Suffice to say, there aren’t many books that get me terribly excited; Modernist Cuisine is, however, one of the few. Assembled and written over the course of three years by a team of scientists, photographers, cooks, and geeks, all led by Dr. Nathan Myhrvold, it’s being praised by many, including me, as the definitive cookbook of the 21st century.

The first thing you need to understand about Modernist Cuisine (MC)  is that it isn’t a cookbook. The main focus of this book isn’t to provide you with a set of recipes you can simply follow to produce a meal, but to provide you with the knowledge and fundamental understanding by which to create on your own. In that sense, MC is rather more of a textbook than anything else. Yes, there is a book dedicated to recipes, but as you will come to see, these are meant more as inspiration and platforms than step by step guides. Read more