Building a Meal: From Molecular Gastronomy to Culinary Constructivism (Arts & Traditions of the Table-perspectives on Culinary History)

An internationally renowned chemist, popular television personality, and bestselling author, Herv This heads the first laboratory devoted to molecular gastronomythe scientific exploration of cooking and eating. By testing recipes that have guided cooks for centuries, and the various dictums and maxims on which they depend, Herv This unites the head with the hand in order to defend and transform culinary practice.

With this new book, Herv This's scientific project enters an exciting new phase. Considering the preparation of six bistro favoriteshard-boiled egg with mayonnaise, simple consomm, leg of lamb with green beans, steak with French fries, lemon meringue pie, and chocolate moussehe isolates the exact chemical properties that tickle our senses and stimulate our appetites. More important, he connects the mind and the stomach, identifying methods of culinary construction that appeal to our memories, intelligence, and creativity. By showing that the creation of a meal is as satisfying as its consumption, Herve This recalibrates the balance between food and our imaginations. The result is a revolutionary perspective that will tempt even the most casual cooks to greater flights of experimentation.