The Food Lab: Better Home Cooking Through Science

Written by J. Kenji López-Alt

Narrated by Mike Chamberlain

Ever wondered how to pan-fry a steak with a charred crust and an interior that's perfectly medium-rare from edge to edge when you cut into it? How to make homemade mac 'n' cheese that is as satisfyingly gooey and velvety-smooth as the blue box stuff, but far tastier? How to roast a succulent, moist turkey (forget about brining!)-and use a foolproof method that works every time?

As Serious Eats's culinary nerd-in-residence, J. Kenji Lopez-Alt has pondered all these questions and more. In The Food Lab, Kenji focuses on the science behind beloved American dishes, delving into the interactions between heat, energy, and molecules that create great food. Kenji shows that often, conventional methods don't work that well, and home cooks can achieve far better results using new-but simple-techniques. In hundreds of easy-to-make recipes, you will find out how to make foolproof Hollandaise sauce in just two minutes, how to transform one simple tomato sauce into a half dozen dishes, how to make the crispiest, creamiest potato casserole ever conceived, and much more.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Tantor Media, Inc
• Release date: Oct 22, 2019
• ISBN: 9781977349255

Reviews for The Food Lab

[bjcohan · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I'd give it ten stars if I could. If I could, I would give this book ten stars. It isn't a recipe book per se. It tells you HOW to make great food ... and WHY the techniques described work. Once you understand the science of WHY, you will become a better cook no matter what your present level of skill. I have a cookbook collection numbering about 1,500. This tome (it's big and heavy and rich in detail) has immediately joined my top five and, as the introduction noted, after ten minutes with this book you will become a better cook. You don't have to be a science geek, or even a great cook, to benefit from and to love this book. Lopez-Alt tells what works and why, and what doesn't. This book is what happens when a science geek loves to cook, and is cool enough to share his experiments with the world. I love this book. This -- and Page & Dornenberg's "The Flavor Bible" -- will become my go-to gift for weddings, birthdays and housewarmings for anyone who loves good food. It's really THAT good. I anxiously await the author's next book.

[aviddiva_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Excellent recipes explaining the science of how to cook well, beautifully illustrated and interesting to read. Even the simple dishes have small details that really affect the outcome. We made scrambled eggs using his recipe that were the best I've ever eaten. It is a doorstop of a book, though!

[wunder-62679 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Awesome. And I love his voice.

[allriledup · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

A great reference book for the kitchen. His writing is enjoyable to read and the two things I've cooked so far have been tasty. I asked my husband to rate the results and he gave an enthusiastic 5 stars.

[karen59_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I finally get why I am such a lousy cook. I tend to just throw food together willy-nilly, barely look at how high or low the flame on my stove should be when cooking a particular food and if I go a little over or under on measurements so be it. And so I was pretty happy to receive an ARC from Edelweiss of The Food Lab: Better Home Cooking Through Science by J. Kenji López-Alt. The message hit home. How you cook matters and knowing the science behind cooking can change your results for the better. In this 938 page tome, along with 1000 gorgeous photos, J. Kenji Lopez-Alt, in a funny, breezy style shows how understanding the interaction between molecules, heat and energy and the energy can make the difference between good and great food. With this in mind, I took out my cast iron pan (not sure if it is treated enough but with the authors instructions it will be) and used his recipe to make a steak so delicious and tender I did a happy dance in my kitchen. Will I use all of his techniques which sometimes seem to complicate cooking? No. Will I read this highly personable book and learn a lot and make better food. Most definitely. Thank you to Edelweiss for giving me the opportunity to review this book for an honest opinion.