Great Book!
On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen is great for students and teachers that want to know the scientific information about cooking and baking. For example it explains the chemical changes in leavening, emulsions, and so much more. It talks about the nature of plants, dairy, all of the cookingmethods. Oh I dont think the author missed a single detail in this hows, whys, and whos of cooking. I highly recommended it to keep in your house.
Good
It is a good book but I do not recommend it for new cooks.
Sandra
Food Science and History
This is a really good book. I recommend On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen to anyone in the food industry. If you read On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen and use the information, you will have a better understanding of cooking. If you plan on becoming a chef, On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen will help you be a step further than other.
top stuff
I think it's important to point out On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen is realively small for the degree of degtail it contains. If you want to find out the answers to a great deal of cullinary questions without wading through highly verbose food science texts, then this is your book. It is certainly Europe centric.
"On Food and Cooking" by Harold McGee
On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen is not for the faint of heart or the casual cook or reader! This is a most complete reference work on the art and science of cooking. If you ever wondered what happens to the food stuff when you cook it or why you do or don't add certain things together while preparing a dish this volume has all your answers. This is not a bedside reader but an excellent addition to your cookbook collection and reference shelf.
