Staff Pick
The Food Lab is a cookbook for the food geek, the novice, and the perfectionist. Author López-Alt presents his love for good cooking by showing the science of why these recipes work, and he shows it with a sense of humor. This is a massive book, weighing in at 6 pounds! Recommended By Tracey T., Powells.com
Synopses & Reviews
Over 1 Million Copies Sold
A New York Times Bestseller
Winner of the James Beard Award for General Cooking and the IACP Cookbook of the Year Award
"The one book you must have, no matter what you’re planning to cook or where your skill level falls."—New York Times Book Review
Ever wondered how to pan-fry a steak with a charred crust and an interior that's perfectly medium-rare from edge to edge when you cut into it? How to make homemade mac 'n' cheese that is as satisfyingly gooey and velvety-smooth as the blue box stuff, but far tastier? How to roast a succulent, moist turkey (forget about brining!)—and use a foolproof method that works every time?
As Serious Eats's culinary nerd-in-residence, J. Kenji López-Alt has pondered all these questions and more. In The Food Lab, Kenji focuses on the science behind beloved American dishes, delving into the interactions between heat, energy, and molecules that create great food. Kenji shows that often, conventional methods don’t work that well, and home cooks can achieve far better results using new—but simple—techniques. In hundreds of easy-to-make recipes with over 1,000 full-color images, you will find out how to make foolproof Hollandaise sauce in just two minutes, how to transform one simple tomato sauce into a half dozen dishes, how to make the crispiest, creamiest potato casserole ever conceived, and much more.
Review
"[The Food Lab] promises tried-and-tested accuracy, groundbreaking technique and inarguable results. All that, plus humor." -Washington Post
"Chemistry and physics underlie all cooking. In this book, home cooks will learn techniques to make new recipes, and, more importantly, they will understand why these techniques are successful." -Nathan Myhrvold, coauthor of Modernist Cuisine: The Art and Science of Cooking and Modernist Cuisine at Home, author of The Photography of Modernist Cuisine
"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 Francisco with his wife Adriana.