Overview

An international celebrity and founder of molecular gastronomy, or the scientific investigation of culinary practice, Hervé 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, 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. 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. Hervé 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. Hervé explores the effects of boiling, steaming, braising, roasting, deep-frying, sautéing, 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, Hervé 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, Hervé This continues to make the complex science of food digestible to the cook.

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9780231141703

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Reviews

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

Author Information

Hervé This is a physical chemist of the Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique in Paris. One of the two founders of the science called molecular gastronomy, he is the author of Columbia's Kitchen Mysteries: Revealing the Science of Cooking 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.

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