The Bible is to Christianity as On Food And Cooking is to Cooking. This is non-negotiable algebra. This book is not a mere cookbook in all actuality it offers very few recipes within its 900 pages. The main purpose of On Food and Cooking is to explain food. Explain how food works, and how the ingredients behave when you change certain properties. In many ways, On Food and Cooking is a chemistry book focused on food and written for chefs.

For example if you look up the word “honey” in this book, there will be a portion of a chapter devoted to this ingredient. Here is what it covers.

• The history of honey, starting in pre-historic times
• The symbolism behind honey
• Ancient uses of honey
• About honey bees
• A recipe from 1699 on how to make honey wine
• How honey is made
• How honey is gathered
• About bees and bee hives
• The chemical composition of honey
• How honey is processed
• Culinary uses of honey

You can look up almost any ingredient you have ever thought of and get as just a comprehensive answer as the honey example.

Sometimes the book does get a little too detailed when it comes to chemistry. Often times you will find pages of chemical models and explanations of proteins, peptides, and fatty acids. However, the value of this book comes in the form of reference. If you have a question about food, no matter how odd, chances are that Harold McGee answered it in On Food and Cooking.

On Food and Cooking, by Harold McGee - Amazon.com Link