J. Kenji López-Alt - The Food Lab

FURTHER ADVANCE PRAISE FOR THE FOOD LAB :

Kenji has created an incredible resource to support you as you explore the possibilities of amazing food in your kitchen.

Aki Kamozawa & H. Alexander Talbot of Ideas in Food

The Food Lab is inventive, enthusiastic, and a true joy to read and use in the kitchen.

April Bloomfield, chef, The Spotted Pig, New York

The Food Lab successfully (and unpretentiously) helps the reader navigate the world of food science without sounding textbook-y or overly professional.

Mark Ladner, chef, Del Posto, New York

Every time I think Im an expert on an ingredient, a dish, or a technique, Im inevitably schooled all over again after reading Kenjis thorough and detailed writing.

Tony Maws, chef/owner of Craigie on Main, Cambridge, MA

This opus is a kitchen necessity. Im putting mine on my shelf right next to my Julia Child books.

Alex Guarnaschelli, chef, Butter, New York, and host of Food Networks Alexs Day Off

Kenji has long been a go-to resource when we are working in the kitchen and want to gain a better understanding of what we are doing. His extensive research on everything from getting the most from a pressure cooker to the science behind a better burger makes him an invaluable asset. His writing combines thorough analysis with a sense of humor, which is why we consult him all the time!

Wylie Dufresne, chef, Alder, New York

Eggs boiled for 30-second intervals from 0 to 12 minutes.

The Food Lab

Copyright 2015 by J. Kenji Lpez-Alt

All rights reserved

First Edition

For information about permission to reproduce selections from this book,
write to Permissions, W. W. Norton & Company, Inc.,
500 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10110

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Book design by Level, Calistoga, CA

Production managers: Julia Druskin and Joe Lops

ISBN 978-0-393-08108-4 (hardcover)

ISBN: 978-0-393-24986-6 (e-book)

W. W. Norton & Company, Inc.

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To Adri, who loves me despite the burgers;

To Ed, Vicky, and the whole Serious Eats team, for helping me do my thing;

To my father, the scientist;

To my grandfather, the nutty professor;

To the one sister I like better than the other;

To my mother, who would have preferred a doctor;

To the other sister as well;

To Dumpling, Hambone, and Yuba, the best taste-testers a man could ever hope for;

And to my grandmother, who would have preferred a Tostitos jar .

CONTENTS

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COMMON INGREDIENTS BY VOLUME AND MASS*

*Note: In standard U.S. recipes, liquids are measured in fluid ounces (volume), while dry ingredients are measured in regular ounces (weight).

VOLUME EQUIVALENCIES

3 teaspoons = 1 tablespoon

2 tablespoons = 1 fluid ounce

16 tablespoons = 1 cup (8 fluid ounces)

2 cups = 1 pint (16 fluid ounces)

4 cups = 1 quart (32 fluid ounces)

1 quart = 0.95 liters

4 quarts = 1 gallon

WEIGHT CONVERSIONS

There are 28.35 grams in one ounce.

COMMON WEIGHT CONVERSIONS

TEMPERATURE CONVERSIONS

To convert from Fahrenheit to Celsius: subtract 32, divide by 9, and multiply by 5.

To convert from Celsius to Fahrenheit: divide by 5, multiply by 9, and add 32.

COMMON TEMPERATURE CONVERSIONS

Longtime fans of J. Kenji Lpez-Alt can celebrate.

For years weve loved (and cooked from) his practical columns about kitchen science on the excellent seriouseats.com website. With this bookprecise and serious, witty and relaxedKenji joins the glittering constellation of men and women who have, over the past thirty years, brought the ancient human art of feeding ourselves into the scientific age. What goes on within a cube of ice or a stew-pot has followed the three laws of thermodynamics, among many others, for the past forty thousand yearsor however long you believe its been since our species first act of cookingbut we just never really knew it. Kenji stands on the shoulders of giants, of Achatz, Adria, Arnold, Blumenthal, Kurti, McGee, Myrhvold, Roca, and Thisall of whom have brought the realm of pure thought into the scullery, where it materialized into something delectable. Kenji does it in his own way. He has a degree from MIT and eleven years in restaurant kitchensin my mind, the two minimum qualifications for a man who would aim to make a better hamburger or, to my surprise, boil a better pan of water. Kenjis recipes produce simple, delicious specimens of home cooking. They are not difficult to carry out, but they can be extremely precise, while the thought behind them may be complex, and his testing obsessive. But Kenjis book is not about recipes. And Ill bet you cant read even ten pages of it without becoming a better cook.