Modernist Cuisine: The Art and Science of Cooking

I will preface my review with this: my boyfriend and I cook a lot. We aren't professional chefs, we haven't been properly educated in culinary academia, we just really like food. After a long wait and a week of pouring through these books this is what I can tell you.

Modernist Cuisine: The Art and Science of Cooking is a veritable encyclopaedia of all things food that somehow remains easy to read. As an all encompassing work there is literally something for everyone in here. Into traditional cooking methods? Here you'll find the history, science, and techniques of traditional methods to make you a better cook. Interested in something more exotic? Here you'll find the most cohesive and comprehensive breakdown on sous-vide cooking anywhere.

Herein lies a great equalizer of this set. All topics are given equal treatment. The science and functionality of a humble kitchen skillet is disseminated with as much respect and dignity as is complex lab equipment. It doesn't seem to be so much about the use of expensive equipment in the kitchen but the enormous scope of these books. If there's any way you can cook with it - it it's in here.

That said there is much more to this set than Techniques and Equipment. The breadth and depth of information in these books is staggering but not overwhelming. The pictures are fantastic. The best I've ever seen in a cook book. The topics are well organized and the explanations of often complicated topics (i.e. cellular composition of a muscle) are nevertheless written in easy to understand language. Basically these books are just awesome.

The price of this set is really it's only drawback. Yes, it is expensive, but you get what you pay for and this is no exception. This set is a self contained culinary education. I highly recommend it.

Grab one if you are lucky, otherwise they will all be gone before you finish reading this post.
Click here to see if there's any copy left.