This is a cookbook with no recipes that will teach you how to cook everything. It covers everything there is to know about food -- from how it was discovered, how man changed it, how it is grown, how it is harvested and how to prepare and cook it. It dramatically changed my cooking life.
Jun 11, 2024
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I’m still on a big Kenji Lopez-Alt binge, but for the last few weeks I’ve spent every few minutes I’ve had reading The Food Lab. It has changed the way I think about cooking. It feels really good to understand the science behind cooking, but more importantly why I’ve f**ked up a so many dishes I’ve cooked in the past. This isn’t a traditional recipe book, it dives deep into the science behind temperature, heat, acid, and even the materials that make the best pots and pans and I am hooked.
Feb 1, 2022
Not really a recipe book (though certainly has recipes) and more of a reference bible about the chemical processes of cooking. Kenji answers questions like:
- Why does the pH of my pancake batter matter?
- Why should I add sodium citrate to mac n cheese?
- Why is my turkey dry?
- How to make can beans taste good?
and will also teach you how to butterfly a chicken, faux-tourné your carrots, and emulsify your vinaigrettes.
Kenji is extraordinarily online (linked his website for socials) and posts tons of stuff for free if you don’t wanna shell out for this very expensive and very heavy book. I have a ton of respect for him and genuinely think he is the most influential living person working in food right now + will be remembered among the greats.
Can’t rec this book enough!
Feb 19, 2025
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endlessly fascinating and joyful endeavor
Jun 2, 2024
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I blew some winnings at Paul Fredrick and now I am rocking some awesome Gaudy old man golf shirts that just drip.
3d ago
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Most golden ages are not obvious at the time. I lucked out being in high school in a moment where grunge matured, hip hop got amazing and edm started to rise.
Smells Like Teen Spirit exploded freshman year. The grunge wave got east soon after that. On the other end of the parking lot Wu Tang was played again and again as Biggie and Tupac battled. And the skaters were shifting from punk rock to this new vibe they heard at warehouse raves as techno was escaping from the lab in Dallas and NYC.
The movie Kids catches this time really well. Words don’t quite do it justice.
May 26, 2025
May 1, 2025