Knowledge book
From what you know about me, it probably strikes you as odd that I’d talk about a $625 dollar product that I’ve never even seen or used before. That’s ok though because the product in question is called Modernist Cuisine [Amazon link]. It’s a book by Nathan Myhrvold, Chris Young, and Maxime Bilet. I’m excited to see a book like this because it’s a book that is all about foams and a hamburger recipe that calls for liquid nitrogen. This is the kind of stuff that really irritates folks in the slow food movement (read: Alice Waters). The book is a six-volume, 2,400-page behemoth. Their aim is to enhance “understanding of science and advances in cooking technology.” I like it. It’s a scientific look at what happens to food when it’s cooked. It investigates ways to more perfectly create dishes and flavors. Even though the book comes out in March, you can get a glimpse of what it’s all about today.
Freakonomics Radio has a great podcast that features both Nathan Myhrvold and Alice Waters. It’s an incredibly interesting podcast if you’re into food. Alice Waters even shares a story about a Big Mac.
I think the backlash against molecular gastronomy, both the movement and the phrase, have been over blown. It feels like when people encounter new ideas that’s far different from the old ideas, it’s a problem. Or if it’s too hard to reconcile new ideas with old ideas… then it’s time to get ones underwear in a bunch. At the heart of all of the scientific discovery is to find out what’s happening to food when it’s cooked and how to cook it better. In fact the podcast even teases at the following podcast where they’ll talk about ways to preserve food better. The idea is not whether a foam is superfluous on a plate. The idea is what is a foam, how does it work, and does it already play a role in every day food where you don’t see it (hint: podcast answers that question pretty well).
In the U.S., we like to treat our kids to competitive sports where everyone is a winner. We like to talk about respecting other ideas different from our own. I think all of that is bollucks. At one point, the majority of the world felt comfortable in believing the world was flat. The world progresses as it turns, even if it passes us by. Why let that happen? Why not be curious about how the world works? And then be even more curious after that? True, for $625, there’s no way in hell I’d see this book except at the library. The idea of the book just makes me happy. I feel like people who don’t like foams are people who want the world to be flat because it suits their personal tastes. I’m not sure what’s a suitable description for that. I guess in a world where all opinions are respected and all kids are winners, all opinions are fine. Even if Alice Water’s opinion basically reveals that knowledge discovery is not high on her list. It should be on yours.
Posted by Danny on February 1, 2011 at 4:58 pm
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