Gastronomy Books

This cookbook is awesome! It has recipes listed by ingredients and by course. Each section begins with an explanation of how to care for and cook the ingredient. I have decided this would make a great gift for a housewarming or even a wedding.
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The authors/editors converted the typical metric system to cups, teaspoons, etc. without any regard to the recipe. It seriously changed the recipes. I've been reading people's reviews and many have encountered the same problem. It's unacceptable....
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I collect cookbooks and enjoy them for different reasons, from "go-to" books for recipes to more general theory books. This is hard to categorize; it's more of an encyclopedia than anything. (It's organized like an index, one food at a time)....
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This is a fantastic read for anyone who has more than a passing interest in food. We refer to it frequently and it is one of our favorite gifts to give. I couldn't recommend it more highly.
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This book is much more about science than cooking. The content is much more technical than most readers will desire (as with, the discussion of the molecular structure of milk in its various states).
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This is an exhaustive, technical dense treatise on the chemistry and physics of cooking. It is pretty readable and quite well suited for an academic approach. I bought it thinking it to be something closer to a lengthy, general purpose magazine...
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Great book,

Not as entertaining as Kitchen Confidential, but this is still a good book for those who enjoy the show No Reservations.
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Most of us go to work every day, but only someone truly lucky can bind all of their e-mails and reports from the past year into a book and sell it. If you watch "No Reservations", you know about everything that's in this book. Shame on you,...
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This is not the earth shaking Kitchen Confidential or A Cook's Tour or even as helpful/insightful as the Les Halles Cookbook. The three books I just mentioned are each unique, inspiring, and vitally necessary, to enthusiasts of cuisine/chow and...
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"The way we eat represents our most profound engagement with the natural world."

In his recent book, The United States of Arugula, David Kamp insightfully examines how we have become a nation obsessed with food. Taking that...
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Why bother reading a book that begins with the premise that humans are omnivores? Many experts believe humans are herbivores-search Google, you'll find many qualified articles on the subject. There are no "dilemmas" for herbivores-eat whole,...
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Overall, I like this book. You'll learn a lot, no matter who you are, about sustainability and why it's important.
The book gives a graphic, sometimes disturbing account of what goes into a mass-produced meal. It tells you specifically why...
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I love this book. This is not a typical cookbook. This book teaches you the principles of successful cooking. Rather than hashing out ingredient lists and blind processes to follow, Alton Brown actually explains why you sometimes use Baking Powder...
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This book is a waist of space

I am a big fan of Alton Brown. I have seen every show I can and learned a lot about the science of food and cooking. I have his book on how to arrange a kitchen and he gives very good advice. This book...
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I am a huge fan of Alton Brown and watch him on television every chance that I get... even the reruns. He is interesting, informative and a delight with a wackiness that holds even the non cook intrigued but I was disappointed with his...
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One of the funniest books I know. An excellent gift. It brings back memories of Community Picnics, dinner at Aunt Grace's house. Vast images of Jello with things in it. Don't miss it.
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I'm on the fence about this one. There is a little bit of humor, but it's the kind of humor which is (as others have pointed out) mean-spirited. I guess that's why comedians who use profane words in every sentence are considered funny. It's easy...
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The Gallery of Regrettable Food is the print version of James Lileks's web site of the same name. Lileks basically takes recipes out of old cookbooks and laughs at them. Now this is fair enough, given the recipes he's mocking. Most are horrendous,...
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As a biochemist, I enjoyed reading this book. The connection of science and cooking is very interesting. Sometimes, the information is presented too dryly. The science behind the book is usually presented clearly, but I did find a couple of...
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good, but, not very complete, inaccurate and simplistic. if you have read harold mcgee, it is a bit simplistic, un-scientific, and extremely biased. good for the beginner or home cook. short stories (and lack of scientific guidelines) are good...
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An interesting pseudo-culinary book.

I must begin by stating that I love to cook and any book, video, program etc. that involves cooking tweaks my interest; and so I approached this book by Herve This (pronounced 'Teess') with great...
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I'm probably more of a foodie than I care to admit, and eagerly dug into this book. For the most part, it was a pretty entertaining and informative read. However, I'd have to agree with some previous reviewers that it really isn't an...
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A great title and sub-title for that matter, but after that the book begins to go downhill. I am a registered foodie--I just got back from the farmers market this morning with some beautiful heirloom tomatoes, wild arugula and tree-ripened...
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The footnotes contained some of the most interesting information. Similar to most history texts, this book was filled to over-flowing with names and dates, so many that it was difficult to keep up with later references, and soon I gave up...
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