BromicAcid
International Hazard
Posts: 3246
Registered: 13-7-2003
Location: Wisconsin
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Mood: Rock n' Roll
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Modernist Cuisine - The Art and Science of Cooking
http://modernistcuisine.com/
Haven't seen this on the forum yet. I was reading USA Today and ran across an article asking if I would be willing to pay $600+ for a cookbook. I
checked out the article and found that I probably would be willing to pay that price (although the author states it's only about as much as a dinner
at an expensive restaurant).
The book is a massive 5 volume set that seems like it would be better published by Wiley Scientific. The main author who seems the eccentric
millionaire type financed the book himself from what I read and hired on top chiefs as well as editors from Scientific American. Some recipes call
for using a rotovap, freeze dryer, or other lab related equipment. Check it out and look at the chapters. I don't know if I will be buying it yet
but I will certainly seek out a copy to peruse once it's available. Figured this should go in the chemistry section and not whimsy since the author
specifically states that cooking was too much like Alchemy before and he wants to make it more like science (and jokes that having a chemistry degree
will make the book more accessible).
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ScienceSquirrel
International Hazard
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Location: Brittany
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Mood: Dogs are pets but cats are little furry humans with four feet and self determination! 
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And here is the daddy, he invented most of it and two of the authors have worked with him;
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heston_Blumenthal
and his restaurant;
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Fat_Duck
it's own web page;
http://www.thefatduck.co.uk/
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smuv
National Hazard
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I wish it had been published by wiley, then I could recommend my university library to buy it  .
I am more and more starting to see chefs use rotovaps and liquid nitrogen on the food network. How funny it would be if rotovaps became economical to
the amateur chemist because of culinary use?
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watson.fawkes
International Hazard
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Quote: Originally posted by smuv  | | How funny it would be if rotovaps became economical to the amateur chemist because of culinary use? |
Have
you seen the prices on restaurant equipment? It makes scientific gear looks downright reasonable.
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peach
Bon Vivant
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Registered: 14-11-2008
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Heston is beginning to annoy me.
How many times do we need to see a lollipop made out of spinach? Or a duck made out of marzipan that shits sprouts made of popping candy?
He has made a few programs in which he's trying to revolutionise standard 'boring' food.
For example, there is a famous chain of motorway side cafe's in the UK called Little Chef. Renowned for serving greasy breakfasts and dirt cheap stuff
out of packs that's been reheated. One time I went in there, I got a blue plastic floor brush hair with my pancake. He attempted to 'revolutionise'
the menu with lambs tongue and such, before discovering a brutally painful quantity of the people in there weren't interested in his menu (and the
£15 a plate price) and were happy with a fried breakfast. In the end, his revolution was, put drops of bechamel sauce on the fried eggs. I'd be
surprised if they've even bothered to keep that up; it takes them about 45 minutes to put something in the microwave with no one in there. In another
episode, he went to a famous kids hospital called Alder Hey not far from me. Again, when his own ideas completely died on their arse, he had the staff
coming up with them. Then he tried revolutionising Cineworld cinemas. Again, he ended up serving ideas the staff had come up with for popcorn. On to
British Airways. Utterly failed, twice, to realise you can't do precision cooking and serving aboard a 747 in a 6ft x 2ft space for hundreds of
passengers.
They're all available for free, along with Heston's feasts, on youtube if you look at the 4OD (on demand) channel. You may need to use a proxy to see
them if you're in the US.
I agree with Smurv. The best thing that'll come out of it is lots of surplus rotovaps. They're already appearing on eBay from people who've gone
Heston and then decided to go back to ready meals, realising that super expensive tools don't make you good at cooking. For a more common example, see
ridiculously expensive kitchen knives. My brother bought me one that cost £75. I've used it once and use the £17 kitchen devil instead. I wouldn't
pay £17 for the £75 one.
I remember when 'foams' became a big thing a few years back, particularly with seafood. Unfortunately, it looks exactly like someone's just spat on
the plate. YUM!
Don't bother with cook books either. There are billions of recipes available for free in newspapers and online.
I'm not surprised there are very expensive cook books, as the guys who process food commercially will be dealing with millions of pounds worth of it
and need to make sure it's safe and processed properly; e.g. cooking / open time / freeze times and additives for emulsions and such.
Thus far in life, I have met precisely one person who cooked his own meals on a regular basis. And that was because he was vegan and couldn't eat most
packed food.
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