The Best Cookbook Ever
November 25, 2011
•Le Cordon Bleu
•Minneapolis/St. Paul
• 0 Comments
The Best Cookbook Ever
Okay, I’ll admit that calling Modernist Cuisine: The Art and Science of Cooking by Nathan Myhrvold, Chris Young, and Maxime Bilet the best cookbook ever is very subjective and maybe even a little controversial. It got your attention, though, didn’t it? And your attention is exactly what this mammoth six-volume, 2,438-page masterpiece deserves. This culinary reference, instruction, and history book is magical, mysterious, and strangely beautiful in many ways. Any graduate of a culinary school in Minneapolis would be proud to have this on her reference shelf.
To begin with, Modernist Cuisine has a peculiar genesis as the brainchild of mathematician and high-tech entrepreneur, Dr. Nathan Myhrvold. In addition to his many degrees in math and physics, Mrhrvold is also a prize-winning photographer and master French chef who has won the Memphis in May World Championship Barbecue Cooking Contest.
Better Than Any Cooking Classes
No school in the world could design cooking classes to replicate the knowledge available in this book. Approached as a science/research project into the complexities of modern cooking techniques, Modernist Cuisine seeks to reveal the science-inspired techniques that are used around the world to completely reinvent cooking. The book’s goal is to shine a light onto the science behind food preparation and to show these techniques in breathtaking detail through lavish illustrations and state-of-the-art photographic deconstructions.
The book is made up of six volumes:
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History & Fundamentals
This volume explore the historical context for modern cooking techniques and presents the fundamental science behind modern cooking techniques.
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Techniques & Equipment
Modern cuisine is sometimes criticized as being more about technique and equipment than about flavor. Volume 2 presents and explains cooking techniques and the equipment used to create them with emphasis on the equipment that has migrated from the lab to the kitchen.
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Animals & Plants
Volume 3 literally dissects the natural construction of the animals and plants that we eat. It provides the best ways to prepare and cook them and what happens to them when they are cooked, cured, marinated, and smoked.
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Ingredients & Preparations
Modern cuisine’spanoply of new ingredients and new preparation methods would make Auguste Escoffier’s head spin. Volume 4 is full of formulas, how-tos, illustrated techniques, and recipes that show how to uniquely prepare your unique ingredients.
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Plated-Dish Recipes
Modernist Cuisines is no ordinary cookbook. Its recipes aren’t ordinary either. More textbook than cookbook, the recipes in Volume 5 are presented as ways to instruct the reader in the technique where the finished recipe is more of a by product of the technique than an end in itself. This does not, however, diminish the delicious results that each of these recipes provide.
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Kitchen Manual
Consider volume 6 as your in-the-hand technique manual for the kitchen. It is filled with example formulas, recipes, and reference tables that will aid in your attempts at modern cooking techniques. Keep it with you in the kitchen at all times.
Modernist Cuisine has won dozens of cookbook awards and the accolades of many of the top names in the culinary world. This hefty volume comes with a hefty price tag, too, but as Dr. Myhrvold says, “Modernist Cuisine costs less per pound than Parmigiano Reggiano.”
This article is presented by Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts in Minneapolis/St. Paul. Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts in Minneapolis/St. Paul offers culinary arts and pâtisserie and baking training programs in the Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota area. To learn more about the class offerings, please visit Chefs.edu/Minneapolis-St-Paul for more information.
Find disclosures on graduation rates, student financial obligations and more at www.chefs.edu/disclosures. Le Cordon Bleu® and the Le Cordon Bleu logo are registered trademarks of Career Education Corporation. Le Cordon Bleu cannot guarantee employment or salary. Credits earned are unlikely to transfer.