Book review #3 plus a quick experiment
posted by joeli under book reviews
The first part is "Secrets of the Kitchen" and is sort of myth busting for food. It takes common theories about food (putting a silver spoon in champagne bottle to keep the fizz, blowing on coffee to cool it down faster) and puts them to the test.
The second part is "Physiology of Flavor" and is pretty much does what the title says. It goes into things like how chewing effects the flavor of food.
The third part is "Investigations and Models". This section is the longest and discusses the science behind specific foods. For example, he discusses how to get a perfect sabayon and why this method works. But again don't expect any recipes but do expect to be using a thermometer to boil your eggs.
The forth part is "Cuisine for Tomorrow" and is about experiments to take food to the next level. For example, there is a section on mayonnaise and how to make different types of mayo (egg white only for example).
Each section is two or three pages but contains quite a bit of information. At times it feels almost like you're reading abstracts for more complicated papers, and part of me was a bit disappointed that I wasn't. For many sections I would have liked to keep reading and wanted more information. There was one section on different methods of "double" cooking that was particularly interesting (for example, boiling then roasting). Other times, I hoped for a recipe or two to be thrown in. But mainly, I enjoyed the fact that each section was so short. It allowed me to enjoy the book without ever being too overwhelming.
This book certainly doesn't contain even a tenth of the information that Harold McGee's book does. But, it does contain information that is not in his book. And it is shorter and perhaps more accessible. Overall, I would recommend this book. I really enjoyed reading it and learned a lot.
DETAILS: 101 sections covering 334 pages, divided into four main parts (see above).
PROS: Short sections make it very easy to read, contains a lot of information.
CONS: Short sections can leave you wanting more.
My Rating: 4/5. Recommended if you like reading about the science of food.
To give you a taste of what this book is like, here's a quick experiment for you to do in the kitchen when you're bored and want a chocolate fix. The book has one paragraph (from "Playing with Texture" in part 4) that says:
By manipulating the texture of the mayonnaise [by microwaving it] we seem only to have created a sponge for soaking up oil. Let's try replacing the oil with chocolate (which is composed mostly of cocoa butter) and melting it in a pan with a bit of liquid that contains water [such as rum or coffee]. Then, when the temperature of the resulting chocolate emulsion is still lower than the temperature at which albumen coagulates (62C/144F), whisk the chocolate emulsion into an egg white. Finally put this mixture in the microwave.
Not really a whole lot to go on, huh? Well this is how I did it:
What you'll need:
- Chocolate, between 20-100g
- 1 egg white
- a dash of water
- a good sized microwavable mixing dish/jar (1 litre should do)
What to do:
- Melt chocolate in dish using the microwave (50% power)
- Add a dash of water to melted chocolate and stir.
- Slowly stir in egg white until the mixture is consistency of mayonnaise or thinner (see results below).
- Microwave 30-60 seconds (check on it when you can smell it).
The result: Your results will vary depending on the ratio of chocolate to egg white that you use. With a thinner mixture you will get a spongy blob (as I did when I used 33g chocolate, 1tbl coffee, and 1 egg white). With a mixture the consistency of mayo you will get something that is so lightly and fluffy it dissolves in your mouth (this occurred for me with 50g chocolate and 1 tbl egg white and 1/2tsp water). Experiment to find a ratio you like.
This is me melting the chocolate. I used a candy thermometer to make sure the melted chocolate came out of the microwave at a low enough temperature. As long as you melt the chocolate at 50% power you should be fine. Really if you can touch the chocolate it's definitely cool enough but I will not be responsible for any burns that occur.
And this is the resulting sponge like thing that came out. I thought it tasted pretty good. But my husband did not like the texture at all. The texture is immensely hard to describe but I can safely say it is not as bad as it looks.
I hope at least one person is curious enough to try this experiment. If you do, please share your results!
Comments
Interesting, I like the idea, but I'd read the book if there was more to experiment ... book, Thanks for sharing your trial :)))
I would try this if I had a microwave , he he he...
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