I love good infographics and I love to understand the science behind why some things I cook work and some … definitely do not. To have at my fingertips a book full of both is a delight. Farrimond's beautiful reference is great for novice or experienced cook. It offers clear photos, helpful illustrations, and lots of information. This title covers a vast range of information from basics about taste, flavors, and kitchen essentials to all the aspects of cooking: meat and poultry, fish and seafood, eggs and dairy (including cheese), and more. Are you curious about the process as a popcorn kernel pops? Wonder how does sous-vide works? Or would you like to understand about the cell anatomy as a banana goes from unripe to overripe? Do you want to know the secret behind caramelization? If so _The Science of Cooking_ is for you. This reader and cook believes it's a great gift for anyone curious about the food they cook and eat.

Alton Brown fans, this one's for you! Through clear and engaging prose, Dr. Farrimond covers a wide range of topics, from the chemical reactions that occur when food is cooked to the role of temperature, time, and pH in determining the outcome of a dish. He also explores the importance of texture, flavor, and presentation, offering readers valuable insights into how to enhance their culinary creations. At the heart of the book is Dr. Farrimond's passion for both science and cooking, which he combines to demystify the mysteries of the kitchen and empower readers to become more confident and creative cooks. He breaks down complex scientific concepts into accessible and practical explanations, making them relevant and applicable to everyday cooking.

I view this book as an explanation of that I don't know and why a dish didn't come out quite right. Very useful, well written but not unique. There's more than enough books out about "the science of cooking" (multiple with that title). This one is not unique.

Note to the new reader: the first part of the book is steeped in processes that are building blocks for French cooking. French restaurants disappeared from the USA quite a while ago. Many younger readers may have no clue why these chapters exist or what to do with what was learned. And older readers left French cooking at the same time they abandoned French restaurants. Note to the author: rearrange the chapters, I came close to putting the book down figuring it was yet another French cook book.

This was such a fun cookbook to learn and cook from! I took a completely different perspective than most and it was helpful in so many ways!

I loved how it took it back to scientific terms because I know that baking and cooking itself is its own science but it helped me understand so much better! My husband absolutely loves to cook and he even enjoyed this cookbook more than most!

Big, visual, but not comprehensive. Felt like a middle-school encyclopedia.

The Science of Cooking is a well illustrated explanation of the science behind everyday cooking techniques. This book is great for a novice to intermediate cook to learn the techniques and science behind what we have all learned to do from our own cooking mentors. The explanations of the various steps behind cooking techniques gives a reader pause to think about how they do things and what minor additions could help or hinder their work. I think it would be best for a young person at the beginning of their culinary journey.

A amazing book filled with brilliant recipes, and fun ways of preparing new versions of firm favourites. Pack with great instruction and lovely illustrations this will be a great cookbook when published.

This book brought me out of the dark ages of cooking. I will never look at food the same way again.

Since reading this, I keep thinking about the chemical reactions that are happening whenever I stir two ingredients together. Understanding the science of cooking is essential for knowing when and what to substitute, what foods go well together, and how to avoid kitchen disasters.

The photographs and illustrations in this book are excellent, and the writing is trustworthy and clear, sometimes with a touch of lightheartedness. Some pages are in a question-and-answer format and other pages include information, instructions (for how to make certain dishes), or diagrams. I love the fresh, clean layout of the book.

The topics cover everything from health, to chemical reactions, to the biology of taste. Along the way, the author dispels common food myths. I’m excited to use everything I learned in this book, and I’m elated that there’s also a section about chocolate, which includes how to make ganache, chocolate shell for ice cream, and chocolate soufflé.

The amount of information in this book is extensive so I plan on reading it again someday and referencing it frequently in the meantime.

I recommend this book to everyone who likes to cook or anyone who wants to learn. Science can make us all better cooks.

The Science of Cooking is a super cool book that any food and cooking lover will enjoy adding to their kitchen. I am an avid cook and baker so I was very excited to read this book. It takes you "behind the scenes", so to speak, of food and cooking and answers every question you can think of pertaining to cooking. The format is colorful and engaging, with tons of color photos and infographics. It's in an easy-to-read Q&A style that makes it easy to flip to the info you're looking for quickly. Highly recommended for any foodie.

I am a bit torn on this one. This book is chock full of content, has a beautiful layout and tons of gorgeous pics. I learned a few things, mostly regarding the temperatures in which certain reactions occur (every one should know that 350 is when things burn) which is more than I can saw about most cooking books (and even some science of cooking ones).

On the other hand, the content often seemed more like fun trivia than useful.
To be fair I am currently eating vegetarian and as such I skipped some of the animal content. It is possible that there is more useful information in these sections, but from what I saw I wasn't thrilled.

All in all this an above average learning how to cook book, but not as useful as some I've seen.

This book was not offered on Kindle and would not download onto bluefire reader. I kept getting error messages. I was unable to access this boo, to give an honest review. Too bad because it looked interesting!

If you love to cook and want to understand the details of 'how' and 'why' then this book is for you! I love Cooks Illustrated, which delves into the actual science of why recipes work they way they do and I suspected this book would be right up my alley! Anyone can get a cookbook for recipes but this book discusses techniques and provides detail information on so many subjects related to cooking. I see this as so much more than a cookbook. If you're new to the kitchen or have been cooking for years, as I have, I think you will learn something new!

This book was both entertaining and completely mind-blowing! I'm an admitted horrible cook, but this fascinating book really made me want to go out to the kitchen and pay more attention to food and the wonders of cooking. Fascinating and would be a great gift to any foodie!

This reminded me of Alton Brown's Good Eats. I love the why behind it.

The Science of Cooking appeals to me on a number of levels. There are no recipes but there are countless facts and useful bits of information that speaks to the food geek in me. More than just arcane or arbitrary trivia, this information will help you to become better educated about the food you’re cooking and eating.

Interested in knowing more about the differences in taste and texture between grain-fed and grass-fed beef? Dr. Farrimond will give you the answer and he’ll do it in a way that is smart, thoughtful and accessible. With exceptionally good organization and use of graphics, this is a book that I’ll be delighted to purchase in hard copy form to have as a part of my cooking reference shelf.

I love Alton Brown's show "Good Eats" because it gets into the WHY of food - why things work certain ways for certain foods. This book, "The Science of Cooking," is like that too, and it's great. With short, to-the-point paragraphs and helpful graphics and photos, this book breaks down not only the science of cooking but the science of FOOD (how a food source's environment affects it's behavior when cooking, etc.). With advice on everything from which type of knife works best for which use, to the flavor differences in grass-fed versus grain-fed beef, how to chop on onion without crying, and more, this book is both useful and interesting.

“My aim is for you, the reader to understand more of the science of food and cooking, to help lift the lid on your creativity.” Dr. Stuart Farrimond

Success, Dr. Farrimond, you have indeed hit your target for this reader. What a superb, easy to follow reference on the science of food. This relatable resource provides answers to over 150 culinary questions, a plethora of tips and includes simple diagrams. Chapters cover a wide spectrum of food and factors such as taste/flavors, kitchen essentials, cooking processes and techniques on even the latest trends, like sous vide. The food photography is stunning.

The author has stirred my creative juices. I became fascinated with the science of food thanks to Alton Brown and his Eat My Science tour and this book caught my eye. So glad I got my hands on this book by Dr. Farrimond, I feel more confident in experimenting with my newfound knowledge and am convinced this book will become a staple in my kitchen like my old favorite, The Wellness Encyclopedia of Food and Nutrition, that I purchased in the 90’s and still reference today.

So, each year on the last night of Hanukkah, my husband's family has this tradition of giving each other a book...a tradition I have been very happy to be a part of. I have thankfully found the book I am getting for him this year! Both of us are avid cookers and really love the science aspect of the art, and this book combines the beauty of cooking science with gorgeous pictures. Being filled with dynamic visuals and loaded with tasty information makes this a must for our kitchen and I cannot wait to share it with him!

If interest in the science of cooking, as the title suggests, this is an incredibly good book for it. It does not delve into the deep science, but it gives good overview and is an easy read for any reader of any science level; however, I cannot give it a full 5-stars as the agriculture side is lacking in research. The very real, very important grey areas of organic, grass-fed, and antibiotic use are not mentioned at all (because it is not as simple as this book, and a high percent of the population, want you to believe). It would have been better to leave that information out completely if it isn't going to be given the full attention it deserves for an issue far more complex than most people understand or care to look into, especially as it overall doesn't relate to science of the actual cooking process.

I just finished The Science of Cooking by Dr. Stuart Farrimond that I received as a free NetGalley ebook. I generally enjoy cooking and am interested in learning why certain methods are used in food preparation so this book fit my interests perfectly.
Wonderful photos and illustrations, as well as concise, informative information, is provided for each entry. I was fascinated with the information about the color of food and how the color impacts flavor. Also interesting is the organic, wild, free-range, etc information.
Informative and easy to read this book is a must for anyone interested in cooking and why cooking methods differ for various ingredients.