Modernist cuisine at home
by Nathan Myhrvold · first published 2012
56% recommend44% neutral
Why HN recommends it
Practical, home-friendly guide to modernist techniques with clear explanations of why cooking works, covering ingredients, tools, and methods; recommended as the starting point for home cooks before the larger set.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
"This book focuses on cooking equipment, techniques, and recipes"--P. xvii.
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Mentions per year
What Hacker News says
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I'd go for Modernist Cuisine At Home by Nathan Myhrvold, then his Modernist Cuisine set for a more thorough look at food science. Neither is exactly cheap ($90 and $500ish, respectively), but your local library might have at least the one…
on “Ask HN: How do you learn (not copy/paste) cooking?” ↗Buy _Modernist Cuisine At Home_, or, if you don't want to subsidize Myrvhold, _Ideas In Food_ and _Maximum Flavor_ (from the same authors). These books are full of applications of modernist cooking that are useful in home kitchens.…
on “The End of Cuisine” ↗…time. In the ingredients department, I picked up a variety of thickeners etc. to experiment with but, to be honest, I haven't done a lot with them. There are some good ideas and techniques in books like Modernist Cuisine at Home. There are also instructions for making an omelet that would probably take hours. I won't be doing that.
on “The End of Cuisine” ↗You can start with 'Modernist Cuisine at Home' which is much cheaper, that's what I have. Then, when ready, upgrade to the full book.
on “David Chang’s Unified Theory of Deliciousness” ↗…has a lot of industrial equipment and ingredients that aren't applicable to home cooks, it has excellent photos and diagrams that illustrate the cooking process from a biological and physical level. (Modernist Cuisine at Home isn't nearly as comprehensive, though it shirks a lot of the weird/expensive equipment and additives.) Also Modernist Bread for breads is fantastic and comprehensive. 1. https://www.seriouseats.com/the-food-lab…
on “Ask HN: What are the best textbooks in your field of expertise?” ↗I have used Modernist Cuisine at Home for years. The techniques are a little more approachable for the home chef, and the results are A+. And if science-infused cooking is your jam, Kenji Lopez-Alt is another great read. https://www.kenjilopezalt.com
on “Modernist Cuisine: The Art and Science of Cooking” ↗I’m surprised to see this on the front page! I posted this on a whim after buying Modernist Cuisine at Home last week. It’s essentially, “cooking for scientists and engineers” and has a great breakdown of ingredients, cooking tools, and why things are the way they are. It’s surprisingly written by Microsoft’s…
on “Modernist Cuisine: The Art and Science of Cooking” ↗I’m curious what did you find to not work as written? I’ve had no problems making any recipes out of it, but I’ve also not done so exhaustively. The Modernist Cuisine At Home book was pretty practical for muggles and would probably be where I’d recommend people start if they’re just looking to make some stuff for sure though, the full series is more something you read.
on “Modernist Cuisine: The Art and Science of Cooking” ↗SeriousEats is great most of the time, and if you can "acquire" copies of any of the Modernist series (Modernist Cuisine, Modernist Cuisine at Home, Modernist Bread, Modernist Pizza), those are all done by mass with baker's percentages.
on “You Need a Kitchen Slide Rule” ↗…why you need a very hot oven to deliver the right amount of heat to cook your pizza. But if you use a better conductor you could deliver the same amount of energy on a much lower temperature. On the "Modernist Cuisine at Home"[0] book they research this topic and arrive on the conclusion that a thick baking steel sheet arrives on much better results, they even sell their official baking steel [1]. [0] https://www.amazon.com/Modernist-Cuisine-Home-Nathan-Myhrvol... [1]…
on “How to make pizza like a Neapolitan master” ↗> it's a lot cheaper, and accessible than Modernist Cuisine: The Art and Science of Cooking from Nathan Myhrvold Have you read Modernist Cuisine at Home and can you compare?
on “Based Cooking” ↗…application of scientific research principles and new techniques and technology to cooking. That book, which earned a James Beard Foundation Award for "cookbook of the year" in 2012, was followed by the books Modernist Cuisine at Home, The Photography of Modernist Cuisine, and Modernist Bread: The Art and Science, all self-published by Myhrvold and with him as lead author. Myhrvold was part of a team that won first place at the world…
on “Ultra High Resolution Photos of Snowflakes” ↗After reading about it in "Modernist Cuisine at Home", I picked up the Toddy[1] cold brew device. My wife and I both love the results. It comes with 2 filters, which last for about 10 batches each. Each batch takes 12-24 hours in produce in the fridge.…
on “How to Make the Best Pourover Coffee” ↗I have Modernist Cuisine at Home cookbook. Which is probably at the far end of how recipes are done. And their recipes generally make lot of sense. Everything has scaling percentages from certain base ingredient. And recipes are divided…
on “Show HN: Eattsy – Reimagining the world’s relationship with cooking and food” ↗…no longer be a provider of value. Or MSNBC or Fox or BBC or your choice of propaganda outlet. The other side problem is if you want culinary excellence today you'll eventually find guidance to buy "modernist cuisine at home" or similar technical cookbooks or maybe some old Alton Brown TV show memes, but search engines are required by corporate to have total randos provide opinions about page quality and needs met that are…
on “Why are online recipes always so long-winded?” ↗