Product Description

An international celebrity and founder of molecular gastronomy, or the scientific investigation of culinary practice, Herv& eacute; This is known for his ground-breaking research into the chemistry and physics behind everyday cooking. His work is consulted widely by amateur cooks and professional chefs and has changed the way food is approached and prepared all over the world. In Kitchen Mysteries, Herve This offers a second helping of his world-renowned insight into the science of cooking, answering such fundamental questions as what causes vegetables to change color when cooked and how to keep a souffl& eacute; from falling. He illuminates abstract concepts with practical advice and concrete examples& mdash;for instance, how saut& eacute;ing in butter chemically alters the molecules of mushrooms& mdash;so that cooks of every stripe can thoroughly comprehend the scientific principles of food. Kitchen Mysteries begins with a brief overview of molecular gastronomy and the importance of understanding the physiology of taste. A successful meal depends as much on a cook's skilled orchestration of taste, odors, colors, consistencies, and other sensations as on the delicate balance of ingredients. Herv& eacute; then dives into the main course, discussing the science behind many meals' basic components: eggs, milk, bread, sugar, fruit, yogurt, alcohol, and cheese, among other items. He also unravels the mystery of tenderizing enzymes and gelatins and the preparation of soups and stews, salads and sauces, sorbet, cakes, and pastries. Herv& eacute; explores the effects of boiling, steaming, braising, roasting, deep-frying, saut& eacute;ing, grilling, salting, and microwaving, and devotes a chapter to kitchen utensils, recommending the best way to refurbish silverware and use copper.By sharing the empirical principles chefs have valued for generations, Herv& eacute; This adds another dimension to the suggestions of cookbook authors. He shows how to adapt recipes to available ingredients and how to modify proposed methods to the utensils at hand. His revelations make difficult recipes easier to attempt and allow for even more creativity and experimentation. Promising to answer your most compelling kitchen questions, Herv& eacute This continues to make the complex science of food digestible to the cook.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #46217 in Books
• Published on: 2007-11-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 232 pages

Review
"Taking kitchen science to a whole new (molecular) level, Herv& eacute; This is changing the way France& mdash;and the world& mdash;cooks." -- Patric Kuh, Gourmet "For anyone who relishes the debunking of culinary myths." -- Todd Coleman, Saveur "Laden with science while rendering a clear approach to flavor." -- Publishers Weekly "This has made invisible processes visible, revealed the mysteries, and the bread has risen, baked, and been enjoyed." -- Claudia Kousoulas, Appetite for Books "Cooks who want to learn more about the chemistry and physics that make their efforts possible will discover useful things here." -- Booklist "This molecular gastronomy is garnished with the authors own rich philosophy of food and flavor." -- Peter Barham, Nature "An exuberant paean for the role of science in cooking... This's book performs a great service." -- Len Fisher, Times Higher Education Supplement "This book should be in every kitchen." -- Christine Sismondo, Toronto Star "[An] eye-opening book." -- Kate Colquhoun, Portsmouth Herald "Witty and humorous... [readers] whose eyes glaze over at the very mention of electrons may find themselves becoming entranced by This' graceful descriptions of essential chemical reactions." -- Lynn Harnett, Seacoast Sunday "Well crafted, sprinkled with insight, and containing a menagerie of information, Kitchen Mysteries is a wonderful trip down a stellar buffet line." -- J. Edward Sumerau, The Metro Spirit " Kitchen Mysteries is another tour de force for the French scientific chef... Highly Recommended." -- Choice "This's book offers expert explanations that give the reader a better understanding of both cooking and cuisine. As such, it is enticing." -- Pierre Laszlo, Chemical Heritage

About the Author
Herv& eacute; This is a physical chemist on the staff of the Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique in Paris. He is the author of Columbia's Molecular Gastronomy and of several other books on food and cooking. He is a monthly contributor to Pour la Science, the French-language edition of Scientific American.Jody Gladding is a poet and has translated almost twenty works from French, most recently, Madeleine Ferri& egrave;re's Sacred Cow Mad Cow, which also appears in the Arts and Traditions of the Table series.

Customer Reviews

Better buy a better book.
For a serious student of the new science of cooking there is no substitute for McGee on Food and Cooking. Hervey This is without doubt a master in the laboratory, an erratic cook by all accounts, but confuses the didactic lecture with writing an intelligible readable book. Moreover his pervasive pompous manner suggests that he gives no credit to his readers' intelligence and is not adverse to showing off.
Some of the information is useful but there is nothing remarkable in either his insights or conclusions.

Great book
I saw the reviews in amazon.com before buying this book and some are rather stupid, as one states that this book is ill translated as well as not answering the questions is poses in the title. First of all, the translation is not bad, I have read the book and everything in understandable for an English native, as well as an English learner. Second, it does give the answers, and in a not so technical jargon, which is great for those who don't have the chemical or biological background.
This book is great to go along with the other book This wrote:
Molecular Gastronomy Exploring the Science of Flavor (Arts & Traditions of the Table: Perspectives on Culinary History): Exploring the Science of Flavor ... the Table: Perspectives on Culinary History). As they cover different topics that are great to go along, yet some are somewhat simillar.

I am presently taking a degree in Culinary Arts and I have several subjects, from Chemistry to Physiology and some of the thins Hervé mentions in this book are an excellent explanation to what a student is learning, or how to combine science with cookery, by making a possible bridge. Every chemistry student knows what an emulsion is, or what a colloid is, but being able to apply everything in cooking is the hard part that this book (as well as the other I mentioned) is trying to do, and has accomplished very well.
Some topics approached by Hervé This are common with the book Heston Blumenthal wrote, "Kitchen Chemistry". And if Heston believes in the information provided by Herve, who am I to say otherwise?
Yet again, Hervé This is the founding father of Molecular Gastronomy, so he has years of experimentation on this subject.
This is really a great book, and I believe that sooner or later we will have another volume to this edition, as Hervé poses some questions in the end of the book that are/were still unanswered.