Molecular gastronomy [electronic resource] : exploring the science of flavor

ISBN:

9780231508070

Title:

Author:

This, Hervé

Personal Author:

This, Hervé

Publication Information:

New York : Columbia University Press, 2012.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (392 p.)

Series:

Arts and Traditions of the Table: Perspectives on Culinary History

General Note:

Description based upon print version of record.

Contents:

Contents; Series Editor's Preface; Introduction to theEnglish-Language Edition; Part One: Secrets of the Kitchen; 1. Making Stock; 2. Clarifying Stock; 3. Hard-Boiled Eggs; 4. Quiches, Quenelles, and Puff Pastries; 5. Échaudés and Gnocchi; 6. The Well-Leavened Soufflé; 7. Quenelles and Their Cousins; 8. Fondue; 9. Roasting Beef; 10. Seasoning Steak; 11. Wine and Marinades; 12. Color and Freshness; 13. Softening Lentils; 14. Souffléed Potatoes; 15. Preserves and Preserving Pans; 16. Saving a Crème Anglaise; 17. Grains of Salt; 18. Of Champagne and Teaspoons; 19. Coffee, Tea, and Milk

Part Two: The Physiology of Flavor20. Food as Medicine; 21. Taste and Digestion; 22. Taste in the Brain; 23. Papillary Cells; 24. How Salt Affects Taste; 25. Detecting Tastes; 26. Bitter Tastes; 27. Hot Up Front; 28. The Taste of Cold; 29. Mastication; 30. Tenderness and Juiciness; 31. Measuring Aromas; 32. At Table in the Nursery; 33. Food Allergies; 34. Public Health Alerts; Part Three: Investigations & Models; 35. The Secret of Bread; 36. Yeast and Bread; 37. Curious Yellow; 38. Gustatory Paradoxes; 39. The Taste of Food; 40. Lumps and Strings; 41. Foams; 42. Hard Sausage; 43. Spanish Hams

44. Foie Gras45. Antioxidant Agents; 46. Trout; 47. Cooking Times; 48. The Flavor of Roasted Meats; 49. Tenderizing Meats; 50. Al Dente; 51. Forgotten Vegetables; 52. Preserving Mushrooms; 53. Truffles; 54. More Flavor; 55. French Fries; 56. Mashed Potatoes; 57. Algal Fibers; 58. Cheeses; 59. From Grass to Cheese; 60. The Tastes of Cheese; 61. Yogurt; 62. Milk Solids; 63. Sabayons; 64. Fruits in Syrup; 65. Fibers and Jams; 66. The Whitening of Chocolate; 67. Caramel; 68. Bread and Crackers; 69. The Terroirs of Alsace; 70. Length in the Mouth; 71. Tannins; 72. Yellow Wine

73. Wine Without Dregs74. Sulfur and Wine; 75. Wine Glasses; 76. Wine and Temperature; 77. Champagne and Its Foam; 78. Champagne in a Flute; 79. Demi Versus Magnum; 80. The Terroirs of Whiskey; 81. Cartagenes; 82. Tea; Part Four: A Cuisine for Tomorrow; 83. Cooking in a Vacuum; 84. Aromas or Reactions?; 85. Butter: A False Solid; 86. Liver Mousse; 87. In Praise of Fats; 88. Mayonnaises; 89. Aioli Generalized; 90. Orders of Magnitude; 91. Hundred-Year-Old Eggs; 92. Smoking Salmon; 93. Methods and Principles; 94. Pure Beef; 95. Fortified Cheeses; 96. Chantilly Chocolate

97. Everything Chocolate98. Playing with Texture; 99. Christmas Recipes; 100. The Hidden Taste of Wine; 101. Teleolfaction; Glossary; Further Reading; Index

Subject Term:

Food -- Sensory evaluation.

Molecular gastronomy.

Added Author:

DeBevoise, M.B.

Format:

Books

Electronic Access:

Click here to view book

Publication Date:

2012

Publication Information:

New York : Columbia University Press, 2012.

Available:*

Shelf Number	Material Type	Copy	Shelf Location	Status
641.5 THI	1:E-BOOK	1	1:ONLINE	Searching... Unknown

Bound With These Titles

On Order

Summary

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

Bringing the instruments and experimental techniques of the laboratory into the kitchen, Hervé This--international celebrity and founder of molecular gastronomy--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 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. Looking to the future, 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.

"A captivating little book."-- Economist

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

"Will broaden the way you think about food."-- The New York Sun

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

Author Notes

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 .

Reviews (2)

Publisher's Weekly Review

Originally published in France, This?s book documents the sensory phenomena of eating and uses basic physics to put to bed many culinary myths. In each short chapter This presents a piece of debatable conventional wisdom?such as whether it is better to make a stock by placing meat in already boiling water, or water before it is boiled?and gives its history, often quoting famous French chefs, before making scientific pronouncements. In the chapter on al dente pasta, for instance, This discusses pasta-making experiments, the science behind cooking it and whether it is better to use oil or butter to prevent it from sticking. Most of the discussions revolve around common practices and phenomenon?chilling wine, why spices are spicy, how to best cool a hot drink?but more than a few are either irrelevant or Franco-specific (such as the chapters on quenelles and preparing fondue). This?s experimentation, however, is not for the mildly curious, but readers unafraid to, say, microwave mayonnaise will find many ideas here. (Feb.) Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.

Choice Review

This charming book is the latest in the series "Perspectives on Culinary History" (most translated from the French). This (pronounced "Teess") is a physical chemist as well as a gastronome and French TV personality who performs scientific experiments in the culinary arts. Gastronomy is the science of food, but This takes it further. Many of these topics are discussed in detail by both debunking and verifying a number of culinary myths and traditional practices, including those involving hard-boiled eggs, seasoning and cooking of meats, potatoes, pasta, and the preparation of fondues. Another section explores the mystery, science, and physiology of taste and flavor. Breads, wines, and cheeses are among the foods detailed. Good culinary tips are scattered amidst the discussion of culinary science, practice, and history. DeBevoise's translation appears to be good. An excellent companion to Harold McGee's On Food and Cooking (rev. and updated, 2004; 1st ed., CH, Apr'85), This's book is for anyone who likes to eat or cook, as well as students or teachers in food science, culinary arts, and chemistry. Glossary. ^BSumming Up: Highly recommended. All levels. R. E. Buntrock formerly, University of Maine