Kitchen Mysteries - (Arts and Traditions of the Table: Perspectives on Culinary H) by Hervé This (Hardcover)

About the Book

An international celebrity and the founder of molecular gastronomy, or the scientific investigation of culinary practice, This is known for his groundbreaking research into the chemistry behind everyday cooking. This work answers such questions as what causes vegetables to change color when cooked and how to keep a souffl from falling.

Book Synopsis

In Kitchen Mysteries, Hervé 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 soufflé from falling. He illuminates abstract concepts with practical advice and concrete examples--for instance, how sautéing in butter chemically alters the molecules of mushrooms--so that cooks of every stripe can thoroughly comprehend the scientific principles of food.

Review Quotes

Kitchen Mysteries is another tour de force for the French scientific chef... Highly Recommended.--Choice

Cooks who want to learn more about the chemistry and physics that make their efforts possible will discover useful things here.--Booklist

Fans of 'Curious Cook' Harold McGee will relish the latest from This (Molecular Gastronomy), a French chemist and foodie hero who has helped to usher in the current restaurant world vogue for turning the kitchen into a laboratory.... Even those who might be turned off by the thought of food chemistry will quickly be drawn in by his obvious love of food and eagerness to apply his research to helping people cook better.--Publishers Weekly

[An] eye-opening book.--Kate Colquhoun "Portsmouth Herald "

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 "

This has made invisible processes visible, revealed the mysteries, and the bread has risen, baked, and been enjoyed.--Claudia Kousoulas "Appetite for Books "

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 "

This's molecular gastronomy is garnished with the author's own rich philosophy of food and flavor.--Peter Barham "Nature "

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 "Metro Spirit "

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 "

About the Author

Hervé 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 twenty works from French, most recently, Madeleine Ferrière's Sacred Cow Mad Cow, which also appears in the Arts and Traditions of the Table series.