On Food And Cooking: The Science And Lore Of The Kitchen. By Harold McGee. 2004. Hardcover.

This is the 2004 revised and updated edition

This book is the Bible to which food lovers and professional chefs worldwide turn for an understanding of where our foods come from, and how cooking transforms them into something new and delicious. More than 100 new Illustrations. This book pioneered the translation of technical food science into cook-friendly kitchen science and helped give birth to the inventive cu,inary movement known as “molecular gastronomy”. This book remains unmatched in the accuracy, clarity, and thoroughness of its explanations, and the intriguing way in which it blends science with historical evolution of foods and cooking techniques.

The author Mr. McGee studied science and literature at Caltech and Yale, and he has written two prizewinning books, as well as articles and reviews. He lives near San Francisco. 884 pages.