Summaries and Customer Reviews are supplied by Amazon.com

Average Customer Rating:

The only cookery book I consider indespensible.

Customer Rating:

A row is brewing. Your daft *****/******* of a wife/husband and you are trying to come to terms with the fact that only one of you will get to decide what to do with the Jerusalem Artichokes/ Lamb chops... McGee settles it. Ask McGee. He WILL have the answer, and then a whole lot more. I mean it people, this book could save your marriage. In point of fact, if your going to get stranded on a desert island, take this along, IT COULD SAVE YOUR LIFE! Everything you or anyone else will ever ask yourself about food. And then enough to keep you entertained (never mind well fed) for 10 years on a desert island. Mr. McGEE I hope you read this one day, you are a great man, I salute you. I'm also slightly toasted on Mulberry Gin, so forgive my grammar!

astonishingly interesting book	Customer Rating:
this book covers just about everything you were curious about, or didn't know yet that you were curious about, with respects to food, its history and its preparation.

Ultra!

Customer Rating:

This book is perfect. I wish all non-fiction books were created like this. It is technically accurate in every detail, this immediately comes across in the brilliant writing and vocabulary. It contains such a wealth of knowledge in every concise, impartial paragraph. This evening I enjoyed the section on "utensil materials." Where else can you read about so much collected knowledge in such a pleasingly presented manner. Definitely something to dip into every few days. Now I just need to find a book equally as accomplished on VW Golfs.

prefer American edition

Customer Rating:

This is a great book, with lots of useful detail that will help anyone wanting to improve their cooking skills. Yes, it contains information about the molecular structure of milk. However, in an encyclopaedic tome one can simply skip the parts that don't appeal, and instead focus on the main points (like what happens when baking a soufflé, and what this means in terms of doing things in the kitchen -- no, it won't necessarily collapse if you open the oven). A pity, then, that the British edition has a cheap, budget feel. Not only is the page layout somewhat mangled, but the spine is stiff and the book doesn't want to lie flat. In contrast the red American edition is beautiful, with antique style paper and careful layout. On the other hand, I dislike the smell of the inks used for the American edition...

The answer to all culinary questions.

Customer Rating:

An unrivalled guide to the science of cooking. Every concievable topic is covered in detail; from the manufacture of soy sauce, to descriptions of the aromatic compounds in different herbs and spices. Why does fish smell fishy, and exactly what happens to meat when it's browned? This is an almost overwhelming resource, and a must for anyone eager to develop their culinary understanding beyond the basic information found in most recipe books. I have been better able to control the food that I cook with a fraction of the information found within this amazing read. An absolute must.