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"Modernist Cuisine" by Myhrvold, Young & Bilet (Part 1)


Renn

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This morning my son asked for home fries. Trouble was, he asked about 15 minutes before we needed to leave for school and we had only raw whole russet potatoes. I thought to myself, "What would those Modernist Cuisine people do?"

I cut a potato fairly small and mixed the pieces with a little water, then microwaved covered for 4 minutes. Got a pan screaming hot and threw them in with neutral vegetable oil, and salt. Finished with a knob of butter. Voila, very good home fries in 12 minutes.

Steven A. Shaw aka "Fat Guy"
Co-founder, Society for Culinary Arts & Letters, sshaw@egstaff.org
Proud signatory to the eG Ethics code
Director, New Media Studies, International Culinary Center (take my food-blogging course)

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Nathan

That was an interesting photo tour of your your facilities, thank you for allowing them access. I look forward to when my copy of Modernist Cuisine arrives. Several years ago, the New York Times wrote an article about you and what was contained in your kithcen at that time. It inspired and encouraged me to buy a PacoJet, which subsequently hooked me on buying many other pieces of specialized equipment! This latest gallery helps me inventory what equipment you have that I also have in my kitchen and those items I still need to add! I may skip the Okomoto, the Omax and the mosquitoes! Seriously, I am most anxious to get my copy of your book so I can get the full potential from the equipment I do have and to learn the techniques you describe. Again, thank you for what you have done.

"A cloud o' dust! Could be most anything. Even a whirling dervish.

That, gentlemen, is the whirlingest dervish of them all." - The Professionals by Richard Brooks

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I am happy to report that we've just made the complete, 60-page index to Modernist Cuisine available to everyone at http://modernistcuisine.com/index. If you share it, we'd be grateful if you share the link, rather than the document itself.

Enjoy!

Wayt Gibbs

Editor in chief, Modernist Cuisine: The Art and Science of Cooking and Modernist Cuisine at Home

The Cooking Lab, LLC

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When attempting to look at the PopSci page I just get a message that the page is not available. I can navigate the PopSci site, but not see this article. Any clues?

Peter.

For me the link worked, but you may try this one.

Very impressive. But I missed the modernist kitchen scale!

Modernist_kitchen-scale.jpg

Built 1933, resolution 1mg, maximum load 100g.

Peter F. Gruber aka Pedro

eG Ethics Signatory

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Must not like Australians, I can't get through on either link.

Annoying redirection thing to the popsci.com.au site. Drives me crazy on a regular basis. You can either use a US IP proxy service, VPN (I use Comodo Trust Connect) or try this link (the lab gallery on popsci viewed through a proxy browser): Modernist Cuisine Lab

Edited by rarerollingobject (log)
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Must not like Australians, I can't get through on either link.

Annoying redirection thing to the popsci.com.au site. Drives me crazy on a regular basis. You can either use a US IP proxy service, VPN (I use Comodo Trust Connect) or try this link (the lab gallery on popsci viewed through a proxy browser): Modernist Cuisine Lab

Thanks for that - I was able to see the impressive photos using your proxy suggestion. Just one thing - by clicking on the link in your mail I got just the proxy site - not the PopSci site. If anyone has this problem go to the proxy site first and then paste the link http://www.popsci.com/gadgets/gallery/2011-02/equipment-gallery?image=0 into the field in that page.

Can't wait for my copy of the books to arrive!

Cheers,

Peter.

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One thing that cooking with the online version has demonstrated clearly is that this massive project belongs in a good ol' book. The amount of information, the cross-referencing, and the quality and size of the images makes negotiating it on this MacBook a multitab exercise in frustration.

Chris Amirault

eG Ethics Signatory

Sir Luscious got gator belts and patty melts

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No doubt: it's great to have access to a free review copy online, but I'm glad I ordered the book. I need this thing in paper form. The five volumes frequently reference each other, to the point where I think when you're plotting out a meal you will probably want to have most of the set in front of you.

Chris Hennes
Director of Operations
chennes@egullet.org

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To convert this thing to an ebook would require rebuilding it not just digitizing it. I think it would make an excellent ebook -- some of the problems alluded to here can easily be addressed electronically -- but I can see all the reasons they went with paper. Not least of which is that there wasn't really a big ebook culture when they started the project. And the quality of photos in print is still much better, especially if you use the super-high-quality printing techniques they went with for Modernist Cuisine.

Steven A. Shaw aka "Fat Guy"
Co-founder, Society for Culinary Arts & Letters, sshaw@egstaff.org
Proud signatory to the eG Ethics code
Director, New Media Studies, International Culinary Center (take my food-blogging course)

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One thing that cooking with the online version has demonstrated clearly is that this massive project belongs in a good ol' book. The amount of information, the cross-referencing, and the quality and size of the images makes negotiating it on this MacBook a multitab exercise in frustration.

Interesting.

It seems like the ability to open multiple windows or tabs at once on a computer would make cross-referencing and viewing multiple items easier? Seems like a book where you have to flip back and forth could be more troublesome.

I am so envious that you guys get to browse the book early!

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the more I read about these books, the less I think I'm insane to order this thing and I think I calmed my wallet down, at least it's no longer screaming quite as loud :laugh:

Can't wait for the package, Amazon better pack this thing really well, I won't accept anything less than perfect delivery!

"And don't forget music - music in the kitchen is an essential ingredient!"

- Thomas Keller

Diablo Kitchen, my food blog

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the more I read about these books, the less I think I'm insane to order this thing and I think I calmed my wallet down, at least it's no longer screaming quite as loud :laugh:

Can't wait for the package, Amazon better pack this thing really well, I won't accept anything less than perfect delivery!

Amazon is pretty amazing, though, and you can return it for free as many times as you want until it's in the condition you want it. They'll even send UPS to your house to pick it up for you. I was a jerk and did it three times with my Alinea book.

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I've got some work to do here, but will be happy to provide both photos and descriptions of the book later today. Feel free to post questions here for me to tackle later.

First impressions: remember when you were standing at the edge of the Grand Canyon, thinking, "It can't possibly be this... this... BIG"?

That.

Chris Amirault

eG Ethics Signatory

Sir Luscious got gator belts and patty melts

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I've got some work to do here, but will be happy to provide both photos and descriptions of the book later today. Feel free to post questions here for me to tackle later.

First impressions: remember when you were standing at the edge of the Grand Canyon, thinking, "It can't possibly be this... this... BIG"?

That.

Chris,

That actually happened to me. I stood on the edge of the Grand Canyon and finally understood what "it took my breath away" meant. Hasn't happened to me since so I would love to re-live that with these books! I won't have my own copy but have been promised unlimited access to a friend's copy. March seems so far away. :biggrin:

Anna Nielsen aka "Anna N"

...I just let people know about something I made for supper that they might enjoy, too. That's all it is. (Nigel Slater)

"Cooking is about doing the best with what you have . . . and succeeding." John Thorne

Our 2012 (Kerry Beal and me) Blog

My 2004 eG Blog

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