The Science of the Oven
Author(s): Herve This
Mayonnaise "takes" when a series of liquids form a semisolid consistency. Eggs, a liquid, become solid as they are heated, whereas, under the same conditions, solids melt. When meat is roasted, its surface browns and it acquires taste and texture. What accounts for these extraordinary transformations?The answer: chemistry and physics. With trademark clarity and wit, Herve This launches a wry investigation into the chemical art of cooking. Unraveling the science behind common culinary technique and practice, Herve This breaks food down to its molecular components and matches them to cooking's chemical reactions. He translates the complex processes of the oven into everyday knowledge for professional chefs and casual cooks; demystifies the meaning of taste and the making of flavor; describes the properties of liquids, salts, sugars, oils, and fats; and defines the principles of culinary practice, which endow food with sensual as well as nutritional value.For fans of Herve This's popular volumes and for newcomers to his celebrated approach, The Science of the Oven fuses the physiology of taste to the molecular structure of bodies and food, expertly expanding the possibilities of the kitchen.
General Information
- :
- : University Presses of California, Columbia and Princeton
- : Columbia University Press
- : 0.44
- : 13 August 2009
- : United States
- : books
Other Specifications
- : Herve This
- : Hardback
- : 641.013
- : 216
- : 11 illus; 3 tables
More About The Product
"Herve This's contribution is in his application of the scientific method: questioning procedures that have come down through the ages and asking whether they make sense. Here is his charm and whimsy that make his work fun to read." -- Jeanine Plottel, professor emerita of French, Hunter College "What Herve This aims for is to use fairly high-powered yet accessible science not only to analyze what transpires in traditional cooking but also to adapt his unique brand of analysis to flavors, textures, colors, and more, therefore entering new realms of culinary epistemology." -- Albert Sonnenfeld, translator of Culture of the Fork: A Brief History of Everyday Food and Haute Cuisine in Europe
"For people with a (very) serious interest in food, this is satisfying stuff." -- The Australian
Herve This is a physical chemist on the staff of the Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique in Paris. He is the author of Building a Meal: From Molecular Gastronomy to Culinary Constructivism; Kitchen Mysteries: Revealing the Science of Cooking; and Molecular Gastronomy: Exploring the Science of Flavor, among other books. Jody Gladding is a poet and has translated almost twenty works from French, most recently Herve This's Kitchen Mysteries.
