Review Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat: Mastering the Elements of Good Cooking

[The Late Night Gourmet]

I recently purchased this book, and I have to say it's been transformative in how I approach cooking. Over the years, I've wanted to learn new techniques and try new cuisines and use fancy new pieces of equipment. And, while this has been fun and exciting, I don't know if it's made me a better cook. But, in the same way that sports teams find success in focusing on the fundamentals, this focuses on the elements that make a great plate of food.

The book contains 100 or so recipes, which are good thought starters, but that's not what I love about it. Understanding the mechanics and the science really connects to my job as an engineer: I always want to know why something works and why it doesn't, as opposed to just accepting it as fact. This level of understanding means that I can make informed decisions and adjustments without just guessing about what I'm changing.

https://www.amazon.com/Salt-Fat-Aci...4595600&sr=8-1&keywords=Salt,+Fat,+Acid,+Heat

 

[creative]

I recently purchased this book, and I have to say it's been transformative in how I approach cooking. Over the years, I've wanted to learn new techniques and try new cuisines and use fancy new pieces of equipment. And, while this has been fun and exciting, I don't know if it's made me a better cook. But, in the same way that sports teams find success in focusing on the fundamentals, this focuses on the elements that make a great plate of food.

The book contains 100 or so recipes, which are good thought starters, but that's not what I love about it. Understanding the mechanics and the science really connects to my job as an engineer: I always want to know why something works and why it doesn't, as opposed to just accepting it as fact. This level of understanding means that I can make informed decisions and adjustments without just guessing about what I'm changing.

https://www.amazon.com/Salt-Fat-Acid-Heat-Mastering/dp/1476753830/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1494595600&sr=8-1&keywords=Salt,+Fat,+Acid,+Heat

That's interesting. Can you share some of the improvements/changes you have made?

 

[The Late Night Gourmet]

That's interesting. Can you share some of the improvements/changes you have made?

Full disclosure: I haven't read the whole book yet. I'm still in the Salt section, which starts the book. But, as important as salt is to food, I wouldn't have wanted to start anywhere else. Prior to this book, I would have added salt as follows:

1) work out the exact amount of salt a preparation needs, and put that in the recipe so I can exactly duplicate it.
2) only add salt at one point in the preparation.

The second item is the biggest change, since I now look at salting as something that happens at different times - sometimes more than once - during the cooking process. The "when" also varies depending on what I'm making: fish is more delicate, so the salt needs to be added late in the preparation to avoid extracting too much of the moisture, for example.

When I made the broccoli soup recipe that I just posted, I added salt toward the end, but I also understood that the cheese has a certain amount of sodium, which affects the amount of salt I add.

 

[Morning Glory]

I replied re this book in another thread. It due to be published in the UK in September (£28!). I'd love to have it but I think I'll wait until it becomes available second hand or paperback! There is a book I use all the time: The Flavour Thesaurus but Niki Segnit. Its a wonderful book which is not only written in a very witty manner but is also fantastically informative about 'taste' and which flavours and food go together. In fact it is one of a choice of prizes on offer for The Spice Challenge: Turmeric. You have to be in it to win it!

 

[creative]

I replied re this book in another thread. It due to be published in the UK in September (£28!). I'd love to have it but I think I'll wait until it becomes available second hand or paperback! There is a book I use all the time: The Flavour Thesaurus but Niki Segnit. Its a wonderful book which is not only written in a very witty manner but is also fantastically informative about 'taste' and which flavours and food go together. In fact it is one of a choice of prizes on offer for The Spice Challenge: Turmeric. You have to be in it to win it!

Can't you order it through your library? My library has this facility. (If they don't stock it then they can order it for a £1 fee).

I am currently looking at several of the opening pages via (takes a few secs to go to the right section i.e. after the initial screen)
https://www.amazon.com/Salt-Fat-Acid-Heat-Mastering/dp/1476753830/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1494595600&sr=8-1&keywords=Salt,+Fat,+Acid,+Heat#reader_1476753830

I have learnt that adding salt to dried beans doesn't toughen them but softens them! I checked this out with a google search and it seems to be true!

 

[Morning Glory]

Can't you order it through your library? My library has this facility. (If they don't stock it then they can order it for a £1 fee).

I am currently looking at several of the opening pages via (takes a few secs to go to the right section i.e. after the initial screen)
https://www.amazon.com/Salt-Fat-Acid-Heat-Mastering/dp/1476753830/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1494595600&sr=8-1&keywords=Salt,+Fat,+Acid,+Heat#reader_1476753830

Well - as you have found, the American edition is available here for £20. Still a bit steep unless I'm convinced I need it... I'll check out later. I don't know re the library as I never go there!

 

[creative]

Well - as you have found, the American edition is available here for £20. Still a bit steep unless I'm convinced I need it... I'll check out later. I don't know re the library as I never go there!

You might be surprised by the range of cookery books available at your local library....worth a visit!

 

[Elawin]

You might be surprised by the range of cookery books available at your local library....worth a visit!

I've got more cookery books than my local library - in fact probably more than all 10 of our borough's libraries put together - but (with a couple of possible exceptions) none of their selection of books really appeal to me. Although I have ordered several books in the past, I've never ordered any cookery books though. I'll have to make enquiries as I now get books through their housebound service (not because I'm housebound, but because I have difficulty carrying anything over about 2 kg in weight for more than a few yards). Also, they demolished our local library and built a much larger, new one - I wonder if they've got some new books to go with it (!)

 

[Elawin]

......but I also understood that the cheese has a certain amount of sodium, which affects the amount of salt I add.

As you probably know from my posts, I don't normally "do" salt unless the recipe really needs it. I had a cheese and wild garlic flower garnish on my Sunday night's dinner. The cheese was an extra mature Cheddar, and even though I only had about 1/2 ounce of cheese, I can still taste the saltiness in it quite a while later.

 

[creative]

I've got more cookery books than my local library - in fact probably more than all 10 of our borough's libraries put together - but (with a couple of possible exceptions) none of their selection of books really appeal to me. Although I have ordered several books in the past, I've never ordered any cookery books though. I'll have to make enquiries as I now get books through their housebound service (not because I'm housebound, but because I have difficulty carrying anything over about 2 kg in weight for more than a few yards). Also, they demolished our local library and built a much larger, new one - I wonder if they've got some new books to go with it (!)

I didn't know you are housebound...that must be difficult to deal with.

It's interesting that you say NONE of the cookery books at the libraries appeal to you!! Wow! My local libraries have a fairly diverse range i.e. far from being in the same mould. I daresay there may well be some new books at the newly built library!

I find, increasingly, that I grow more particular/specific about what kinds of recipes interest me. There are more that I dislike than I like - for a variety of reasons, e.g. too many ingredients, have fishsauce, flaccid texture, stiff egg whites, mushrooms...quite a long list! I go mostly by style though and favour Jamie Oliver's rustic dishes.

 

[Morning Glory]

didn't know you are housebound...that must be difficult to deal with.

She said she wasn't housebound!

 

[creative]

She said she wasn't housebound!

Oh I didn't see the 'not because' on the previous line before 'I'm housebound' - my excuse is that I had recently just got up and before coffee had kicked in!

 

[epicuric]

I recently purchased this book, and I have to say it's been transformative in how I approach cooking. Over the years, I've wanted to learn new techniques and try new cuisines and use fancy new pieces of equipment. And, while this has been fun and exciting, I don't know if it's made me a better cook. But, in the same way that sports teams find success in focusing on the fundamentals, this focuses on the elements that make a great plate of food.

The book contains 100 or so recipes, which are good thought starters, but that's not what I love about it. Understanding the mechanics and the science really connects to my job as an engineer: I always want to know why something works and why it doesn't, as opposed to just accepting it as fact. This level of understanding means that I can make informed decisions and adjustments without just guessing about what I'm changing.

https://www.amazon.com/Salt-Fat-Acid-Heat-Mastering/dp/1476753830/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1494595600&sr=8-1&keywords=Salt,+Fat,+Acid,+Heat

I agree in part - I too like to learn new techniques and some would say I'm a bit of a gadget freek . Heston Blumenthal does occupy space on my bookshelves! But I'm not sure that you can extend engineering principles to cooking. Scientific precision is fine with predictable materials, but food ingredients vary each time you use them. I seldom follow a recipe exactly, instinct, taste, aroma always take over - not very scientific and not always successful!

 

[Elawin]

I didn't know you are housebound...that must be difficult to deal with.

Sorry, I did not make that as clear as I should have. I'm not actually housebound, but I have various health problems which mean that sometimes I have difficulty walking far and also that I cannot carry anything heavier than a couple of kilos for more than a few yards (even to the car right outside the supermarket can be too much for me at times), which is one reason why I get my shopping delivered. In fact I had to have some help from Social Services to get my library books delivered as I did not fit the Council's criteria (I can walk)! My main purposes for going out are either visiting my daughter, posting a letter, nipping up to the pet shop to pay for my dog food order which is then delivered, or taking the mutt for a walk. I do get help with the dog-walking from the Cinnamon Trust when they have a suitable dog-walker available, but even one lady who has five hounds of her own has cried off because, as she says, he is one strong mutt. It must be all that organic food I give him

 

[The Late Night Gourmet]

Also reposted from the Resources forum.