comments:
I’d start with On Cooking, Harold McGee. For about 20 bucks you could also have McGee's magnum opus. https://www.amazon.com/Food-Cooking-Science-Lore-Kitchen/dp/0684800012 The thing is, this is now 4 decades old. While it's a good foundational understanding of food science we've had 40 years of technology and innovation and frankly a better understanding of science. While it's important, knowing stuff from the book doesn't always translate to being a better cook. For example: vegetable browning like apples and potatoes are caused by polyphenol oxidase or PPO. It's an enzyme involved in the enzymatic browning process. These are called phenolase enzymes and the brown they produce is melanin, the same stuff in human skin. Knowing that means fuck all. Knowing you can stop it by introducing ascorbic acid, or vitamin C, or stuff like lime juice in your guac does actually matter and will help stop browning. On Cooking is a book about the science of food. Some of it is useful in practical application, some of it absolutely is not. It sits on my shelf as well and it is a book I've read and it has made me a better cook, but not more so than actually cooking. Being pretentious about it is silly. The dude isn't technically wrong, but he's absolutely a dickhead and shows it in that thread. He has one of those egos.