The Kitchen as Laboratory: Reflections on the Science of Food and Cooking (Arts and Traditions of the Table: Perspectives on Culinary History) [Hardcover]

César Vega (Editor), Job Ubbink (Editor), Erik van van der Linden (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 31, 2012 | Series: Arts and Traditions of the Table: Perspectives on Culinary History

Eating is a multisensory experience, yet chefs and scientists have only recently begun to deconstruct food's components, setting the stage for science-based cooking. In this global collaboration of essays, chefs and scientists advance culinary knowledge by testing hypotheses rooted in the physical and chemical properties of food. Using traditional and cutting-edge tools, ingredients, and techniques, these pioneers create, and sometimes revamp, dishes that respond to specific desires and serve up an original encounter with gastronomic practice.

From the seemingly mundane to the food fantastic -- from grilled cheese sandwiches, pizzas, and soft-boiled eggs to Turkish ice cream, sugar glasses, and jellified beads -- the essays in The Kitchen as Laboratory cover a range of creations and their history and culture. They consider the significance of an eater's background and dining atmosphere and the importance of a chef's methods, as well as the strategies used to create a great diversity of foods and dishes. This collection will delight experts and amateurs alike, especially as restaurants rely more on science-based cooking and recreational cooks increasingly explore the physics and chemistry behind their art. Contributors end each essay with their personal thoughts on food, cooking, and science, offering rare insight into a professional's passion for playing with food.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Behind today's celebrity chefs and starred restaurants is a mostly unsung army of dedicated food and science lovers working to uncover the scientific principles that make our modern gastronomical marvels possible. In offering thirty-three highly readable and often amusing essays by warriors in this multinational kitchen army, the editors of this anthology have accomplished the great service of filling a much-needed gap in the public's understanding and appreciation of twenty-first-century culinary 'magic.' Where else can one have fun pondering the acoustics of crunchy foods or the texture of an ice cream that stretches like a rubber band?

(Robert Wolke, former Washington Post food columnist and author of What Einstein Told His Cook: Kitchen Science Explained )

The editors of The Kitchen as Laboratory provide not just intimate and fascinating anecdotal insights but also the scientific principles that inspired them. They have created a new altar for chefs and gourmands to worship: the poetry of science.

(Will Goldfarb, creator of Willpowder, Experimental Cuisine Collective )

The Kitchen as Laboratory provides good perspective on the scientific approach to cooking while reflecting the interests and passions of each essay's author. Readers are likely to come away with a lot of new ideas to use in the kitchen, as well as some recognition of the breadth of contemporary applications of science in the kitchen.

(Peter Barham, author of The Science of Cooking )

The Kitchen as Laboratory is not only an in-depth study of many areas of food science, but also an entertaining read. For someone like me, who relishes understanding more about cooking from the inside out, it's heartening to see this area of literature expanded.

(Chef Wylie Dufresne, wd~50 )

Nothing is more difficult to master in the world than science itself. The Kitchen as Laboratory creates a beautiful synergy between food and science while amazingly representing difficult concepts in colloquial language. It is a powerful book.

(Chef José Andrés, James Beard Foundation's Outstanding Chef )

Cesar Vega, Job Ubbink, and Erik van der Linden have assembled a complete document that seamlessly bridges the inherent connection of the science of cooking and the art of cooking. They have created a testament to the fact that precise understanding and open minded observation are invaluable tools for creative cooking. Kitchen as Laboratory: Reflections on the Science of Food and Cooking is a thought provoking, insightful and approachable resource for professional chefs and home cooks alike.

(Maxime Bilet, head chef for recipe research and development at The Cooking Lab, co-author of Modernist Cuisine )

serious and substantive anthology

(Harold McGee Nature 12/22/2011)

Refreshingly, the Kitchen conveys simple and attainable advice...

(Scientist 2/1/2012)

...engaging, thought-provoking and accessible

(Yum.fi 5/15/2012)

Highly recommended.

(Choice 6/1/2012)

About the Author

César Vega holds a Ph.D. in food science and a culinary degree from Le Cordon Bleu and is research manager at Mars Botanical, a division of Mars, Inc. He has consulted with several avant-garde restaurants on aspects relating to science-based cooking, and he regularly teaches seminars on the relation between science and cooking.

Job Ubbink is a senior consultant at Food Concept and Physical Design in Flüh, Switzerland. Trained as a physical chemist and biophysicist, he has more than twelve years of R&D experience in the food industry. Along with his research on food material science and food biophysics, he is a passionate cook devoted to developing sustainable food practices and culture.

Erik van der Linden is professor of physics and physical chemistry of foods at Wageningen University. From 1991 to 1997, he worked at the interface of science and industry at Unilever Research in the Netherlands and in the United States, leading innovation projects on structural and sensory aspects of detergents, cosmetics, and foods. He earned his M.Sc. degree in theoretical physics and his Ph.D. at Leiden University and was awarded a postdoctoral fellowship at Emory University, where he focused on the stability of oil in water emulsions.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 336 pages
• Publisher: Columbia University Press (January 31, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0231153449
• ISBN-13: 978-0231153447
• Product Dimensions: 6.1 x 1 x 9.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #40,087 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #25 in Books > Science & Math > Essays & Commentary
  • #61 in Books > Professional & Technical > Professional Science > Chemistry > Organic
  • #66 in Books > Cookbooks, Food & Wine > Gastronomy > Essays

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 24 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Great for curious cooks! March 25, 2012

By Skip82

Format:Hardcover

"The Kitchen as Laboratory..." is a compliation of dozens of science experiments done to explain WHY foods do the things they do. Each chapter is written by different culinary chemists on a different topic. Most of the chapters begin with a question, like what benefit is given when you refrigerate cookie dough before cooking it? And what causes food to brown as it's cooked (loaves of bread, onions, etc.)? What ingredients make the perfect sponge cake? Which breads and cheeses make the perfect grilled cheese sandwich? What is the chemical reaction that makes a roux sauce come together?

These questions are answered using the scientific method, but not in an intimidating way! The authors' use everyday language to explain their experiments and results. In fact, included are microscopic pictures of the air bubbles inside sponge cake, diagrams of pork belly to show where the variety of bacon comes from, tables that show the conditions that speed up or slow down the Maillard Reaction (browning), and my favorite part, each chapter comes with a recipe that you can make in order to prove the authors' findings to yourself. The book has been designed to not only teach you, but to also help you become a better cook.

Some basic background knowledge of chemistry is needed in order to understand much of this book. Topics that the reader is assumed to know are things like the difference between amino acids and carbohydrates, pH, catalysts, metric measurements, and basic atomic attraction.

This would be a good book for:
*Biology, Chemistry, Culinary teachers and/or students
*Anyone who likes to cook
*Anyone looking for a way to relate science to "the real world"
*Anyone looking for a way to relate food to the science world
*Those who like non-fiction books full of fun facts
*Anyone who wants to become a better cook
*Those who are daring and want to try new things in the kitchen (like learning to use sodium citrate and calcium chloride to make apple caviar)

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Interesting to read April 5, 2012

By Diane P. Johnson

Format:Hardcover

I read a review of this book in Scientific American which is why I sought it out. I'm not a scientist, but I like reading about science that is understandable, and this book is. It is an anthology. Each chapter stands alone although occasionally there is a specific reference something in a previous chapter. It's beyond the basics, like what makes a cake rise. Rather it explains why refrigerated chocolate chip cookie dough makes better cookies. It also offers a broad range of subject, and talks about the feel of food and the sound of food, the difference between crispy & crunchy. I really enjoyed it.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars great January 14, 2013

By JT

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

Like cooking and science...but not very good at science? This is a great book for you! While not many pictures or recipes, it provides detailed (yet fairly straight forward) description of major gastronomy issues and techniques