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Cooking with Science
A collection of books related to cooking, but with science! These can be more traditional cookbooks or books that discuss the science of food prep. I'd like to keep it a bit lighter and less textbook-heavy, but I'm open to anything that fits this general categorization. This initial list is not in a particular order -- I just found most of these suggested online in one way or another and added them. I'm hoping the voting will send the best and most worthwhile titles to the top to help me prioritize my reading. That being said, I do intend to read my original top 2 or 3 first, though.
Score
A book’s total score is based on multiple factors, including the number of people who have voted for it and how highly those voters ranked the book.
| 1 |
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On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen
by
4.46 avg rating — 16,149 ratings
score: 298,
and
3 people voted
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| 2 |
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The Food Lab: Better Home Cooking Through Science
by
4.31 avg rating — 24,831 ratings
score: 198,
and
2 people voted
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| 3 |
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What Einstein Told His Cook
by
3.85 avg rating — 4,240 ratings
score: 196,
and
2 people voted
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| 4 |
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CookWise: The Hows & Whys of Successful Cooking, The Secrets of Cooking Revealed
by
4.06 avg rating — 5,624 ratings
score: 188,
and
2 people voted
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| 5 |
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Cognitive Cooking with Chef Watson: Recipes for Innovation from IBM & the Institute of Culinary Education
by
3.48 avg rating — 46 ratings
score: 149,
and
2 people voted
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| 6 |
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Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat: Mastering the Elements of Good Cooking
by
4.40 avg rating — 89,060 ratings
score: 100,
and
1 person voted
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| 6 |
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Masala Lab : The Science of Indian Cooking
by
3.80 avg rating — 2,914 ratings
score: 100,
and
1 person voted
|
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| 8 |
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I'm Just Here for the Food: Food + Heat = Cooking
by
4.12 avg rating — 23,933 ratings
score: 98,
and
1 person voted
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| 9 |
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The Science of Good Cooking: Master 50 Simple Concepts to Enjoy a Lifetime of Success in the Kitchen
by
4.44 avg rating — 3,163 ratings
score: 97,
and
1 person voted
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| 9 |
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I'm Just Here for More Food: Food x Mixing + Heat = Baking
by
4.25 avg rating — 5,013 ratings
score: 97,
and
1 person voted
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| 11 |
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BakeWise: The Hows and Whys of Successful Baking with Over 200 Magnificent Recipes
by
4.30 avg rating — 2,003 ratings
score: 96,
and
1 person voted
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| 12 |
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What Einstein Told His Cook 2: The Sequel: Further Adventures in Kitchen Science
by
3.85 avg rating — 826 ratings
score: 95,
and
1 person voted
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| 12 |
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Franklin Barbecue: A Meat-Smoking Manifesto [A Cookbook]
by
4.52 avg rating — 2,994 ratings
score: 95,
and
1 person voted
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| 14 |
|
Cooking for Geeks: Real Science, Great Hacks, and Good Food
by
Jeff Potter (Goodreads Author)
4.05 avg rating — 3,745 ratings
score: 94,
and
1 person voted
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| 14 |
|
Alton Brown's Gear for Your Kitchen
by
4.16 avg rating — 2,517 ratings
score: 94,
and
1 person voted
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| 16 |
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Cravings: Recipes for All the Food You Want to Eat
by
really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 34,234 ratings
score: 93,
and
1 person voted
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| 16 |
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VB6: Eat Vegan Before 6:00 to Lose Weight and Restore Your Health . . . for Good
by
Mark Bittman (Goodreads Author)
3.71 avg rating — 2,937 ratings
score: 93,
and
1 person voted
|
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| 18 |
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The Inquisitive Cook: Discover the Unexpected Science of the Kitchen
by
3.92 avg rating — 52 ratings
score: 92,
and
1 person voted
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| 19 |
|
How to Read a French Fry: And Other Stories of Intriguing Kitchen Science
by
3.73 avg rating — 532 ratings
score: 91,
and
1 person voted
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| 20 |
|
Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All-American Meal
by
3.75 avg rating — 206,347 ratings
score: 90,
and
1 person voted
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| 21 |
|
Baking Science and Technology (2 Volume Set)
by
it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 3 ratings
score: 88,
and
1 person voted
|
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| 22 |
|
Combat-Ready Kitchen: How the U.S. Military Shapes the Way You Eat
by
Anastacia Marx de Salcedo (Goodreads Author)
3.48 avg rating — 401 ratings
score: 87,
and
1 person voted
|
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| 23 |
|
Neurogastronomy: How the Brain Creates Flavor and Why It Matters
by
3.88 avg rating — 284 ratings
score: 86,
and
1 person voted
|
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| 24 |
|
First Bite: How We Learn to Eat
by
Bee Wilson (Goodreads Author)
3.89 avg rating — 3,475 ratings
score: 85,
and
1 person voted
|
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| 25 |
|
The Dorito Effect: The Surprising New Truth About Food and Flavor
by
Mark Schatzker (Goodreads Author)
4.01 avg rating — 9,077 ratings
score: 84,
and
1 person voted
|
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| 26 |
|
Molecular Gastronomy: Exploring the Science of Flavor
by
Hervé This (Goodreads Author)
3.87 avg rating — 1,096 ratings
score: 83,
and
1 person voted
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| 27 |
|
Salt Sugar Fat: How the Food Giants Hooked Us
by
4.01 avg rating — 32,584 ratings
score: 82,
and
1 person voted
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| 28 |
|
Why You Eat What You Eat: The Science Behind Our Relationship with Food
by
3.69 avg rating — 1,064 ratings
score: 81,
and
1 person voted
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| 29 |
|
The Haven's Kitchen Cooking School: Recipes and Inspiration to Build a Lifetime of Confidence in the Kitchen
by
4.30 avg rating — 142 ratings
score: 80,
and
1 person voted
|
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| 30 |
|
Basics to Brilliance
by
4.27 avg rating — 125 ratings
score: 78,
and
1 person voted
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| 31 |
|
Twelve Recipes
by
4.14 avg rating — 599 ratings
score: 77,
and
1 person voted
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| 32 |
|
How to Cook Everything: Simple Recipes for Great Food
by
Mark Bittman (Goodreads Author)
really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 101,392 ratings
score: 76,
and
1 person voted
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| 33 |
|
How to Cook Everything Vegetarian: Simple Meatless Recipes for Great Food
by
Mark Bittman (Goodreads Author)
4.08 avg rating — 14,618 ratings
score: 75,
and
1 person voted
|
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| 34 |
|
How to Cook Everything: The Basics: Simple Recipes Anyone Can Cook
by
Mark Bittman (Goodreads Author)
4.30 avg rating — 1,700 ratings
score: 74,
and
1 person voted
|
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| 35 |
|
How To Cook Everything Fast: A Better Way to Cook Great Food (How to Cook Everything Series, 6)
by
Mark Bittman (Goodreads Author)
4.04 avg rating — 1,028 ratings
score: 73,
and
1 person voted
|
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| 36 |
|
Cooked: A Natural History of Transformation
by
Michael Pollan (Goodreads Author)
4.08 avg rating — 25,711 ratings
score: 72,
and
1 person voted
|
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| 37 |
|
The Improvisational Cook
by
4.07 avg rating — 293 ratings
score: 71,
and
1 person voted
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| 38 |
|
Ruhlman's Twenty: 20 Techniques, 100 Recipes, A Cook's Manifesto
by
4.18 avg rating — 2,490 ratings
score: 70,
and
1 person voted
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| 39 |
|
Modernist Cuisine: The Art and Science of Cooking
by
4.59 avg rating — 1,585 ratings
score: 69,
and
1 person voted
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| 40 |
|
Modernist Cuisine at Home
by
4.49 avg rating — 1,557 ratings
score: 68,
and
1 person voted
|
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| 41 |
|
Cook's Science: How to Unlock Flavor in 50 of our Favorite Ingredients
by
Cook's Illustrated (Editor)
4.47 avg rating — 140 ratings
score: 67,
and
1 person voted
|
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| 42 |
|
The Curious Cook: More Kitchen Science and Lore
by
4.21 avg rating — 372 ratings
score: 66,
and
1 person voted
|
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| 43 |
|
The Science of Cooking
by
3.96 avg rating — 174 ratings
score: 65,
and
1 person voted
|
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| 44 |
|
Kitchen Mysteries: Revealing the Science of Cooking
by
Hervé This (Goodreads Author)
3.76 avg rating — 232 ratings
score: 64,
and
1 person voted
|
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| 45 |
|
Keys to Good Cooking: A Guide to Making the Best of Foods and Recipes
by
4.08 avg rating — 741 ratings
score: 63,
and
1 person voted
|
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| 46 |
|
Cook, Taste, Learn: How the Evolution of Science Transformed the Art of Cooking
by
3.87 avg rating — 15 ratings
score: 62,
and
1 person voted
|
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| 47 |
|
How Baking Works: Exploring the Fundamentals of Baking Science
by
4.27 avg rating — 424 ratings
score: 61,
and
1 person voted
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| 48 |
|
Easy Culinary Science for Better Cooking: Recipes for Everyday Meals Made Easier, Faster and More Delicious
by
4.18 avg rating — 17 ratings
score: 60,
and
1 person voted
|
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| 49 |
|
The Science of Good Food: The Ultimate Reference on How Cooking Works
by
4.27 avg rating — 120 ratings
score: 59,
and
1 person voted
|
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| 50 |
|
Science Of Spice
by
4.29 avg rating — 609 ratings
score: 58,
and
1 person voted
|
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| 51 |
|
Sugar Changed the World: A Story of Magic, Spice, Slavery, Freedom, and Science
by
Marc Aronson (Goodreads Author)
3.67 avg rating — 1,473 ratings
score: 57,
and
1 person voted
|
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| 52 |
|
The Science of Spice: Understand Flavor Connections and Revolutionize Your Cooking
by
4.29 avg rating — 609 ratings
score: 56,
and
1 person voted
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| 53 |
|
The How Not to Die Cookbook
by
Michael Greger (Goodreads Author)
4.12 avg rating — 4,932 ratings
score: 55,
and
1 person voted
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| 54 |
|
Forks Over Knives The Cookbook, How Not To Die, Cookbook and Plant Based Cookbook For Beginners 4 Books Collection Set
by
3.20 avg rating — 5 ratings
score: 54,
and
1 person voted
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| 55 |
|
Liquid Intelligence: The Art and Science of the Perfect Cocktail
by
4.50 avg rating — 1,349 ratings
score: 53,
and
1 person voted
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| 56 |
|
Alinea
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4.34 avg rating — 1,359 ratings
score: 52,
and
1 person voted
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| 57 |
|
A Day at elBulli
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4.22 avg rating — 715 ratings
score: 51,
and
1 person voted
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| 58 |
|
Arzak Secrets
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3.83 avg rating — 29 ratings
score: 50,
and
1 person voted
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| 59 |
|
The Spice Routes : More Recipes from the World Food Cafe
by
4.09 avg rating — 23 ratings
score: 48,
and
1 person voted
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| 60 |
|
Pickled, Potted, and Canned: How the Art and Science of Food Preserving Changed the World
by
3.72 avg rating — 204 ratings
score: 47,
and
1 person voted
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| 61 |
|
The Physiology of Taste: Or, Meditations on Transcendental Gastronomy
by
4.03 avg rating — 1,685 ratings
score: 46,
and
1 person voted
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