The Food Lab: Better Home Cooking Through Science by J. Kenji Lopez-Alt, J. Kenji Laopez-Alt - Hardcover

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!

Love this book

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!

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!

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.

Like most people, I get most of my recipes online (those that I don't create myself or get from friends) and feel like cookbooks are a relic of the past. This book could not prove me more wrong. This reads almost like a memoir that just happens to contain some recipes. Good recipes. GREAT recipes. The stories that Kenji spins are a great way not only to give context to what he is speaking of, but serve as a valuable method to aid in teaching and understanding the concepts he is attempting to illustrate. I am a career Science teacher and would be thrilled to have Kenji as a colleague. He just has that knack to sneakily lodge understanding of a concept deep in your brain. The most important aspect of this book is that Kenji uses solid science to either refute or reinforce the long held beliefs of professional chefs and at home cooks alike. Sear the steak first to lock in the juices? Nope! Measure your flour using measuring cups? I don't think so! So much of what we think is intuitive in cooking is just flat out wrong and Kenji's fastidious and thorough testing prove why. Do yourself, and anyone you know who cooks, a favour and get this book. Get it on sale. Get it at full price. Get someone else to get it for you. Just get this book!