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Our house (probably like many houses) has quite a number of recipe and cookbooks collected throughout the years. However, like most people, despite the fact that we have over 30 recipe books, we tend to gravitate to a handful of favourite ones. For me, that is the Slow Cooker (by the Australian Women's Weekly) and the Cooks Companion by Stephanie Alexander.... two tomes that pretty much have me covered for anything that I would want to cook. 

However, a year or two ago, I had heard of this guy Kenji Lopez-Alt from a Freakonomics podcast, and I was intrigued enough to have bought the hardcover book... but had never really looked at it. It is a cookbook, but with many things explained from a Chemistry/Physics point of view. The thing that really grabbed me (apart from the really good recipes...) was the fact that the writer explained WHY you did certain things or used particular equipment (copper/brass... or whatever material of cooking pans and knives) when cooking. Most cookbooks just tell you to do certain things.. and it is a sort of arcane alchemical formula that you just enact like a spell ritual... and you have no real idea WHY it works... or doesn't. 

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So, the writer of this particular cookbook is a self confessed nerd... that is always a good start! The complete first chapter is just about the utensils and cooking equipment... why things are the way they are, from the compositions of the metals through to the design of implements such as knives. It makes for engrossing reading... and it EXPLAINS why things are the way they are! I guess most chefs or professional cooks will have some basic training in this... or perhaps they focus more on the practical aspects of using the tools, rather than why the tools came to be the way that they are. 

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As I mentioned before, the cookbook is actually also full of great recipes as well! However interesting the descriptions and explainations... a cookbook is only as good as the recipes. The recipes do that the form of the regular ingredients and method along with the beautiful food shots as well... but each recipe is expanded out to several pages, rather than the more usual half page or single page for a recipe. 

This extended page area is used to really go into depth about why certain things are done... from mixing, what chemical reactions are taking place due to the way that you mix or let it stand, how the different ingredients interact... and then finally how they cook. 


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So, my first attempt at a recipe from this book was the very basic Scrambled Eggs. Normally, I would just break eggs and add milk... then cook. 

However, there really is a process to making the right sort of fluffiness and taste to the eggs... and the trick lies in the salting of the egg mix and not too much milk. As you let the mixture stand, the colour of the mix changes as the salt starts to break down certain protein bonds... which when cooked leads to a different consistency for the scrambled eggs! Amazing.... I think this has been the best scrambled eggs that I've cooked... and I feel great about it, because I also understand WHY it turned out the way it did!

So, for anyone who is of a curious and inquisitive mindset... who likes knowing WHY things happen, rather than just doing things in a rote manner... well, I can highly recommend this cookbook!









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