The Kitchen as Laboratory: Reflections on the Science of Food and Cooking (Arts and Traditions of the Table: Perspectives on Culinary History) Paperback – August 13, 2013

What I liked is that this book is like new, as stated, and it came in a cardboard wrapper, so it stayed like new. And it was a nice price.

If you have a disorganized mind with an interest in food science, this is the book for you. The topics seem unorganized and disconnected but it is still an interesting read. I learned a lot about a large variety of topics.

Chemistry teachers, heads up! This book is filled with real-world examples of food chemistry that could be turned into demonstrations or labs.There are also several essays (i.e., Jennifer Kimmel's "The Science of a Grilled Cheese Sandwich") that are short enough, and written simply enough, for most high school students to read and analyze. I ordered this book with the hope that it would be a great resource for me and my 11th grade Chem students, and it definitely delivers.

I was greatly disappointed by this book. Most of the language is in fairly technical chemical terms that very few general readers will be able to follow -- or will be interested in *trying* to follow. I guess that there is some general pattern to the various chapters, since several of them refer to earlier chapters, but mostly it's a mishmash of items. Also, I expected each chapter to have at least one super-duper recipe to illustrate the point of that chapter. Many of them do, but a number of them don't.And the recipes themselves were a major disappointment. Some of them are clearly beyond the reach of the average amateur cook, either because of the techniques needed or the chemicals. The ones that are doable in the average kitchen seem banal and lacking much detail -- the only one I might try is for the crispy chicken thighs (to illustrate the chapter on SONICs, I believe), but it uses no seasoning at all beyond salt and pepper.The pizza dough chapter was more interesting than most, BUT the super-recipe that the author gives us needs something called "encapulsated bakers powder" or some such to replace the yeast. BUT he doesn't tell us what it actually is OR where to find it. Infuriating!The final chapter is well-written, and by a professional chef, BUT throughout the chapter he refers over and over to how he came to find a new way to make ice cream, particularly one using "brown butter" as a key flavoring ingredient. And then he gives us NO recipe for the ice cream, NOR for the famous "brown butter" -- maybe the butter is back in Chapter 8 or somewhere, but I couldn't be bothered to go look for it.To be fair, I think that there's also a simple recipe for battered fish, as in Fish and Chips, that might be worth trying.But two, or possibly three, recipes out of several hundred pages of dense text isn't worth it.I think I'm being charitable in giving it three stars -- two is probably what I should be giving it.

We sent this to a friend who is a chemist and gourmet cook. He was thrilled with it and, to our surprise, he had not heard of it previously. His report is that it is a super book that is filled with great scientific information about cooking. Other Amazon customer reviews helped make the decision to purchase this and I'm glad that I read them!

A thorough book, well written and explained. A scientific mind is required to fully grasp some of the concepts and terminology. Great read for those who want to know "why."

Great book, a must read if you are serious about cooking.

Today, there would be very little to eat besides meat & potatoes if it were not for the benefit of test kitchen magic. Read & learn; very well written!