Review: The Kitchen As Laboratory

Let's call it "quantum cooking" - the application of physics and molecular bioscience and industrial technologies to the preparation of common meals and and familiar dishes with greater control and awareness of the processes involved.

This is a culinary anthology of 33 essays by more than 50 contributing scientists engaged in the study of food presenting their findings with practical
applications for the kitchen.

Continued in ... The Book Stall

The Kitchen As Laboratory 

by Cesar Vega, Job Ubbink and Erik van van der Linden

Columbia University Press, 2012

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Good Old Books: Home Power!

When you figure out your personal wealth, you usually start by adding the value of your bank accounts, stocks, bonds, insurance policies, equity in your home and other real estate, and end up by counting the change in your pocket or purse.

Then you deduct your debts, The mortgage on your home is usually the big one, plus other loans. What's left after you subtract the total of your liabilities from your assets indicates very well how much strength and security you have, in a financial sense.

Or does it?

Things and services created in the home have an enormous impact on the quality of our lives.

Much of the basic productive work of our society is carried out in the home. Yet current economic thinking overlooks most home production. The food you grow in your garden and the bread you bake in your kitchen are not counted as part of the Gross National Product.

Home Power!

by the editors of Organic Gardening and Farming

Rodale Press, 1976

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Review: Louisiana's Award-Winning Recipes

Many of the recipes in this spiral-bound collection of Louisiana cuisine won recognition from the New Orleans Times Picayune newspaper in a special section of the state's best cookery. Others have been drawn from family collections like fine heirlooms, prized secrets passed down through generations.

"There are two primary causes for the distinctive flavor of Louisiana foods," writes co-author Harrietta Randazzo in the cookbook's introduction. "One is 'roux' and the other is 'seasoning.' A roux is a mixture of 1 part cooking oil and 2 parts flour cooked over a medium heat until brown (like peanut butter).

"The seasonings consist of onions, garlic, parsley, bell pepper, thyme, bay leaf, cayenne pepper and, of course, the basic salt and pepper."

Continued in ... The Book Stall

Louisiana's Award-Winning Recipes

by Missy Armstrong, Dottie Brewer and Harrietta Randazzo

Billion $ Baby Publications, 2002

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Book List Addition: The Kitchen as Laboratory

Eating is a multisensory experience, yet chefs and scientists have only recently begun to deconstruct food's components, setting the stage for science-based cooking.

In this global collaboration of essays, chefs and scientists advance culinary knowledge by testing hypotheses rooted in the physical and chemical properties of food.

The Kitchen as Laboratory

Reflections on the Science of Food and Cooking

by Cesar Vega, Job Ubbink, Erik van van der Linden

Columbia University Press, 2012

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Science Writing

Good Old Books: The World of the Dolphin

What swims in the sea and looks like a fish - but isn't?

The dolphin - a mammal that has babies and nurses them with milk.

Dolphins are delightful friends to man. They plunge and play in the water
and swim so fast they can easily chase after ships.

This important book tells you everything there is to know about dolphins.

It discusses the dolphin in history and legend, the origins of dolphins,
who the dolphins' relatives are, physical characteristics of dolphins, the
sex and reproductive lives of dolphins.

The World of the Dolphin

by Chester Krone

Tower, 1972

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Review: The Audubon Backyard Birdwatcher

The majority of birdwatchers are the backyard variety who put out a feeder or two and maybe a bird bath of sorts. Unlike serious birders who may travel long distances to add some rare birds to their life lists, home-based birdwatchers take enjoyment from watching the species that come to visit and return year after year.

This guide serves the backyard variety with sharp photos and descriptions of the 100 most common birds found in home gardens of North America. Field guides to the other 8,900 species of birds worldwide are available elsewhere, but this one provides detailed instructions for setting up backyard feeding stations, building ponds and windbreaks, and choosing plants for the landscape that will attract birds to the yard.

Continued in ... The Nature Pages

The Audubon Backyard Birdwatcher

by Robert Burton and Stephen Kress

Thunder Bay Press, 2012

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Book Excerpt: Introducing Tea

Western Europeans first learned of tea in 1559 from Venetian writer Giambattista Ramusio's book Delle navigationi e viaggi (Voyages and Travels), in which the drink is referred to as chai catai and touted as a cure for "headache, stomachache, pain in the side or in the joints."

Ten Tea Parties

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Tea