Ingredient: Unveiling the Essential Elements of Food

by Ali Bouzari

There are ingredients, and then there are Ingredients. An ingredient is what we’re used to thinking about in the kitchen – things like tomatoes, tofu or thyme. An Ingredient is what those things are made of. There are millions of ingredients, but only eight Ingredients: Waters, Sugars, Carbs, Lipids, Proteins, Minerals, Gases and Heat.

Ingredient isn’t a book of recipes – instead, it’s about learning to see beneath the surface of food, exposing the moving parts that cause every failure and every triumph in every kitchen. You can apply the mindset laid out in Ingredient to any recipe or technique, regardless of your skill level or how you like to cook. Home cooks will feel ready to take on any recipe, and restaurant cooks will feel prepared for anything that comes out of the fire. Beginners will have a lifeline if something goes wrong, and masters will improve dishes they’ve been cooking for years. Fans of old-school cuisine will understand classic preparations like never before and the innovation-minded will advance the art of cooking even further.

Renowned culinary scientist Ali Bouzari illuminates the elemental world of food and unlocks the secrets of ingredients in a lively, engaging and accessible way that dramatically changes the way we look at our food.

Genres: Food, Cookbooks, Nonfiction, Cooking, Science, Culinary, Gastronomy

300 pages, Hardcover

Published November 17, 2016

Reviews

[Maurício Linhares · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not sure what exactly was the goal for this book (found it after listening to a podcast with the author, which was great) but the book itself is very vague. It does explain what happens to the food and these basic ingredients but has no examples or clever solutions by mixing them. At the end it's just a fluffy collection of phrases about stuff you would know already as a cook. If you don't cook, might be worth a try, could get you excited about it, if you do cook, The Food Lab is a better investment.

[Linita · Rating 2 out of 5]

useful food science written like a buzzfeed article

[Taylor Adams · Rating 4 out of 5]

An underrated book that taught me so much about food science, cooking, and ingredients. The illustrations are amazing, too! I would recommend this book to anyone interested in learning about the science of food and cooking, or anyone dealing with food restrictions or looking to become more comfortable cooking intuitively without using recipes.

[Dmitri S · Rating 2 out of 5]

Автор дает свой взгляд на приготовление еды как на взаимодействие сил, каждая из которых стремится к своей сокровенной цели: гидрофобные белки бегут от воды, вода тянется к соли, а загнанный в угол газ старается занять все доступное ему пространство — вот круассан и готов.

Вся книга состоит из описания восьми главных «сил», которые выделил Али Бузари: вода, сахар, углеводы, жиры, белки, минералы, газы, температура — и каждой из них посвящена своя глава с поверхностным описанием физических и химических свойств и характеристик, парой случаев применения и пачкой иллюстраций. (Кстати, в этой книге отличное визуальное решение — вся графика выполнена ассоциирующимися с темой материалами; например, глава про воду оформлена акварелью, про жиры — маслом, и т.д.)

Видно, что автор старался оформить весь материал в один удобоваримый блок информации: главы ссылаются друг на друга, повторяют материал и особенно не вдаются в детали. С одной стороны, такой подход дает достаточно цельную картину процессов кулинарии, а с другой — любой кто не прогуливал в школе химию и мало-мальски умеет готовить вряд ли найдет здесь для себя хоть что-нибудь новое.

Не смотря на громкое название, эта книга скорее вступительная лекция (или, как отмечено в одном из обзоров — статья для «Баззфида»), чем дополнительное чтение — совсем не хочется ее «критиковать» за то, что она слишком «обзорная», но при этом мне сложно и представить зачем ее купит кто-то, кому она действительно могла бы что-то рассказать.

[Phoenix Ray · Rating 4 out of 5]

Liked the simple prose and writing, and the good analogies. The art style, photography, and illustrations make the book unique. But the major flaw of this book is that it isn't immediately obvious how to apply the new knowledge, at least to people less experienced in cooking. It would've helped if there were some example situations hashed out.

[Nathan Boler · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an amazing read. I loved all of the illustrations and photography. Writing style was fun and memorable. This is a must read for serious cooks. I would've loved to have some recipes included that accented the ideas presented. Maybe an idea for the sequel?

[Obeida Takriti · Rating 5 out of 5]

يلخص الكتاب العناصر الأساسية في الطعام كالكاربوهيدرات، الماء، والغاز، وغيرها..
تبدأ بفهم ما يحدث حولك في عالم الغذاء..
لماذا ينتفخ الخبز ولماذا يتشكل طبقة من الفوم على القهوة..
ممتعة النصوص القصيرة مع الكثير من الصور والرسوم التوضيحية..

[Naomi · Rating 4 out of 5]

bro can you believe it? I finished it.

took me many mornings of coffee and page at a time because I was actually trying to understand the concept. that said, this book could have used another round of edits, typos and all.

[yamiyoghurt · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought the approach was novel and brilliant. To give each ingredient a personality helped with the narrative and made the topic a little more lively and exciting.

[Sophie Abromowitz · Rating 3 out of 5]

that’s the ingredients!

[Andréa]

Note: I accessed a digital review copy of this book through Edelweiss.

[Fifi Desire]

it's good 👍

[Apollos Michio · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ingredient is a very accessible and colourful book that introduces the ingredients in food as eight characters in a story with their own behaviours and attitudes.

Interspersed within the chapters and sub-chapters are also aesthetically-designed pages of food and molecular illustrations that complement the reader’s understanding of them. This is, I believe, the main highlight of the book, forming much of its pages and making it visually-appealing and easy-to-understand (with a lot of metaphors used to explain the characteristics of the different ingredients).

Perhaps because I’m studying food science, I found myself wanting to know more technical and scientific details regarding the ingredients. Yet, I do understand that this book is meant to be simple and non-technical. So I would still say that this is an excellent and palatable book that readers who are interested in food and cooking can read to gain a simple understanding of how ingredients work!

4/5

[Alex · Rating 4 out of 5]

Crash course on how food works

[Jocelyn · Rating 2 out of 5]

[Wrote this last fall; apparently didn't post it]
Last year I had to drop an actual food science textbook partway through when my health got too bad to keep at it. I've improved some, but I didn't think enough so brain- or body-wise to handle the previous book, so I picked this up. Unfortunately, I found it so simplified that it was difficult to absorb the information - I realized after a while that I had been generalizing what I was absorbing from the actual textbook, and this was kind of bouncing off because its corners are already so rounded. I tried a partial second go-round and felt like I was taking in a bit more, but I have so many other things on my to-read pile that I didn't feel like keeping at that. Despite my general frustration with that aspect, I did like that Bouzari finds ways to liken similar end effects from disparate inputs, and he chooses examples rather well, deploying illustratively a lot of kitchen phenomena with which a longtime cook is likely to be familiar.

[Penmouse · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ingredient: Seeing Beneath the Surface of Food to Take Control in the Kitchen by Ali Bouzari is exactly as described in the title. The author explains the science of cooking by giving detailed explanations of how they work in cooking. The book is a book that I can see any cooking nerd truly loving. I refer to the term nerd in a good way as I am a bit of a cooking nerd myself.

Recommend.

Review written after downloading a free galley from Edelweiss.

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this to be a very interesting that I enjoyed. This would be like "food porn" for those that love cooking and are really into food, so it's a must have for any cook or foodie. I won this great book on GoodReads and like I do with most my wins I will be paying it forward by giving my win either to a friend or library to enjoy.

[RickyTicky · Rating 5 out of 5]

Автор - просто умничка! Книга на 200 страницах рассказывает больше и лучше, чем весь школьный курс химии-физики-биологии. Наконец-то я поняла, что к чему :) Ура!

[Sandra · Rating 5 out of 5]

Понимание работы ингредиентов и воздействий на них на самом низшем уровне открывает возможности для более уверенного кулинарного творчества. Полезная книга.