{"product":{"product_id":"0684800012","title":"On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen","price":"26.99","image_url":"https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51BlnmdL+CL._SL500_.jpg","url":"https://www.amazon.com/dp/0684800012"},"comments":[{"body":"[On Food and Cooking](https://www.amazon.com/Food-Cooking-Science-Lore-Kitchen/dp/0684800012/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8\u0026amp;qid=1517931788\u0026amp;sr=8-1\u0026amp;keywords=on+food+and+cooking) by Harold McGee is highly regarded as a comprehensive background for history, and science of food. It does not have any recipes though. ","subreddit_name":"Cooking","author":"jvlpdillon"},{"body":"I didn't go there but most of my culinary instructors went to CIA and two of my friends are currently instructors there. I also worked in a culinary school so can confirm that students are *all over the map* when it comes to skill level when starting out. Some had a couple years in restaurants, some were newborns. It is a rigorous program but you will make contacts there that will serve you for life. Its a 'you get out of it what you put into it' kind of place. \r\n\r\nA lot of chefs are pretty bad at the non-cooking elements of the business- food costing analysis, recipe conversions, purchasing, labour costs, etc. so its great that the program includes these types of lessons. The reason they want to drill you on moving from volumetric to cooking by weight is because thats the biggest difference in working from books meant for the home cook vs. how we operate in professional kitchens. Lean into the non-cooking bits and it will pay off in real life. The public facing restaurants will also give you a chance to experience restaurant cooking with the support of chef instructors- so baby steps before you leap into the real world of hot line cooking.\r\n\r\nFor summer school, I highly recommend getting yourself a copy of Harold McGee's [On Food \u0026amp; Cooking](https://www.amazon.co.uk/Food-Cooking-Science-Lore-Kitchen/dp/0684800012) which will give you the science of how cooking works. As well as a decent amount of food history. Read that and work on your knife skills. \r\n\r\nAs for Hyde Park, its beautiful and has a ton of colleges in the area- Vassar, Marist, SUNY New Paltz, so lots of young people and social life for when you do get time off. But make friends with someone who has a car asap.\r\n\r\nYou might want to also ask this over in r/chefit [and read thru some of the posts on r/kitchenconfidential] where more pros hang out. Keep in mind, a lot of pros don't put a lot of value into going to culinary school so don't get offended if you get a little push back.","subreddit_name":"AskCulinary","author":"texnessa"},{"body":"Buy the book ON FOOD AND COOKING the science and lore of the kitchen by Harold McGee. It is fascinating![amazon link](https://smile.amazon.com/Food-Cooking-Science-Lore-Kitchen/dp/0684800012/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8\u0026amp;qid=1518899069\u0026amp;sr=8-1\u0026amp;keywords=on+food+and+cooking) ","subreddit_name":"IWantToLearn","author":"Whatcha_mac_call_it"},{"body":"I used to think not.  I actually always used 15%, but after I bought and read [this book](https://www.amazon.ca/dp/0684800012/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_8gMdFbZ26P80M) my thought totally changed.\r\n\r\nNow I only use heavy cream.  Everything I cook is measurably better in taste and texture.  I don't cook a lot with cream, but when I do, only heavy or crème fraiche when called for.","subreddit_name":"Cooking","author":"GtrplayerII"},{"body":"Sugar always wants to be in its crystalline form.  Only when you break the molecular structure down by heating them to the point of breaking (caramelization), will it no longer be able to crystallize.  Most people use the wet sand method, many cover the pan, others brush the sides, etc.  By using any of these methods, the sugar has to slowly go through the stages from soft ball to hard crack, which is essential for candy making.  After the water mostly cooks off through evaporation, you have the caramel stage, from which you cannot return!  \r\n\r\nWhile this is the typical method for making most caramel, you do not need to add water to make it.  You simply add some sugar to a pan and apply a medium heat, stirring regularly, until the mixture has melted and become caramel.  Since there is no water, it will not go through stages, so this will not work for candies.  It is very easy to overcook using this method.  Think of creme brûlée.\r\n\r\nFor more on the science, check out [Harold McGee : On Food and Cooking](https://www.amazon.com/Food-Cooking-Science-Lore-Kitchen/dp/0684800012)\r\nIt’s a total science/foodies geek dream.","subreddit_name":"Cooking","author":"ProblemFancy"},{"body":"If you're fermenting, you really just need is salt without iodine. If you're only pickling, adding alum will do and can probably be found at any grocery store and/or CVS-like store. \r\n\r\n[On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen](https://www.amazon.com/Food-Cooking-Science-Lore-Kitchen/dp/0684800012)","subreddit_name":"Minneapolis","author":"denislemieux986"},{"body":"The recipie i got my first loaf out of, and the same recipie I use any time I make plain bread, was from [On Food and Cooking by Harold McGee.](https://www.amazon.com/Food-Cooking-Science-Lore-Kitchen/dp/0684800012/)  Basically, its cooking for science and history nerds.  There was a chart in there that had ingredient ratios for various baked goods.  Aside from not needing to use *nearly* as much yeast as it told me to, its worked out pretty good.  Helped my gravy out nicely, too.","subreddit_name":"Breadit","author":"LostInTheWildPlace"},{"body":"Harold McGee’s [On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen](https://www.amazon.com/Food-Cooking-Science-Lore-Kitchen/dp/0684800012/ref=pd_aw_fbt_img_sccl_1/142-8527333-7536564?pd_rd_w=WXWu7\u0026amp;content-id=amzn1.sym.76328f70-5fff-49b7-869a-94bfdaa768fc\u0026amp;pf_rd_p=76328f70-5fff-49b7-869a-94bfdaa768fc\u0026amp;pf_rd_r=4MDM6J2X0AB965PQVNKZ\u0026amp;pd_rd_wg=8I5qz\u0026amp;pd_rd_r=693df225-81f3-42f6-8a7b-708aaa48a9f2\u0026amp;pd_rd_i=0684800012\u0026amp;psc=1)? It was published in the 80s, but has since been revised and updated. It really goes into the science of cooking.","subreddit_name":"whatsthatbook","author":"mcolt8504"},{"body":"I don’t think there’s a single resource, like a book. There are a literal infinite amount of possible combinations for something as “simple” as ganache. It’s important to learn about the particular systems in ganache: emulsification, polymorphism of cocoa butter crystallization, ph levels, then finally aromas (flavor). \r\n\r\nOnce you understand the basic techniques and more importantly, their purpose, then it’s much easier to experiment and create unique pastry. \r\n\r\n[On Food and Cooking by Harold McGee](https://www.amazon.com/Food-Cooking-Science-Lore-Kitchen/dp/0684800012) is a perfect resource to understand your ingredients and what they do under various temperature/agitation/time conditions.","subreddit_name":"pastry","author":"Equivalent-Excuse-80"},{"body":"I recommend [On food and Cooking](https://www.amazon.com.au/Food-Cooking-Harold-McGee/dp/0684800012) by Harold McGee to anyone interested in the science of cooking.   I also enjoyed his \"The Curious Cook\" which tests outs a number of common kitchen ideas scientifically (like whether water heats quicker if the saucepan lid is on).\r\n\r\nI found this book to be really helpful in moving from just following recipes to being able to really cook for myself.","subreddit_name":"Cooking","author":"BrightFadedDog"},{"body":"The flavor bible has an extended version. I recommend this as it goes a little more in depth. Also, [this book on food science will help out to make decisions where you do not have a recipe.](https://www.amazon.com/Food-Cooking-Science-Lore-Kitchen/dp/0684800012/ref=mp_s_a_1_3?crid=1OO2CBY8KIRDC\u0026amp;dchild=1\u0026amp;keywords=food+science+book\u0026amp;qid=1631886351\u0026amp;sprefix=food+science\u0026amp;sr=8-3)\r\n\r\nFinding new and interesting combinations of flavors can be difficult in today's world where exotic ingredients are common at the local grocery store, but cooking each segment properly can make even more of a difference. For example, a hamburger can be a soggy boiled patty with store bought pickles and frozen onion rings, or a crispy salty smash burger with homemade pickles and freshly fried onion strings. The flavor bible only gave you the guideline, now you need to fill that flavor meter up to 100. This is the reason I point in the direction of food science. Food science explains why boiled greens can go ugly olive green, why brining chicken makes it more tender and tastier, and how certain ingredients create lift in baked goods, just to name a few.\r\n\r\nAlso, I do not say any of this to shame people into only serving homemade pickles, etc. There are plenty of ready to eat ingredients that are the same or better than making it at home. Sometimes dinner is all made from scratch while other times it is straight from the freezer because it is cheaper, faster, and better than I can make it at home. Learning the basics allows you to make that call more confidently.","subreddit_name":"cookbooks","author":"realnextpresident"},{"body":"I don’t have many more tips to add but I love [this](https://www.amazon.ca/Food-Cooking-Harold-McGee/dp/0684800012) book for scientific explanations! There’s 13 pages on egg and meringue alone. \r\n\r\nOne cake tip that hasn’t been mentioned is using a simple syrup to keep the cake moist and tools like a cake leveller to ensure the layers are consistent.","subreddit_name":"AskBaking","author":"outnumbered_mother"},{"body":"Since I read this post I have been trying to remember the name of this book I randomly saw on a YouTube channel.\r\n\r\n[On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen](https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/0684800012/ref=ox_sc_saved_title_3?smid=A3DWYIK6Y9EEQB\u0026amp;psc=1) is a super cool book with some interesting information!","subreddit_name":"AskBaking","author":"outnumbered_mother"},{"body":"Serious eats said it best.\r\n\u0026gt;\"Steam serves three main functions during baking. First, steam is a much better conductor of heat than dough is. As Harold McGee notes in [On Food and Cooking](http://www.amazon.com/dp/0684800012/?tag=serieats-20), introducing steam into our baking chamber during the initial phases of baking allows the dough's surface temperature to increase much more rapidly than it otherwise would. This in turn enables the conductivity of the gases and water present in our dough to heat up faster, all the way to the center of our loaves.\r\nSecondly, although the steam re-evaporates quickly, the added moisture in our baking environment keeps the dough surface pliable, ensuring that oven-spring can happen with as little resistance as possible. The result of both of these processes is more oven-spring.\"","subreddit_name":"Sourdough","author":"FILTHY_GOBSHITE"},{"body":"The Food Lab and America's Test Kitchen are great if you want to learn a certain kind of cooking.  I'd definitely recommend them.  The kind of cooking they teach is a home chef-based, test-driven approach to great recipes...convention be damned.  I find them both invaluable. \r\n\r\nHowever - they don't really address classic techniques.  They won't tell you when to julienne vs brunoise unless it's one of the testing points of the dish in question.  If they tell you the way to 'fry the perfect egg', you can bet it will be some clever hack to get you a perfect egg without really having to know how to fry the perfect egg.\r\n\r\nI bought a couple of \"culinary school textbook\" type books which are good for that purpose.  One that I like is called \"On Food and Cooking\".\r\nhttps://www.amazon.com/Food-Cooking-Science-Lore-Kitchen/dp/0684800012\r\n\r\nIt's a great reference and starting point.  \r\n\r\nThe short answer is that no book can show you how to fry the perfect egg.  That just takes experience.  ","subreddit_name":"Cooking","author":"Rainmaker210"}]}