"Modernist Cuisine" by Myhrvold, Young & Bilet (Part 3)

[Anna N]

Any news on a printable index for the kitchen manual? Nathan commented to a request saying that it was a great idea but I haven't seen anything since

Thanks,

rg

Did you know that the TOC for the KM is now in PDF printable format?

[roygon]

Any news on a printable index for the kitchen manual? Nathan commented to a request saying that it was a great idea but I haven't seen anything since

Thanks,

rg

Did you know that the TOC for the KM is now in PDF printable format?

Yeah, I saw that but was hoping for an alphabetical index for the kitchen manual. If I wanted to make say Corn Bread it would be convenient to look at it under "C" rather than hunt for it in the TOC.

rg

Edited May 10, 2011 by roygon (log)

[Anna N]

Any news on a printable index for the kitchen manual? Nathan commented to a request saying that it was a great idea but I haven't seen anything since

Thanks,

rg

Did you know that the TOC for the KM is now in PDF printable format?

Yeah, I saw that but was hoping for an alphabetical index for the kitchen manual. If I wanted to make say Corn Bread it would be convenient to look at it under "C" rather than hunt for it in the TOC.

rg

Gotcha - I understand - it's just that I do a search on my computer copy of the TOC and it works great but I understand the desire for a printed copy of an index.

[AnneN]

Ruhlman is commenting about Modernist Cuisine via Twitter-"Glad I waited to purchase Modernist Cuisine (http://amzn.to/mnixl3) won't have to check its site for errata: http://nyti.ms/m7ge06"

[Chris Amirault]

Wow. I'm surprised that Ruhlman -- author of the beloved and flawed Charcuterie -- would stoop to such a tactic. My copy of his book is filled with adjustments and corrections, and I don't remember there being an errata list or second corrected edition of it or of any of his other cookbooks.

All of which, of course, have lots of errors in them, just like any book. There seems to be a belief out there that, if a cookbook author doesn't say there are errors, and if no one has found any errors in a cookbook, then a cookbook has no errors. Anyone who's been an editor or copyeditor knows that's idiotic. One would think that a cookbook author wouldn't support such a position.

[Chris Amirault]

Interesting follow-up tweet:

but huge props to Modernist Cuisine authors and its loyal fans for catching/publicizing errors—no way to catch everything 1st time in ck bk

Uh, yeah, what he said. The second time, at least.

[FoodMan]

Wow. I'm surprised that Ruhlman -- author of the beloved and flawed Charcuterie -- would stoop to such a tactic. My copy of his book is filled with adjustments and corrections, and I don't remember there being an errata list or second corrected edition of it or of any of his other cookbooks.

All of which, of course, have lots of errors in them, just like any book. There seems to be a belief out there that, if a cookbook author doesn't say there are errors, and if no one has found any errors in a cookbook, then a cookbook has no errors. Anyone who's been an editor or copyeditor knows that's idiotic. One would think that a cookbook author wouldn't support such a position.

Oh come on Chris. You are making too much of his comment. I really do not think it is such a "low blow" from him. It is simply a fair observation of a person who bought the book. If I had to wait for the second printing to get my books like so many here are, I probably would say the same thing. It's a silver lining of having to wait in a way.

[Chris Amirault]

We can, I'm sure, agree to disagree, E.

Question for the not-yet-owners of the book: has the errata publication made you more or less enthusiastic about it, or do you feel like it's not relevant to your anticipation?

[jorach]

A job interview asked me the question about when to add cream to milk to keep it as hot as possible.

If I land the job I'll consider my MC purchase completely justified, but even if I don't: thanks MC staff!

[OliverB]

I might actually sell my first printing and get the second one, "first edition" is in most cases uninteresting to me, but particular with a book I want to work with.

Yes, of course I'll be charging the collector's price

Ruhlman is trying a bit too hard to sell kitchen gadgets (a spoon with holes in it? really?) lately, but his blog still has amusing articles here and there.

It must be a bit frustrating that the most famous books he worked on are Keller's books, and nobody mentions his name. No idea how much work he actually did, I'd guess quite a bit. His comments do come across a bit snippy though, which is really not necessary... Maybe he ran out of aspirin?

[cbread]

... has the errata publication made you more or less enthusiastic about it, ...

More. I'd like to see more books offer errata info.

[Genkinaonna]

As a (not yet) purchaser of MC, I think it's great that Nathan and the rest of his crew are being so diligent about following up with errata. There's nothing more frustrating than having a recipe flop because of a typo! I opted to buy a SVS and vacuum sealer instead of MC, it was, unfortunately, an either/or deal, I didn't have the finances for both. However, I WILL get a copy for my birthday, come November. By then we'll be well into the third printing, there will be no errors, and I'll be able to order it on Amazon and get it the next day !

[Twyst]

Question for the not-yet-owners of the book: has the errata publication made you more or less enthusiastic about it, or do you feel like it's not relevant to your anticipation?

I'm still on the wait list and its a mixed bag for me. I really want to get my hands on it now, but Im also very happy that I will get a copy with many fewer errors since this is quite an investment for a set of cookbooks.

[davidkeay]

Question for the not-yet-owners of the book: has the errata publication made you more or less enthusiastic about it, or do you feel like it's not relevant to your anticipation?

I anticipate the book just as much, but not I'm not sure if I'd rather have a first edition now or wait the mysterious amount of time for the second to pop up. I didn't think this would be an issue, since it looked like I missed the first run, but my bookstore just called about an hour ago to let me know they got my copy in and it's waiting for me across town!

I have a feeling I'm going to go with the first edition now, I don't think I can resist reading it now that I've got the chance.

[rykomatsu]

Thought I would have gotten the second edition since I ordered in early April and through B&N which appeared to be problematic for some folks on here, but somehow managed to get the first edition (and half off at that ).

You guys weren't kidding when the term "amazing" was used to describe this set. The content is well written and having a science background, the concepts presented make sense...just that I never thought to associate that knowledge with cooking. Admittedly, a friend who's just interested in the "how" and not the "why" of cooking didn't find it as interesting as me. Whether this translates into me becoming a better home cook is another story altogether, but we'll see where this takes me.

[FoodMan]

Whether this translates into me becoming a better home cook is another story altogether, but we'll see where this takes me.

It will. It might be a slow and gradual change, but it sure will.

[Borgstrom]

I finally started volume 4 of Modernist Cuisine, which begins with a discussion of thickeners and viscosity. They mention non-Newtonian fluids but only give an example of shear-thinning fluids like ketchup, or fluid gels which act like solids until you stir them after which they act like liquids.

Curiously, what doesn't seem to get mentioned is my favorite non-Newtonian fluid, the classic oobleck -- a mixture of corn starch and water. Oobleck is a shear-thickening fluid meaning it behaves like a liquid when you stir it slowly, but then seizes up and behaves like a solid when you stir quickly. If you didn't play with this when you were in school (or when your kids where in school) you really have to try -- it's fun and amazing!

Anyway, this all got me to thinking about if there are any culinary applications for oobleck or other shear-thickening, non-Newtonian liquids. Wikipedia mentions two -- uncooked imitation custard and chilled caramel ice cream topping. But for modernist chefs growing bored of spherification, foams and liquid nitrogen, perhaps this could be a new avenue of exploration? Could you imagine a sauce that would behave like any other sauce on the plate, but then turn solid as soon as you bite down on it? Or a sphereified ball of the liquid which is hard when you bite it, but then collapsing into a liquid in your mouth once you release pressure. Talk about a surprise!

[HiRoller]

I've read all 48 pages of this thread, and I think I've got a first...

I ordered the set from Barnes and Noble Monday afternoon. It arrived today at my door in Florida - from Nevada. Total of three days from keying in my credit card number to unpacking.

The guys selling for big bucks on e-bay ($800+) ain't gonna like this...

[chris-s]

#1416

Lucky you.

I ordered MC a couple of months ago from Amazon Uk.

Imagine my surprise on Wednesday when I received the following email

Hello,

We regret to inform you that we have been unable to obtain the following item:

Nathan Myhrvold, Chris Young "Modernist Cuisine: The Art and Science of Cooking"

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/0982761007

Our supplier has informed us that this item is no longer available. This item has now been cancelled from your order #026-8099699-2101143 and we can confirm that you have not been charged for it.

Please accept our apologies for any disappointment or inconvenience caused.

I thought that there were 25000 second editions being printed: so how come it's suddenly unavailable and there's no copy for me.

According to the MC site it can still be ordered through Amazon US & Canada & Japan.

So why have UK customers been booted off the order list?

[nathanm]

We will investigate why you were kicked off.

So far, both Amazon (particularly outside the US) and Barnes and Noble (in the US) have had one series of embarassing gaffs after another where their automatic systems screw up and cancel orders despite them assuring us this won't happen.

[chris-s]

thanks Nathan

[Twyst]

I've read all 48 pages of this thread, and I think I've got a first...

I ordered the set from Barnes and Noble Monday afternoon. It arrived today at my door in Florida - from Nevada. Total of three days from keying in my credit card number to unpacking.

The guys selling for big bucks on e-bay ($800+) ain't gonna like this...

Hmmmm. I just looked on B&N and it says in stock ships within 24 hours. I placed an order and if it ships out in the next couple of days Im just going to cancel my amazon order. Thanks for the heads up!

[Borgstrom]

I was very fortunate to be able to attend a presentation given today by Maxime and Ryan on the making of MC to a packed house at Maker Faire in San Mateo. While the talk/slides were geared more towards people who hadn't been exposed to the book, it was nice to meet them both in person and get some insight into their perspectives on the book. It was very interesting for me to hear from Ryan some of the processes he used, both in Photoshop and in the machine shop, to get some of those iconic shots; and from Max about how the process of deconstructing / reconstructing basic ingredients with modernist approaches (e.g. the pea and the centrifuge, constructed creams) have opened whole new avenues of creativity that are just now beginning to be explored.

(sorry for the horrible quality of my cell phone photo...)

They gave the audience a special treat at the end of the talk -- MC Pistachio Gelato using a constructed cream of pistachio oil and water -- no dairy or eggs. As other's have said, it is the most concentrated pistachio flavor you can imagine in a gelato/ice cream; very, very good! Max actually demonstrated emulsifying the pistachio oil / water on stage with a rotor-stator homogenizer -- I have to get one of those! Much faster and quieter than I expected.

Thank you Max & Ryan for a great talk, and tasty gelato!

[thayes1c]

I checked out B&N after reading HiRoller's post and snagged myself a copy (With a 20% off coupon to boot!). UPS let me know that they've created a shipping label for a 46.6 lb package today. I am a little bummed that I won't be getting the prints that will come with the second edition, and that I'll have to be more vigilant about errata, but it's awful hard to wait for something this awesome.

[chris-s]

Re Cancellation of UK orders

I've now had time to check my original order on Amazon UK. It was ordered at a price of £375, before they cancelled it.

Subsequently, their page asked me to register my interest when it became available again and the price...£465.00 - around 55% more than on Amazon.com

I think I can guess why the order got cancelled: the greedy bas***ds simply wanted to up the price by 25%.

I know the MC site says the retailer sets the price and MC can't control it but giving Amazon an effective monopoly ensures they can do what they like. Perhaps, MC should appoint alternative retailers as they've done in the US.