Interested in an introductory book to culinary arts and sciences

[dpcalder]

Any recommendations or standards in the field? I'm trying to find some literature on food science and preparation in general, how to prepare food, what to mix with what, what not to mix with what, etc. Any suggestions? I'm basically just a n00b trying to learn about the field.

[gfweb]

Big topic and great questions. I'm aware of no one book that fits your bill.

Tom Collicchio's "Think like a chef" is worthwhile. Likewise James Beard's "theory and practice of cooking", Bittman's "How to cook everything", & CIAs texts all address parts of your question.

I guess if there was one book, it would be Bittman.

[Porthos]

Chef on Fire by Joseph Carey. Doesn't cover everything you are asking for but was very useful to me.

[Keith_W]

The standard recommendation would be Harold McGee's On Food and Cooking.

[Lisa Shock]

Modernist Cuisine is very good for learning the science of foods and cooking as well as some food history.

There's no one all-encompassing book on cooking everything because of the differences in the major world cuisines. Julia Childs' Mastering the Art of French Cooking covers the basics of French cooking. (Professional Cooking, the Cordon Bleu's textbook, would be a good next step for French cuisine basics) There are other basic tomes for Chinese, Italian, etc.