The Food Lab: Better Home Cooking Through Science

This book is absolutely brilliant, and Kenji is just amazing. I'm a recent fan of Serious Eats, finding it pop up more often in recent recipe searches. Following the link, it was always a well-written article by Kenji, entertaining and ALWAYS scientific and logical, culminating in the recipe and comments by many of his undoubted loyal followers. (Kenji, if you're reading this, your Gyros loaf recipe is the holy grail of gyros loaf recipes and you instantly became my new culinary hero. I sub salt pork for the bacon though and it's flawless!) I saw an ad for this book in the margins on Serious Eats and IMMEDIATELY bought it. It is a monster tomb of information that is as well-written and entertaining as it is chock full of recipes, techniques, and helpful information. I bought a recipe book and got SO much more. Kenji is a gifted writer as well as a culinary explorer, obviously an intellectual, yet down to earth author who's created a cullinary reference book that is as easy to read as it is to just reference for a specific. I am among many things a chef, and have been cooking for decades. I was really drawn to Alton Brown's scientific approach to cooking and enjoyed his reign, learned and refined a lot of things due to his contributions . . . BUT MOVE OVER ALTON, there's a new culinary hero in town and his name is Kenji!! Regardless of what your cullinary acumen is (or you THINK it is), this book has an immense wealth of technique, direction, and most importantly, knowledge . . . new ideas and methods on many, many classics and essentials, tested in scientific method yet explained in an entertaining and "everyman" style. When you stop learning, when you think you know everything, you become obsolete eventually. This fantastic book is a tribute to that, perhaps owing it's very existence to an author who subscribes to this very concept, and we are blessed to have him. I was up until 6am laying in bed reading the book from the first page. Yes, it's that good. I HIGHLY recommend this book for both seasoned chefs and those new to the culinary calling. A beginning cook can easily access information that will almost instantly make you a better cook. Kenji explains his approach to cooking and in doing so, how to free yourself from many of the conventional ties and notions which keep cooks from learning "how to cook", and instead just follow a recipe. The book itself is very well organized and a great deal of thought went into how it was done. The indexing is thorough, and the recipes are fantastic as they begin with many basics; how to cook eggs, how to cook a steak, etc, and move into more advanced recipes using those techniques. It is a very educational book with a great deal of new techniques and approaches to creating both simple and complex foods and dishes with professional results, all written in very accessible fashion. I still can't believe what a value this book is. The physical quality of the book is absolutely top notch, it's darn near as thick and heavy as my Larousse Gastronomique!!! Just TRY to read the first 100 pages of THAT tome and stay awake!! If you are on the fence, come on down and BUY THIS BOOK!! Truly my new favorite cookbook, and I can't wait to go spend some time on Serious Eats too!! Thanks Kenji!!! This book is truly a treasure, and so are you!

It's more of a tome than a cookbook and more of a textbook than a book full of recipes. But don't let that deter you from this masterpiece. If you enjoy science, cooking and the scientific method, this book is for you. And if you got bored reading that sentence and could give a sh-t less about science, this book is still 100% for you. Whether you hate cooking or just plain suck at it to being an experienced chef or a self described "foodie" (barf!), this book has everything to make you even better and improve your game in the kitchen. Like I said before it's much more than just a collection of recipes. The cooking techniques in this book are alone enough of a reason to purchase this book. As for the recipes, they seem to spring up as part of the techniques you'll be learning. You start out building a solid foundation of knowledge and know how to pan frying that perfect steak in such an organic progression that you'll question whether you even did what you just did. Kenji equips you with everything to make you an in home kitchen master. As for the science, well this isn't your 9th grade biology class yet it feels familiar and has you going, "Oh yeah! I remember that!" He makes it accessible to any education level. Where his knowledge of the scientific method and principles is at its best is breaking down what's happening inside and outside your food and debunking food myths. For me this was invaluable information. When you know what's happening to your food it gives you clues and markers to look for, which in turn connects you to the cooking process in such a strong way. It creates a mutualistic approach to cooking that you won't find in any other cookbook around. Then comes what I think may be the strongest part of Kenji's game, his writing style. It's engaging, witty, and honest and don't be surprised when you start uncontrollably laughing. His humor is what had me coming back to Serious Eats time and time again. Like any other person, he is strongly opinionated but doesn't beat you over the head for holding a different opinion (unless you got hoodwinked into believing bone broth is different or anything the Food Babe might have you believing). As a lover of science, he stands up to pseudoscience so he may come off strong in that sense. I, for one, appreciate the hell out of him for it. Kenji's columns have made me fall in love with cooking all over again. When he announced he was going to write a cookbook, I was irrationally excited and purchasing his book was a no brainier to me. So if you had to get one cookbook this year, I'd totally make it this one.

In the world of culinary arts, mastering the art of cooking requires more than just following recipes and hoping for the best. 'The Food Lab,' a groundbreaking cookbook by J. Kenji López-Alt, approaches home cooking with a scientific mindset, empowering home cooks to understand the underlying principles of their culinary creations. What's Inside the Food Lab? The Food Lab is a comprehensive guide to home cooking, featuring over 1,000 recipes, 400 techniques, and 500 food-science experiments. It provides a deep dive into the science behind each ingredient, technique, and recipe, enabling readers to develop an intuitive understanding of how food behaves. López-Alt meticulously explains the effects of heat, liquids, acids, and enzymes on the transformation of ingredients. He explores the role of pH in food preservation, the Maillard reaction in caramelization, and the physics of kneading dough. This scientific knowledge equips cooks with the tools to troubleshoot problems, improve techniques, and create innovative dishes. Key Principles of the Food Lab 1. Understanding Ingredients: The Food Lab breaks down the composition and properties of common ingredients, such as proteins, carbohydrates, and fats. This allows cooks to make informed choices and combine ingredients intentionally. 2. Precise Measurements: López-Alt emphasizes the importance of accurate measurements, providing precise instructions and techniques for measuring ingredients. This precision ensures consistent results and helps cooks understand the impact of each ingredient. 3. Controlled Temperature: The Food Lab stresses the significance of controlling temperature in cooking. From slow-simmered braises to crispy fried chicken, López-Alt explains how precise temperature management leads to optimal texture, flavor, and safety. 4. Cooking Techniques Demystified: The book demystifies cooking techniques by breaking them down into their individual steps. Techniques such as searing, roasting, and steaming are thoroughly explained, allowing cooks to master them with confidence. 5. Troubleshooting and Experimentation: The Food Lab encourages readers to experiment with recipes, observe the results, and troubleshoot any potential issues. López-Alt provides guidance on common problems and offers suggestions for troubleshooting and making adjustments. Benefits of Cooking with Science By embracing the scientific principles outlined in The Food Lab, home cooks can: * Improve their cooking skills: A deeper understanding of food science empowers cooks to make informed decisions and refine their techniques. * Create more flavorful dishes: By understanding the interactions between ingredients and techniques, cooks can enhance the flavors of their creations. * Cook with confidence: The scientific knowledge gained from The Food Lab instills confidence in cooks, enabling them to approach cooking with a newfound level of understanding and control. * Become more creative: By demystifying the art of cooking, The Food Lab fosters creativity and encourages experimentation, leading to innovative and delicious dishes. Conclusion 'The Food Lab' is an indispensable resource for home cooks who seek to elevate their skills and transform their kitchens into culinary laboratories. By unlocking the science behind home cooking, López-Alt empowers readers to create better, more flavorful dishes and develop a lifelong passion for the joy of cooking.

I purchased this book for the hype, and kept it for the recipes. It’s by far one of the most educational cookbooks I own. My 11 year old loved making pancakes with me and the photos to help us along were well appreciated. Other recipes, such as the meatloaf and chicken soup were also a hit. Overall, it’s easy to understand and worth the read. Highly recommend.

I must admit, I had absolutely no prior experience with cooking. If someone had suggested that I would be capable of preparing Eggs Benedict with homemade hollandaise sauce, I would have found it quite amusing. However, here I am, having accomplished just that! This is truly an excellent book. It not only provides recipes but also thoroughly demonstrates and explains the preparation process. I wholeheartedly recommend it, and I believe everyone should give it a try! The author's approach is refreshingly unpretentious, and their down-to-earth style is something I genuinely appreciate.

FINALLY, a chef gets it!!! So many chefs write the same old boring stuff. They start off with equipment and describe it like it was a chore that they have to get out of the way. Sort of like, here's the types of pans there are and here is what they are like and maybe here's how they are used. Kenji describes it with passion giving a great story of how when he tried to reduce cream using a pot that he didn't regularly use that the cream turned out a royal greasy mess due to the pan being too thin. There are other good cookbooks out there with great recipes. And there are other ones out there that do a pretty good job of teaching how to cook and why certain things work. However, NOBODY....absolutely NOBODY I've ever seen has ever described the science behind cooking better than Kenji. He tells it so well and makes it so enjoyable and easy to read! And his understanding of the subject matter is excellent. I'm a kitchen knife enthusiast. And no other chef I've seen has really properly described the characteristics of a knife that make the best ones the best. Few go into talking about the thinness of the blade actually being a GOOD thing. But at the same time, he looks at things from the beginner level AND the pro level, showing the full grip technique for beginners along with the balanced grip that most chefs use. And he understands that a cook also has to go with what they are comfortable with, like how he talks about how his wife loves her cheap, dull, unbalanced IKEA knife. Also, don't let the title fool you. This isn't some cookbook about freezing food with liquid nitrogen and making all of these petite and crazy little dishes you'd get in some gourmet restaurant that you'd never cook at home. This cookbook is brilliantly about using science to make the dishes we like to cook and eat everyday and learn how to turn them from good to spectacular. He's also got the experience to back up what he writes. He worked his way up from small kitchens to some of the fanciest restaurants in Boston. And Boston has some very good restaurants! Then he worked for Cook's Illustrated developing great recipes. Many of you might know Cooks Illustrated for some other names like America's Test Kitchen or Cook's Country. And now he writes for seriouseats.com. I have a bunch of cookbooks, but none of them does nearly as great of a job as Kenji at explaining things. This is THE COOKBOOK of ALL COOKBOOKS if you have a passion for cooking like I do and really want to learn how to become a better cook. I'm definitely going to start following his blog and I HIGHLY RECOMMEND getting this cookbook. This isn't more of a recipe book. This is a HOW TO book that has recipes. I hope I get to see a lot more cookbooks from Kenji and I hope his publishers will let him really write what he wants to write. He's a genius chef and I'd take his cookbooks over Julia Child, Pepin, Jamie Oliver, Emeril, or any other big name cook out there. He's one chef I'd love to meet. Any of the negative reviews are undeserved. For once, we have a cookbook that is pure genius. Anybody who takes the time and reads it thoroughly and cooks from it is bound to realize it. I'm getting more out of this cookbook than dozens of others combined. He even gets into making your own sausage! About the best way I can describe this cookbook is it feels like he looked directly into the soul of cooking and wrote with the passion and understanding and genius of a chef to make a master-piece that I'll cherish for years to come.

The Overview: "The Food Lab: Better Home Cooking Through Science" by J. Kenji López-Alt is not just a cookbook; it's an extensive guide that marries science with culinary arts. I purchased this book as a gift for a food enthusiast, and here's why it was a hit: The Good: Comprehensive Content: This book is a tome of knowledge, covering a vast array of cooking techniques, recipes, and scientific explanations behind why we cook the way we do. It's perfect for those who want to understand the "why" as well as the "how" of cooking. Visual Appeal: The book itself is thick and beautifully presented, with hundreds of full-color photographs that not only illustrate the recipes but also the science behind them. It looks and feels like a premium publication, making it a joy to browse through. Educational and Practical: Each recipe comes with detailed instructions, variations, and notes on what can go wrong, teaching cooks to troubleshoot and innovate. The author's approach demystifies cooking, making it accessible to both beginners and seasoned chefs. Gift-Worthy: My friend, a self-proclaimed "foody," was thrilled with the gift. The combination of science, detailed recipes, and the sheer volume of content made it a standout present for anyone passionate about cooking. The Not-So-Good: Size and Weight: Its thickness is both a pro and a con. While it's packed with information, it's not the most portable book, which might be a minor issue if you're looking for something to take on the go or fit into a small kitchen space. Overall: "The Food Lab" is a masterpiece for anyone who loves to cook, learn, and experiment in the kitchen. Its blend of science and practical cooking advice makes it invaluable. The only downside is its size, but for someone who appreciates culinary literature, this is a minor detail. Pros: Extensive, well-explained content with a scientific approach Beautifully designed with high-quality photos Ideal for both learning and practical cooking An excellent gift for food enthusiasts Cons: Very thick and heavy, less ideal for portability Conclusion: If you're looking to gift something that will both inspire and educate, "The Food Lab" is an exceptional choice. It's not just a cookbook; it's an educational journey through the science of cooking that will be appreciated by anyone who loves to delve deep into the art of food preparation.

Let me begin by prefacing this review with the fact that I own well over a dozen cookbooks. Most of them sit on my bookshelves unused, a shameful reminder of how infrequently I cook. That said, most of them weren't particularly meant to be used in the first place. The French Laundry, The Fat Duck, Fäviken, and others seem made to indulge my desire for culinary voyeurism than anything else. The Food Lab is different. This is a cookbook meant for people who want to cook — and to understand the reasons behind why you should make certain choices when you cook. In this regard, it shares similarities with the Modernist Cuisine cookbooks (also in my collection), but The Food Lab sits squarely in the realm of the home kitchen — more accessible than Myrhvold's lab full of rotary evaporator and whipping siphons. The cookbook weighs in at a massive 5.6 pounds (960 pages). Just from a weight-to-price ratio alone, you're getting a lot of book for your money. More relevantly though, it covers a comprehensive swath of classic American cooking, the kind of hearty dishes you might want to serve your friends and family on a night in. The Food Lab is divided into nine chapters roughly as follows: Breakfast, Stock, Fast-Cooking Foods, Vegetables, Ground Meat, Roasts, Pasta, Salads, and Frying. Each chapter contains not only finished recipes, but explanations of the elemental components and basic techniques required. An additional section in the beginning gives an overview of the science behind cooking and of important kitchen tools. The recipes are clear and easy to follow (if you've read any of Lopez-Alt's recipes on Serious Eats, you'll already be familiar with his style). If I had one gripe, it's that I wish he would extend this into a series that covers a larger culinary surface area. Baking and Asian cuisine seem like natural extensions for brand, so I hope they're coming soon. It's easy to see why The Food Lab won the James Beard Award — it encapsulates the modern approach to home cooking in a way that no other work to date has. If it ages well, I can see myself fondly looking back on it as a marker of early 2000s cookery in the same way that I now view Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking. A magnificent first effort. Five of five stars awarded.

A fabulous book for those wanting a deeper understanding of the science of all things cooking related. Written in an easy to digest manner, this is a reference book t which you will constantly use. Not a can’t put it down read that you use once and put away.

VERY USEFUL

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!

I think this works best for a cook who doesn't really like following recipes, but would be more comfortable experimenting based on a good bit of science backed knowledge. In just a few reads I've 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!

Along with Salt Fat Acid Heat by Samin Nosrat (HIGHLY recommended), this book TEACHES you how to cook. This is so important if you want to learn how to cook and not rely on following recipes word for word. Kenji has the knowledge and science to back his opinions and the work he has done to make this book is insane. Just the right amount of "chefiness" and real world kitchens and home cooks. Honestly with this and Salt Fat Acid Heat, you can become a very good cook.