How to read a french fry : and other stories of intriguing kitchen science
(Book)

"With more than 100 recipes"--taken from front cover.

Includes index.

Explores the science underlying such cooking techniques as frying, roasting, baking, and chopping; and provides tips and recipes utilizing his unique cooking principles.

"Why can you stick your hand into a 450-degree oven but not into 212-degree boiling water? Why does fish taste different from meat? Why do you cook pork differently from beef? Why should you always start cooking dried beans in cold water, not hot? Why should you never cook a Vidalia onion? What's the only kind of marinade that's an effective tenderizer? Why is strawberry-rhubarb a good combination, scientifically speaking? And why don't potatoes fried in fresh oil ever brown completely, no matter how long they're cooked? "Cooking is full of questions that science can help you answer, questions that can make you a better cook," writes the award-winning 'Los Angeles Times' food editor, Russ Parsons. In this entertaining book packed with fascinating tidbits, Parsons explores the science behind such basic cooking methods as chopping, mixing, frying, roasting, boiling, and baking. You'll learn why soaking beans can't eliminate their gaseous effects, why green vegetables turn drab when cooked too long, which fruits you can buy unripe and which you should buy fully ripened, which thickener to choose for your turkey gravy, which piecrust is foolproof for a beginner. Along the way, Parsons slips in hundreds of cooking tips, provocative trivia, and touches of wit that make his scientific explanations go down smoothly. He also includes more than a hundred recipes that deliciously exemplify the principles he describes, from Tuscan Potato Chips and Crisp-Skinned Salmon on Creamy Leeks and Cabbage to Chocolate Pots de Creme and Ultimate Strawberry Shortcake."--taken from book cover front flap.

"Some fear that turning toward kitchen science means turning away from the art of cooking, as if the two were contradictory. Nothing could be further from the truth. If it makes you more comfortable, think of this as an anti-cookbook. We'll begin with some science, then proceed on to practical advice. Finally, there are recipes that demonstrate the things you've read. Once you understand these basic processes, you will be free to cook well even without any recipes at all. You'll know how tho get the results you want, and you'll be able to adjust the recipes to fit your taste and the ingredients you have on hand. The only limit will be your creative ability. In the same way, this book can also be read as an explication of other cookbooks. You'll no longer have to rely on the cookbook writer to tell you how hot the flame should be, how brown the meat should be or when something is done. You'll know for yourself. It's the next best thing to having mom -- the scientist -- there explaining everything."--taken from Introduction, page 7.