Fans of Curious Cook Harold McGee will relish the latest from This (_Molecular Gastronomy_), a French chemist and foodie hero who has helped to usher in the current restaurant world vogue for turning the kitchen into a laboratory. This uses simple questions and observations about food (Does hot pepper burn a hole in the stomach?; Why must infants not be fed sausages?) as springboards for delightful explorations into culinary scientific principles. In brief, confident chapters, he moves through assorted ingredients (milk, vegetables, cheese), cooking methods (steaming, roasting, deep-frying) and whole categories of food and drink (bread, cake, sauces, salad) in his quest to explain kitchen phenomena. The book is more practical than theoretical, as This often breezes over much of the science, focusing not on the experiments and equations that answered his questions but rather on what they mean for the cook: how to ripen tomatoes properly, why to cook a roux for a long time, and so on. He distances himself even further from typical scientific writing with his charmingly enthusiastic tone, which keeps his prose from sounding dry even when he goes into more details about enzyme properties or protein varieties, so that even those who might be turned off by the thought of food chemistry will quickly be drawn in by his obvious love of food and eagerness to apply his research to helping people cook better. (Dec.)
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"Fans of 'Curious Cook' Harold McGee will relish the latest from This ( Molecular Gastronomy), a French chemist and foodie hero who has helped to usher in the current restaurant world vogue for turning the kitchen into a laboratory.... Even those who might be turned off by the thought of food chemistry will quickly be drawn in by his obvious love of food and eagerness to apply his research to helping people cook better." -- Publishers Weekly

"This has made invisible processes visible, revealed the mysteries, and the bread has risen, baked, and been enjoyed." -- Claudia Kousoulas, Appetite for Books

"Cooks who want to learn more about the chemistry and physics that make their efforts possible will discover useful things here." -- Booklist

"This's molecular gastronomy is garnished with the author's own rich philosophy of food and flavor." -- Peter Barham, Nature

"An exuberant paean for the role of science in cooking... This's book performs a great service." -- Len Fisher, Times Higher Education Supplement

"This book should be in every kitchen." -- Christine Sismondo, Toronto Star

"[An] eye-opening book." -- Kate Colquhoun, Portsmouth Herald

"Witty and humorous... [readers] whose eyes glaze over at the very mention of electrons may find themselves becoming entranced by This' graceful descriptions of essential chemical reactions." -- Lynn Harnett, Seacoast Sunday

"Well crafted, sprinkled with insight, and containing a menagerie of information, Kitchen Mysteries is a wonderful trip down a stellar buffet line." -- J. Edward Sumerau, Metro Spirit

" Kitchen Mysteries is another tour de force for the French scientific chef... Highly Recommended." -- Choice

"This's book offers expert explanations that give the reader a better understanding of both cooking and cuisine. As such, it is enticing." -- Pierre Laszlo, Chemical Heritage