The Food Lab: Better Home Cooking Through Science by J. Kenji López-Alt

The Food Lab: Better Home Cooking Through Science Reviews

• 
  Gloomy Gus NYC

  Recipes are delicious. I love that he explains why certain actions get certain outcomes so you can apply different techniques to other dishes, not just the recipes in the book. Great cookbook!
• 
  Jielong Lee

  Book arrived in this condition.
• 
  Marfoy

  I haven’t had the pleasure of going through this amazing book yet, but I must point out that it arrived damaged.
• 
  Xplorer_B

  The book came dented on the sides Extremely disappointed as it was meant as a gift for my husband. BUY AT YOUR OWN RISK!
• 
  Anne aime lire et tester

  En fait cest un cuisinier, mais un cuisinier qui va vérifier par lexpérience et les expérience tous les mythes classiques de la cuisine. Tous les modes de cuisson sont passés en revue, expliqués et surtout amenés jusquà leurs perfections. Quelques recettes émaillent ce livre mais ce sont surtout les explications qui sont intéressantes et qui constituent loriginalité de ce livre.Mon seul regret est la taille de ce livre. Jaurai préféré plusieurs livres de façon à pouvoir les lire au lit, dans un fauteuil, lamener avec moi en voyage. Ce gros livre est condamné à être lu sur une table, bien stable.
• 
  goodreads Customer

  VERY USEFUL
• 
  C. Messer

  This is an awesome book for any home cook who enjoys cooking things that tastes awesome and enjoys to understand why and how recipes come together.The author is a true scientist, and extensively tests recipes. He then takes the time to explain the testing process, showing ideas and failures along the way until coming up with the best way of cooking something. As a fan of his food lab series on seriouseats.com , I have tried several recipes from his website and have rarely been dissapointed. One good example is with eggs, where they are boiled in 30 second intervals to find the perfect time to boil them. He also tests out several theories such as steaming, adding vinegar, starting cold, etc to come up with the best possible way to boil your egg for consistent results. Another great example is on steaks , and the idea that a steak must be seared to hold in the juices. He debunks this completely, along with other steak folklore such as only flip once and testing doneness by touch. I have cooked steaks using the methodologies and can finally confidently cook steaks to the exact doneness that I want, with a beautiful crusted exterior and an evenly cooked inside.So far every recipe I have tried from the book have been excellent. Buttermilk pancakes were fantastic, and even the brussel sprouts were stellarbest I have ever made.There is no way you can read and cook from this book without becoming a better cook. I highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys time in the kitchen.One word of caution is that recipes in this book can be described best of American. There is only one dessert recipe. You wont find a lot of ethnic food recipes in this book. This is a bit unfortunate , as he has produced some unreal recipes for tacos, ramens, and other awesomeness on his site. I suspect future books are in the works.
• 
  Ian saldanha

  I think this works best for a cook who doesnt really like following recipes, but would be comfortable experimenting based on a good bit of science backed knowledge. In just a few reads Ive mastered omelets, made perfect steaks, and figured out so many tips and tricks that are now second nature to my cooking across so many dishes. I would HIGHLY recommend!
• 
  KayK

  This book is big and bulky. However, its quality and quantity in one with really nice recipes, as well as the science behind the processes. Nice hard cover with glossy pages that are sown in for durability. I dont think that theyll be detaching over time and use. Its full of interesting information, thorough explanations and super photos. You can curl up with it on the couch and read for hours. Recipes, so far, have not disappointed. The spatchcock chicken was the best oven roasted bird that Ive ever made. The gooey mac n cheese is do die for! Its organized by universal cooking techniques for mainly savory foods. There isnt a dessert section, which I dont mind at all. Love the authors sense of humor. Over the years, Ive had questions about cooking and foods that have gone unanswered, even after searching on the web. However, here and there, I find an answer to something that Ive wondered about in the past. This book ties up lots of loose ends! Well worth the money.