Kitchen Alchemy

Kitchen AlchemyChefs and food writers have adopted the commonplace of comparing cooking to science. Authors like Alton Brown and Harold McGee defend the view that flavor is a chemical event, and must be studied as such. Kitchen Alchemy (KA) swims against this hegemonic current to recall a time before modern chemistry transposed its atomic worldview on food. Part theory, part cookbook, part manifesto: KA calls on professional and amateur cooks alike to reimagine the

Chefs and food writers have adopted the commonplace of comparing cooking to science. Authors like Alton Brown and Harold McGee defend the view that flavor is a chemical event, and must be studied as such. Kitchen Alchemy (KA) swims against this hegemonic current to recall a time before modern chemistry transposed its atomic worldview on food. Part theory, part cookbook, part manifesto: KA calls on professional and amateur cooks alike to reimagine the practice of cooking, and it teaches them how! With original recipes, KA showcases essential cooking techniques divided into the three alchemical phases of preparation, explication, and transformation. As the first and only theory-cookbook ever written, KA illustrates and invites the reader to participate in the everyday alchemy of the kitchen.