Booklist Review

*Starred Review* The brave new universe of molecular gastronomy is just one facet of today's cooking revolution that has the food world reeling. Innovative kitchen equipment transforms raw ingredients not just through heat but also through extreme cold to open up fresh and barely explored culinary possibilities. This magisterial multivolume compendium rationalizes food science and technology for the new century. Compiling and systematizing data about virtually every known ingredient and technique that cooks have exploited since the dawn of time, it documents novel approaches that even now illumine new vistas for daring professional chefs and seriously venturesome home cooks. This set's reference value within any serious cookery collection cannot be overstated. Culinary apprentices will find answers to just about every imaginable question in cooking science and practice. Supplementary online text and video resources will prove crucially helpful to librarians and researchers. Stunning, dramatic color photographs transform every page into a visual banquet. Libraries should be aware that the set's sixth volume has spiral binding.--Knoblauch, Mark Copyright 2010 Booklist