Good Grape Wine Company

My wife is a chef and we actually fight over who gets to read the book.

Bottom line is this, if you want to know what happens to food when you mix it, heat it, cool it, then get this book. If you are someone who cant even boil water, the book is going to be over your head. Dont bother.


Nothing else like it   March 10, 2002
 6 out of 6 found this review helpful

This is an essential book for anyone who cooks. McGee explains in detail how and why cooking works; if you know what's in here, you can do anything in the kitchen without ever needing another cookbook, because you'll understand how ingredients interact. As a biochemist and physician, I find his science impeccable; as a cook, I find his appreciation of food inspiring.


On food chemistry   March 3, 2002
 14 out of 15 found this review helpful

This is a remarkable book on why and how foods react the way they do. Though chemistry plays a large part in the understanding of food that McGee imparts (it has to), it is very basic and a short primer in the appendix tells you all you'll need to know. Because cooking and food underlie our very existence, and also because they are great sources of pleasure, the topic cannot but be fascinating. However, the mystification of food abounds, and the facts are hard for most people to verify. ON FOOD AND COOKING is a book that can be read straight through or as a reference, but will always increase your knowledge of how foods work.

It is comprehensive, historical, and scientific, and McGee's aim is to inform the reader enough so that s/he can cook, and also so that s/he can make decisions about food that are intelligent. Not only does he discuss pretty much any type of food you can think of, he also discusses artificial additives, nutrition, and digestion. And although the book was written in 1984, the advice he gives is always sound and cautious. Food is understandable. If you love watching PBS cooking shows, this book will enhance your knowledge of what the cooks are doing. If you love watching the food network... well, there is probably less to understand, but it will still enhance your viewing. In any case, if you love cooking and food, it is difficult to overlook a book of this magnitude.


Remarkably Readable   February 19, 2002
 1 out of 2 found this review helpful

McGee has taken a subject that I find a bit dry and written about it in a style that it is remarkably readable. I had a hard time putting this book down. Be warned that the same meandering style that makes this book so readable also makes it a less-than-perfect reference book.


Run out and buy this book if you like food   November 11, 2001
 1 out of 5 found this review helpful

I love this book!! Everything from chewing gum to the origin of water chestnuts explained. Worth every cent.