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

About the Book

An international sensation, Molecular Gastronomy debunks a variety of time-honored rules and dictums about cooking, but also presents new knowledge from which readers can improve the preparation of a variety of dishes. Herve This, a physical chemist, discusses the physiology of flavor and explores the brain's perception of tastes, the effect of chewing on food, and the reaction of the tongue to various stimuli. Bringing the instruments and techniques of the laboratory into the kitchen, Herve's entertaining revelations are for cooks, gourmets, and scientists alike.

Book Synopsis

Hervé This (pronounced "Teess") is an internationally renowned chemist, a popular French television personality, a bestselling cookbook author, a longtime collaborator with the famed French chef Pierre Gagnaire, and the only person to hold a doctorate in molecular gastronomy, a cutting-edge field he pioneered. Bringing the instruments and experimental techniques of the laboratory into the kitchen, This uses recent research in the chemistry, physics, and biology of food to challenge traditional ideas about cooking and eating. What he discovers will entertain, instruct, and intrigue cooks, gourmets, and scientists alike.

Molecular Gastronomy, This's first work to appear in English, is filled with practical tips, provocative suggestions, and penetrating insights. This begins by reexamining and debunking a variety of time-honored rules and dictums about cooking and presents new and improved ways of preparing a variety of dishes from quiches and quenelles to steak and hard-boiled eggs. He goes on to discuss the physiology of flavor and explores how the brain perceives tastes, how chewing affects food, and how the tongue reacts to various stimuli. Examining the molecular properties of bread, ham, foie gras, and champagne, the book analyzes what happens as they are baked, cured, cooked, and chilled.

Looking to the future, Hervé This imagines new cooking methods and proposes novel dishes. A chocolate mousse without eggs? A flourless chocolate cake baked in the microwave? Molecular Gastronomy explains how to make them. This also shows us how to cook perfect French fries, why a soufflé rises and falls, how long to cool champagne, when to season a steak, the right way to cook pasta, how the shape of a wine glass affects the taste of wine, why chocolate turns white, and how salt modifies tastes.

Review Quotes

this is a great book on so many levels--Yum.fi

[A] captivating little book.--The Economist

A wonderful book.... it will appeal to anyone with an interest in the science of cooking.--O Chef

For anyone who likes to eat or cook.--Choice

Mr. This's book will broaden the way you think about food.--New York Sun

Taking kitchen science to a whole new (molecular) level, Hervé This is changing the way France--and the world--cooks.--Gourmet

This book is laden with science while rendering a clear approach to flavor.--Academia

This offers some though-provoking opportunities for play in the kitchen.--Pagosa Springs Sun

A fresh approach... that will entertain and enlighten anyone interested in the process of cooking and the enjoyment of food.--Raymond J. Shively, Jr. "The Bloomsbury Review "

A timely addition... Suitable for both scientists and the lay public.--Thorvald Pedersen "EMBO Reports "

Anyone with an inordinate passion for cooking would love this book.--Mia Stainsby "Vancouver Sun "

He is fantastic. I didn't really cook before but this book may be changing my life.--Keanu Reeves

He is revered by the revered.--JJ Goode "epicurious.com "

This book, praiseworthy for its scientific rigor, will hold a special appeal for anyone who relishes the debunking of culinary myths.--Todd Coleman "Saveur "

This has written an interesting and timely combination of our everyday experience with sophisticated science.--Claudia Kousoulas "Appetite for Books "

About the Author

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.