seriously into cooking. It has been very helpful in my own musings in the kitchen. But alas, despite the advice given in this book, and many others, I have have never been able to make buttercream frosting without it curdling. Life is hard.

First and foremost: this is NOT a cookbook. Do not buy this book if you are looking for casserole recipes. But, if you are interested in the science of why food does what it does, this book is indispensible. It is rather dense, and is difficult to read straight through, but if you ever wonder, say, what the difference between AA and A grade eggs is, and why the white turns from clear to opaque when you apply heat, On Food and Cooking is well organized and makes a great reference. Considering its low price, every cook should have it around. It will change the way you think about cooking. It includes some interesting historical tidbits as well.

This is a remarkable book on why and how foods react the way they do. Though chemistry plays a large part in the understanding of food that McGee imparts (it has to), it is very basic and a short primer in the appendix tells you all you'll need to know. Because cooking and food underlie our very existence, and also because they are great sources of pleasure, the topic cannot but be fascinating. However, the mystification of food abounds, and the facts are hard for most people to verify. ON FOOD AND COOKING is a book that can be read straight through or as a reference, but will always increase your knowledge of how foods work.

It is comprehensive, historical, and scientific, and McGee's aim is to inform the reader enough so that s/he can cook, and also so that s/he can make decisions about food that are intelligent. Not only does he discuss pretty much any type of food you can think of, he also discusses artificial additives, nutrition, and digestion. And although the book was written in 1984, the advice he gives is always sound and cautious. Food is understandable. If you love watching PBS cooking shows, this book will enhance your knowledge of what the cooks are doing. If you love watching the food network... well, there is probably less to understand, but it will still enhance your viewing. In any case, if you love cooking and food, it is difficult to overlook a book of this magnitude.

This is not a cookbook, but it IS a remarkably accessible guide to the history of cooking, the chemistry of cooking and the literature and lore of food. If you are at all curious about why things happen when you cook or bake, you will be delighted with this magnificent work.

Mr. McGee is a fine writer who makes the science understandable and the lore entertaining.

At nearly 700 pages, the book contains a good index, a bibliography and about 200 illustrations; it is organized into three parts: foods, food and the body, and the principles of cooking.

I enjoy cooking. I like science. I wanted to introduce the two. After reading "the making of a chef" (Ruhlman) where McGee's book is one of the 3 bibles, I had to get it. I read for about a week, got to page 100-something, and got a bit tired of it. I'm no idiot, and my knowledge in chemistry is pretty good, but sometimes the book would just bore me abit. A bit too much science and too little of how the science affects the cooking. I would want more of "why the thick crust bread is thick" and "beat your egg-whites with a cold beater" (cooking science tips) and less molecule explanations.