Modernist Cooking Made Easy: Getting Started: An Introduction to the Techniques, Ingredients and Recipes of Molecular Gastronomy

I've been interested in applying new and interesting techniques to my cooking for some time. Although I have a copy of "Modernist Cuisine at Home" and highly recommend it, I was excited to see that Jason has done this book. I have been a devotee of his for the really phenomenal work that he as done in the application of sous vide techniques. This book definitely does not disappoint. It is really a clear, concise instruction manual that allows you to explore some pretty neat techniques without having to invest in a lot of expensive equipment and ingredients. What I particularly like about this volume is that the recipes are more or less templates that can be easily used to develop your own dishes.He gives a really nice overview of modernist cooking that defines it, provides a high level view of the basic principles, and discusses the equipment that you really need and that you probably really want, but can do without.He has well-written sections about a number of newer cooking techniques divided into emulsification, gelling, foams, low temperature cooking, spherification and thickening. Each is defined and there is an explanation of how the process works, the type of equipment and ingredients used in each, and then some representative recipes that show you how you might apply the technique.There is a very useful section of the book that discusses a number of newer ingredients and how they work and how you might use them. Its a very helpful part of the book that you can refer to quickly when you are cooking and forget the proper ration of an ingredient.There is also a helpful section that gives sources for ingredients (which used to be pretty hard to find in quantities for the home cook, but now are readily available from the sources that he lists).I highly recommend that you get a copy if you are interested in expanding your cooking technique repertoire. I know that I refer to mine frequently.

We eat with our eyes first! Before we ever even put that initial, delectable bite in our mouths we take our meal in visually. The more beautiful the food, the more apt we are to enjoy it as a fully satisfying dinning experience. Why then would anyone produce any recipe without an accompanying image? Not only are there very few photographs in this book, those that are present are in grayscale. In addition, they appear slightly out of focus due to the irritatingly cheap paper used to print. There are a few decent explanations of process throughout the book but most are rather brief and general. And the recipes themselves are rather uninspiring, particularly in that the author relies far too heavily on the use of Xanthan Gum (Using Xanthan to thicken a curry sauce isn't inspired "modernist cooking." It's simply lazy.) The whole thing comes off as a text book one might be made to buy for their "Intro to Cooking Theories" class at a second rate college. In short, I'm disappointed.

I am happy there are people out there writing books like this so I can experiment in my kitchen without having to invest in the Modernist Cuisine books. Jason has done a good Job creating a thorough reference and giving enough detail that someone can try a lot of new techniques. No beautiful pictures, but for the cost savings, I can live without them.I have the kindle edition so there are some minor formatting hijinks but overall I think it is fine.I use this book as a reference and to provide guidelines as I try to create my own recipes. Much of what he writes and most of the recipes can be used as a template for creating your own versions and dishes. Its very useful for this purpose.I think it would be too boring to read straight through, but I bought it as a reference so I never planned to read it cover to cover anyway.This book is a Good Value for the money for a cook interested in trying modernist techniques.-JP

I'm enjoying learning from this book. It is clear and well written.However, there are zero, zip, NONE, color pictures!This is, in effect, a book involving food presentation. To have it all in black and white is a very poorly thought out decision.

I am a cookbook author, and it has been a few years (ahem) since I went to culinary school. I was searching for a book with the basics of modernist cooking. I found the other books (especially the famous ones, which I dutifully bought) to be overwhelming. But this one is just right, and, very importantly, easy to work with IN the kitchen. It has a good amount of recipes that clearly explain why a dish is using the required ingredients for the desired effect. The glossary in the back is invaluable. I am thankful that they used black and white photos to keep the costs down, and there is a full gallery of color images from the book at modernistcookingmadeeasy.com. If you are a culinary teacher working in the modernist style, I couldn't think of a better textbook. I admit that I haven't cooked from it yet (and that I hate amazon cookbook reviews that neglect to do so), but I learned so much just flipping through the book, I couldn't keep quiet.

This seemed to be the best, most economical choice when I was looking for something that had understandable mixes and also used veggies in the recipes. I'm not really interested in sous vide right now, but I do have a food sealer, so my husband might like the idea of sous vide cooking. I don't mind buying some of the ingredients required for the recipes, as long as they are edible and safe, so I look forward to "playing with my food" and eating it, too. The grandkids should love it. It's an easy enough read, although it does have a lot of terms that will take some getting used to, and I would have appreciated an accompanying measure in ounces next to the metrics, although some are probably too small to figure in ounces.

This book covers the rudiments of molecular cooking and, in fairness, its title is "Getting Started". Having said that it appears to be made with an amateur John Bull printing kit. The photographs are in black in white with a minimum contrast which makes them close to useless in conveying the required visual information to the user. The chemistry is well set out, but is the basic stuff. Very few hints or tips to limit the chances of failure. Altogether this book is useful, but is it worth the money, well...… This is all the more frustrating that Jason Logsdon is clearly a serious expert. Just google his other contributions. Come on Jason! let us see you shine.

Just scratched the surface of this book and its been quite helpful. The recipes are a great springboard and the breakdown of ingredients and weights and measures has been invaluable.I was a little disappointed by the b & w photo's though as the only colour plates is the front cover.Nevertheless a worthwhile investment and it is exactly what it says an introduction to molecular gastronomy.

logsdon has done a nice job overall of introducing these techniques to newcomers to so-called modernist cooking techniques. the one problem i have with this author -- and many others from the u.s. -- is the use of american measurements. get with it and start using metrics or at least offer them alongside the american ones. it's a pain having to go and translate these F temps to C at every turn.

A good introduction to the subject, lots of helpfull info, but the photos are a let down, all in black and white so you cant really see the food fully, would of liked full colour photos, hence the 3 stars

Excellent book of introduction to the several modern cooking techniques. Good recipes as examples of these techniques. Too bad the photos are not of best quality and in color.