The Food Lab: Better Home Cooking Through Science by J. Kenji Lopez-Alt, J. Kenji Laopez-Alt - Hardcover

I think this works best for a cook who doesn't really like following recipes, but would be more comfortable experimenting based on a good bit of science backed knowledge. In just a few reads I've mastered omelets, made perfect steaks, and figured out so many tips and tricks that are now second nature to my cooking across so many dishes. I would HIGHLY recommend!

Love this book

It's more of a tome than a cookbook and more of a textbook than a book full of recipes. But don't let that deter you from this masterpiece. If you enjoy science, cooking and the scientific method, this book is for you. And if you got bored reading that sentence and could give a sh-t less about science, this book is still 100% for you. Whether you hate cooking or just plain suck at it to being an experienced chef or a self described "foodie" (barf!), this book has everything to make you even better and improve your game in the kitchen. Like I said before it's much more than just a collection of recipes. The cooking techniques in this book are alone enough of a reason to purchase this book. As for the recipes, they seem to spring up as part of the techniques you'll be learning. You start out building a solid foundation of knowledge and know how to pan frying that perfect steak in such an organic progression that you'll question whether you even did what you just did. Kenji equips you with everything to make you an in home kitchen master. As for the science, well this isn't your 9th grade biology class yet it feels familiar and has you going, "Oh yeah! I remember that!" He makes it accessible to any education level. Where his knowledge of the scientific method and principles is at its best is breaking down what's happening inside and outside your food and debunking food myths. For me this was invaluable information. When you know what's happening to your food it gives you clues and markers to look for, which in turn connects you to the cooking process in such a strong way. It creates a mutualistic approach to cooking that you won't find in any other cookbook around. Then comes what I think may be the strongest part of Kenji's game, his writing style. It's engaging, witty, and honest and don't be surprised when you start uncontrollably laughing. His humor is what had me coming back to Serious Eats time and time again. Like any other person, he is strongly opinionated but doesn't beat you over the head for holding a different opinion (unless you got hoodwinked into believing bone broth is different or anything the Food Babe might have you believing). As a lover of science, he stands up to pseudoscience so he may come off strong in that sense. I, for one, appreciate the hell out of him for it. Kenji's columns have made me fall in love with cooking all over again. When he announced he was going to write a cookbook, I was irrationally excited and purchasing his book was a no brainier to me. So if you had to get one cookbook this year, I'd totally make it this one.

VERY USEFUL

Recipes are delicious. I love that he explains why certain actions get certain outcomes so you can apply different techniques to other dishes, not just the recipes in the book. Great cookbook!

Me gusta este libro. No tiene muchos buen recetas, y también explica la ciencia de muchas comidas

Bought as a requested gift so I can't stop and read the entire book, but wow this one is something else entirely. There is so much detailed information on even the smallest aspect of cooking, and so much that is useful to learn. I love the section on how simply to boil a perfect egg, and not have the white stick to the shell when trying to peel it! The answer to my prayers lol. There are some comments about units used in the book, and having to use Google to convert them for instance, but to be fair there are conversion tables on the inside cover so it's all there. The unit subject always comes up in American cookbooks, and you'd think that wanting to sell them worldwide would make them wake up and realise they should always use both sets of measurements throughout a book, but until they do remember that most of the world use metric, we're going to have to ignore their little eccentricities. The book in this case at least makes it worth that effort!