 "The Indispensable Harold McGee" | 2010-03-09 |
| - Reviewed By RWCBooks from Redwood City, CA |
| This is the single most useful book in my kitchen - and probably in my house. If you want to understand why food acts the way it does, you need this book. As a reference, it nearly always has the answer I'm looking for - and usually some additional helpful information that I didn't know I was looking for until I read it! It's not dumbed down or overly wordy like the "What Einstein Told His Cook" books - the writing is concise and the scientific explanations are clear, even for those of us without a science background. This book taught me to cook without relying on recipes, and how to fix recipes that go wrong. It's a pleasure to read and the one book in my kitchen I can't do without. |
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| "Simply Amazing" | 2010-03-05 |
| - Reviewed By Ramulin from Seattle, WA, USA |
While coverage in some areas is much deeper than in others, I am continually surprised by the number of topics it covers ranging from the biochemistry of olive brining to cooking of meats, the biological history of where oranges come from, and many, many more topics.
Just open the book to a random location, and you'll find yourself immersed in amazing insights about even ordinary foods. |
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| "The Best Damn Food Book Period!" | 2010-03-03 |
| - Reviewed By ...and now for something completly different. from Sturgis, SD USA |
| Watch Video Here: http://www.amazon.com/review/RWS9VA6YENDVJ The Best Damn Food Book Period! |
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 "Good book, but not a good kindle book (I can't hear this)" | 2010-02-16 |
| - Reviewed By rwizard from USA |
If you wish to help support visually impaired Kindle users in getting the "Disabled Text to Speech" setting removed from the Kindle, please make others aware of this review - thanks !
I was lent the hard copy version of this book by a friend, but I wanted to buy the Kindle version. I sometimes find I can read things on a Kindle more easily than on a printed page, and when things get really desperate, I can use the text-to-speech feature. Or can I?
Since others have done an excellent job of reviewing the contents of this book, I will address issues unique to the Kindle version.
While this is a very useful reference for serious cooks, the Kindle version is a bad deal. Although the publisher has incurred none of the costs of manufacturing, warehousing, and shipping a physical book, they charge nearly the same price for a virtual product (~$3 less - big whoop!). Clearly they are making a handsome profit on this version compared to the print version. Which makes my next, and more salient issue, all the more egregious.
To add insult to injury, they have disabled text to speech. Do they have something against those of us who have visual problems which make reading difficult? Or, do they plan to try and squeeze still more money out of us for an audio version?
Until Kindle users say no to paying physical book prices for ephemeral virtual books which we have learned can vanish with a keystroke from Amazon central control, the pricing structure is going to continue to get worse, not better.
But more importantly, that a publisher would block a feature which is primarily used by disabled people is offensive to say the least. (Who else would be willing to endure listening to the droning electronic voice?) Surely there is some bright lawyer out there who can find a way to challenge this despicable practice under the auspices of the ADA, perhaps in combination with the fact that it infringes our fair use rights? Amazon should stop offering this "option" to publishers. But until then, ALL Kindle owners should insist on change by avoiding books for which text-to-speech is disabled. It is silly to suggest that one should be able to read an electronic book through one interface (the screen), but not the other (the earphone jack). They are, in effect, prohibiting the use of assistive devices. In this case, a device we purchased from them! Personally, I am lucky in that my difficulties are limited and transient in nature. I do have the option to read things directly, most of the time. Others are not so lucky, and have no such choice. Why is Amazon closing the door on these folks? And what soulless lout at Scribner thought this was an appropriate thing to do? (Scribner - even their name is Dickensian ! )
If, like me, you are a serious cook, and a lover of books, and you feel you simply must own this book, please buy the hard copy in order to send a message to Amazon and the publisher. Also, let Amazon know why you didn't buy the Kindle version. Better yet, purchase a used copy, or look for it at your local library. The only voice some people hear is the one coming out of their pocketbook. Also, keep in mind that there is no end to the wonderful cook books we don't own (yet), so perhaps there is one from a less avaricious source that you would like to add to your collection before you get around to (someday) adding this one. One of the pleasures of cooking is that no matter how accomplished we become, there is always something new to learn.
Equally important, please contact the Author's Guild, the neo-Luddite organization responsible for pressuring Amazon into adding this "feature" and let them know how much harm they are doing to others, and ultimately, through their short-sightedness, to their own members. Urge them to withdraw their objection to text to speech. It does not provide a comparable alternative to recorded audio books, read by a professional voice talent, and anyone in their organization who bothered to listen to Kindle's text to speech would know that. After all, Amazon owns Audible, the audio book company. Why would they shoot themselves in the foot by competing against their own product?
Thanks for reading this, and please help persuade Amazon to do the right thing with regard to full accessibility for all Kindle owners. |
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| "Essential for the keen cook" | 2010-02-10 |
| - Reviewed By Bob Weis from Australia |
| Recommended by a friend and a great source of pleasure when browsing or looking up specific items. Not a recipe book but a wonderful discussion of the science, history and context of food. Also dispels some hard entrenched myths. See searing meat and fish! |
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| "Knocking Down the Barrier Between Food and Science" | 2010-01-27 |
| - Reviewed By ricepaper from Pasco, WA United States |
This book takes the world of cooking down to the molecular level and is fascinating. What Harold McGee has accomplished in this book phenomenal.
To understand what's happening in food we cook we need to be familiar with the world of molecules and their reaction to one another. McGee thoroughly explains what's going on in that realm so that you know what makes mayonnaise work, or how the skins, seeds and stems of the grape affect winemaking.
"Curiosity and understanding make their own contribution to mastery (of cooking)."
This second edition adds emphasis on the diversity of ingredients now available how they're prepared, flavors of food and the molecules that create that flavor."
In understanding the science of food it, "frees us from the necessity of following recipes, and helps us deal with the unexpected including the inspiration to try something new... understanding what's happening to the food's inner substance, and adjusting preparation accordingly."
So for example, as I was reading Julia Child's book, My Life in France, I became intrigued with making mayonnaise. Using McGee's book I find, "Beginning with mostly egg yolk you slowly beat in oil. As more oil is incorporated the mixture becomes thicker and the oil is broken into smaller droplets." It's a sensitive sauce because it is so full of oil, "so much so that, the droplets press up against each other, its emulsion is easily damaged by extremes of cold, heat, and agitation."
And Créme fraîche also intrigued me so looking that up I discovered why it tastes so much fresher than sour cream.
You name the food and McGee has covered it in this book: pineapple, coffee, seaweed, wine, beer, flours, texture of raw food, milk, eggs...
But wait, there's more! He also is the first person to fully explain all my oven options, convection bake, bake, convection only... and makes me understand what reaction is taking place in my microwave oven.
And never mind you think that your microwave is causing cancer (which it is NOT) but did you know there are toxins in your fresh fruits and vegetables!? Yes, even the holy grail organic ones!
If you love food and are intrigued with the science of food, this is an absolute must buy! |
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