Choice Review

This alphabetical handbook of food ingredients, food-related processes, and food preparation tools is written for the professional cook who is no longer constrained by traditional culinary ingredients and techniques and is instead encouraged to experiment and explore the intersection of cooking and food science. A translation of Lexico Cientifico Gastronomico (2006), it was written as a collaboration of the Alicia Foundation, created to improve the quality of food by bringing together gastronomy professionals and food scientists, and the experimental food workshop elBullitaller, in conjunction with world-renowned chef Adria of the Catalan restaurant El Bulli. Entries (e.g., food additives, components) are categorized and defined as to identity, sources, forms, and general uses in the retail food industry and in restaurants. The book also describes and explains food science concepts, such as chemical processes, with respect to uses in the food industry. Students of the culinary arts and food science may benefit from this useful information presented in a concise format. Summing Up: Recommended. Lower- and upper-level undergraduates, two-year technical program students, researchers, and professionals. A. P. Boyar CUNY Herbert H. Lehman College