An amazing resource.

I love to cook. Always have. And, I am a huge geek. Combine the two and you get food science.

I have always wanted to know the "why" as well as the "how" while cooking. Simply following recipes was never enough for me. Why am I supposed to seperate the eggs if I'm just going to mix them back together? Why do we cook at such a low heat? Why do you use buttermilk instead of regular milk? And for years, the answer was "Because, that's what the recipe says."

No longer. This encyclopedia of food has not yet failed to answer a question. Even ones not directly relating to food. The other day, I explained why pepper spray burns so badly to a friend (who had recently been sprayed with it) using the information in the peppers section of this book.

It's certainly easy enough to search for any subject using the index or the table of contents, but I found myself reading through it as though it were a novel. The author presents the information in an interesting, logical, and occasionally humorous manner, which actually makes it an enjoyable read in addition to one of the most complete volumes on food science I've ever found.

It actually makes going to the supermarket more fun. I can't go down an aisle now without stopping to explain to my fiancee how something was made, or why something's name is really something of a misnomer, or how the fat content varies from one thing to another, and which is made better because of it. And she eats the information up. She's reading through it now, and enjoying it every bit as much as I did.

If you enjoy food, and you are not content simply knowing how it is made, and you want to delve into the world of "why", this is THE book to do it with.

A Food Trivia Must-Read!

As the culinary historian and author of www.CookingUpHistory.com I wouldn't be without this book. It is an industry bible for food lore and trivia, from the basic to the bizarre, every crumb of food knowledge you could ever hunger for is within the covers of this book. Buy it, keep it and don't loan it out, 'cause if you do, say "Bye Bye." IT IS THAT GOOD!

Treasure Trove of Information

Wow, this book really has a ton of information about food and cooking and the how's and why's of it all. Fascinating tidbits and very good explanations. This is a great book to read, and also a good reference book to just pick up and browse through from time to time, I think I could flip it open to any page and find something interesting (admittedly, I love to read about food and the cooking).