“The one book you must have, no matter what you’re planning to
cook or where your skill level falls.” (Cree Lefavour - New York Times
Book Review)
“You need The Food Lab, as J. Kenji Lopez-Alt’s magnum opus is 2015’s most indispensable cookbook.” (Kevin Pang - The Chicago Tribune)
“I love The Food Lab.” (Yotam Ottolenghi - BBC Good Food Magazine)
“The ultimate book for science nerds who cook.” (Joanna Pearlstein - Wired)
“Loaded with fascinating information…. López-Alt gives you enough science for the explanations to make sense, but everything is still firmly rooted in practical home cooking.” (Russ Parsons - Los Angeles Times)
“Five years in the making, [The Food Lab is] a culmination of the wunderkind’s unlikely ascent into a cultish figure―and the face of a new kind of home cooking.” (Tara Duggan - San Francisco Chronicle)
“An authoritative, instant-classic reference book that’s also an engaging read.” (Rebekah Denn - Seattle Times)
“The Food Lab is a keeper.” (Chris Kimball - Wall Street Journal)
“Kenji is the most important recipe developer to come along in a generation.” (Ed Levine, founder of SeriousEats.com)
“You need The Food Lab, as J. Kenji Lopez-Alt’s magnum opus is 2015’s most indispensable cookbook.” (Kevin Pang - The Chicago Tribune)
“I love The Food Lab.” (Yotam Ottolenghi - BBC Good Food Magazine)
“The ultimate book for science nerds who cook.” (Joanna Pearlstein - Wired)
“Loaded with fascinating information…. López-Alt gives you enough science for the explanations to make sense, but everything is still firmly rooted in practical home cooking.” (Russ Parsons - Los Angeles Times)
“Five years in the making, [The Food Lab is] a culmination of the wunderkind’s unlikely ascent into a cultish figure―and the face of a new kind of home cooking.” (Tara Duggan - San Francisco Chronicle)
“An authoritative, instant-classic reference book that’s also an engaging read.” (Rebekah Denn - Seattle Times)
“The Food Lab is a keeper.” (Chris Kimball - Wall Street Journal)
“Kenji is the most important recipe developer to come along in a generation.” (Ed Levine, founder of SeriousEats.com)
About the Author
J. Kenji López-Alt is the managing culinary director of SeriousEats.com, author of the James Beard Award–nominated column The Food Lab, and a columnist for Cooking Light. He lives in San Mateo with his wife Adriana.I've been reading Kenji's column since it started, and have learned so much and made so many of his recipes. So, I know they work. I know his recipes are excellent and that he's someone you can trust implicitly to have a great version of a dish.
And this book is great, and beautiful, full of photos, his great sense of humor, and excellent instructions.
The thing is, I was slightly disappointed that it is very much more of an all-American, sort of new, scientific, Joy of Cooking. Some of my favorite articles from Serious Eats involve Kenji's Asian, Mexican, and vegetarian/vegan recipes. Now he did include some of his vegan work, and his wonderful chile verde is in here, but there are no stir-fries, no tacos, and his absolutely stellar kale salad with crispy chickpeas was passed in favor of two others which are excellent, but really, that salad is AMAZING. Or his black bean burger, which is the absolute best black bean burger on the planet. But whatever, that's not the point. I was just hoping to see more of that type of food, whereas this book is targeted towards beginners (not to say that experienced cooks can't get value out of this book, because it's full of great info) or more specifically, towards people who haven't been reading his column all this time.
Having said all that, I have to review the book on its own merits and how could I possibly give such a stellar tome anything but 5 stars?! There is no fault to be found with the information provided or how engaging it is to read. Even the quality of the book, with lovely binding meant to last and meant to make the book truly a workhorse that doesn't just look pretty sitting on a coffee table is worth commending!
I'll just have to wait for future books to cover the things I miss from this book. Though in the meanwhile, there are already recipes I've got bookmarked to try out, like his puttanesca, pot roast, oven fries, THAT MEATLOAF, not to mention his excellent egg salad, which I've previously made from the site…
I'm so glad to be able to pay Kenji back in some form for the years of free content on Serious Eats and I would recommend this book to anyone with an interest in cooking and improving their skills, in particular beginner cooks.
But really, go check out his column on Serious Eats, too. ;) His pie dough, chocolate chip cookies, fish tacos, crispy chicken with white beans and chile verde, chop suey, fried avocado tacos, and his vegan experience (CRISPY TOFU) recipes (AND MORE) are all remarkable!
Product Details :
- Hardcover: 960 pages
- Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company (September 21, 2015)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0393081087
- ISBN-13: 978-0393081084
- Product Dimensions: 9 x 1.8 x 10.8 inches
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