La scienza in cucina

by Peter Barham, Enrico Bignetti (Translator)

Una cucina non è molto diversa da un laboratorio scientifico e, a ben guardare, l’attività che si compie al suo interno può essere assimilata a una scienza sperimentale. La preparazione e la cottura del cibo implicano procedimenti ben descrivibili attraverso le leggi della chimica della fisica, la conoscenza delle quali può rivelarsi di grande utilità per migliorare le nostre prestazioni culinarie.
Perché certe ricette riescono bene mentre altre falliscono inesorabilmente? Qual è il giusto punto di cottura, al di sotto o al di sopra del quale non si ottiene l’effetto desiderato? Perché alcuni ingredienti si combinano bene tra loro e altri invece non si legano affatto? Peter Barham risponde a questi interrogativi non rivelando i segreti di un grande chef, ma fornendo le dettagliate spiegazioni di uno scienziato.

Genres: Food, Science, Cooking, Nonfiction, Cookbooks, Food and Drink, Food Science

336 pages, Paperback

First published October 4, 2000

Reviews

[Tim Gannon · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book describes the chemistry and physics of cooking. It provides the basis for understanding why certain recipes worked or didn't work. He first goes over the basics of taste and flavor, cooking methods, basic chemistry (eg, fats, oils, polysaccharides, starches, sugars, gluten, protein, collagen, gelatin, soaps, bubbles, foam, and emulsifiers), and methods of heat transfer.

It finishes with recipes and experiments dealing with all the usual food groups (meat, poultry, fish, breads, sauces, sponge cakes, pastries, souffles). It goes over the chemistry and physics as they pertain to the recipes. Along with the typical things that can go wrong, what could have caused it, and ways to fix it. The book ends talking about chocolate and how it is made.

Quite enjoyable for the cooking geek.

[Brian · Rating 5 out of 5]

Molecular gastronomy is a pretty fascinating topic. Barham knows his material, and keeps it pithy and interesting.

[Ashvin · Rating 1 out of 5]

Eh, it was informative enough, but it was a rough draft, and that was pretty offensive. Seriously, as you read it, you wonder if this dude had an editor, or if he even bothered to carefully reread what he wrote. Lots of copy and paste, some sentences that make no sense at all. It was neat stuff, but I really didn't want to spend money on an unfinished product. Oh, it was sold as a finished product... it was just a lie.

I recently read another food science book, "What Einstein Told His Cook." If you're interested in the topic, read that instead.

Fucker.

[Ouden · Rating 3 out of 5]

Più che un libro è un prontuario. Interessante perchè descrive i processi chimici alla base delle varie preparazioni, mostrando poi ricette che li applichino. La panoramica è ampia, ma il range di ricette non lo è. Lo consiglio a chi è interessato al tema, magari come prima lettura, ma siamo lontani anni luce dalla qualità della produzione del nostro amico Dario Bressanini.
Inotre, l'autore è inglese...

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating.

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was interesting but over technical. Not an easy read and I ended up skipping parts that were too complicated or boring.

[John Sgammato · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've been cooking for a long time and I've done a lot of chemistry and biochemistry, and I have done a lot of online research looking for some of this information, so I already knew an awful lot of this, and it didn't address some of the questions that I have had over the years, but it does do a really good job of what it sets out to do: provide a simple understanding of important processes. A cook who reads this book is likely to become a better technical cook (that is, improved technique, not the art of cookery).
It includes "lab experiments" for the home kitchen and some recipes. Barham is English, so the recipes are English as well, and the language is too. For example, he uses hob for stove, and there's a recipe for Spotted Dick. This may make it a little confusing to some readers. On the other hand, I got it from my sister who may very well have bought it in England, so this is not a criticism of the book as much as it is a note to readers.

[Evan Þ. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Barham, a British physicist, analyzes the scientific processes involved in cooking, with brief forays into biology to explain why they're important. To pick out a few random facts from his extended surveys, cooking meat breaks up some of the longer protein chains into shorter molecules, which can float into the air more easily (giving a more appetizing smell) and be sensed by the tongue more easily (giving a better taste). Or, fish is more tender than land animals, because fish are supported by the water rather than having to stand by their own muscle power. Or, some sorts of cake rise largely based on the air bubbles whipped into the eggs - which's why you need to churn the eggs well, and also why you should thump the cake after removing it from the oven (so as to let external air into the bubbles so they don't collapse as they cool).

Barham also provides recipes. I haven't made any of his recipes yet, but I want to - and I feel I now understand things more.