I listened to the Fresh Air (NPR) interview that Cathy linked to above - very interesting. He said that books should be arriving soon. He talked a bit about the photographs in which they literally sawed a bunch of things in half to show what was going on while cooking.

My Internship at the Modernist Cuisine Cooking Lab

My feet hurt, my back is a mess, I've got blisters from endless brunoising, and my fingertips are still burning from the liquid nitrogen. It was the best week ever!

Last week, I spent four days working as a stage (pronounced stahzje, definition: cooking intern) at the Modernist Cuisine kitchen lab in Bellevue. It was an amazing experience that deepened my respect for the talent and dedication of everyone involved with the book and its promotion.

Dinner was scheduled for Thursday night and prep began on Monday morning. There were 15 guests and 30 courses. ...

I sent the library an e-mail in April suggesting that they purchase it for their reference collection and got a personal e-mail today alerting me that they did just that!

http://www.chipublib.org/search/details/cn/8543776/

Also available at Sulzer Regional apparently.

If your local library is on the SWAN network (Oak Park's is), you can take get all volumes (I have my order in).

David Hammond wrote:If your local library is on the SWAN network (Oak Park's is), you can take get all volumes (I have my order in).

I hadn't heard of the SWAN network before, but doing a little research, it seems as if it's a network of suburban libraries that share materials--but the City of Chicago isn't part of it. So I'm assuming that means another suburban library has a copy of Modernist Cuisine.

Sadly, it seems as if Chicago residents are unable to borrow Modernist Cuisine from Harold Washington or Sulzer. I tried to place it on hold online and received a message telling me: "Hold Action Failed. Your attempt to place a hold on this item was unsuccessful. Please visit one of our library locations for assistance." I'm out of town right now, but next time I'm at my local branch, I'll ask if there's any way to check it out.

chgoeditor wrote:Sadly, it seems as if Chicago residents are unable to borrow Modernist Cuisine from Harold Washington or Sulzer. I tried to place it on hold online and received a message telling me: "Hold Action Failed. Your attempt to place a hold on this item was unsuccessful. Please visit one of our library locations for assistance." I'm out of town right now, but next time I'm at my local branch, I'll ask if there's any way to check it out.

It's being listed as an "Adult Reference" book. As such I din't believe there is any way you can (legally) take it out of the library.




Sundays are for slumming...

chgoeditor wrote:

David Hammond wrote:If your local library is on the SWAN network (Oak Park's is), you can take get all volumes (I have my order in).

I hadn't heard of the SWAN network before, but doing a little research, it seems as if it's a network of suburban libraries that share materials--but the City of Chicago isn't part of it. So I'm assuming that means another suburban library has a copy of Modernist Cuisine.

That's correct.

I should buy it via my Kindle ap on my phone. But I suspect something might be lost in translation...

I don't think a Kindle version is available, is it?

Darren72 wrote:I don't think a Kindle version is available, is it?

There have been many hopes for an electronic version of MC, but it doesn't appear likely anytime in the near future. One reason is that NM wants the full beauty of the images to be retained, and no electronic device can do that reliably at present.

It would be swell to see at least the Kitchen Manual, which is a summary of all the recipes, in a digital form. Again, not likely in the near future. The MC team seems to have its hands pretty full, and doing a digital publication is just one thing too many, it seems.

And besides, if they get sidetracked, they may never start researching baking.

Darren72 wrote:I don't think a Kindle version is available, is it?

Myhrvold was interviewed by Dave Arnold on his "Cooking Issues" web-cast last week and this question came up. Basically, he said that pdf versions of the books do exist (that's how they sent them to the printers in China) but they aren't particularly usable since you have to navigate around all the pictures and graphs. They are considering making an interactive version at sometime in the future but it will require an enormous amount of work in order to do it properly so don't hold your breath just yet. And it probably wont be for the Kindle since he wants to preserve the color photography. (and possibly add video?)

I just watched a TEDTalk by Nathan Myhrvold, filmed in March of 2011. The TED description states, "Cookbook author (and geek) Nathan Myhrvold talks about his magisterial work, "Modernist Cuisine" -- and shares the secret of its cool photographic illustrations, which show cross-sections of food in the very act of being cooked." Not the most interesting TEDTalk I've seen (that's a high bar to clear), but interesting to hear some of the philosophy and technique behind the aesthetic of the book.

http://www.ted.com/talks/nathan_myhrvold_cut_your_food_in_half.html About 10 minutes long.

(My apologies if this has been posted elsewhere.)

Hi,

Walked into the kitchen halfway through this NOVA program from October, 2012: Can I Eat That?

What are the secrets behind your favorite foods? Why are some treats, like chocolate-chip cookies, delectable, while others, like cookies made with mealworms, disgusting? You might think you understand what makes something sweet, salty, or bitter, but David Pogue gets a taste of a much more complicated truth, as he ventures into labs and kitchens where everything from apple pie to Thanksgiving turkey to juicy grasshoppers is diced, sliced, dissected, and put under the microscope. If scientists can uncover exactly what's behind the mouth-watering flavors and textures we take for granted every day, could they help us enjoy our food more—without packing on the pounds?

There is also an extended segment on Nathan Myhrvold's Modernist Cuisine laboratory and book project.

They commented on Modernist Cuisine - Home, unlike the larger tome, has different recipes they felt people could achieve in a home kitchen.

Regards,

Hi,

My Dad is reading Modernist Cuisine. He was surprised how Chicago is well represented in restaurants featuring molecular gastronomy. I rattled off the restaurants and chefs involved. I passed that test.

Dad seems quite intrigued with sous vide. We were watching Herbert Keller make turkey sausage using plastic wrap to roll, shape and simmer the sausage. Dad was hoping it was a demonstration of sous vide, but alas it wasn't.

Top ten molecular gastronomy restaurants in the US with Moto #1 and Alinea #5.

Regards,

https://www.inkling.com/modernistcuisine/

moderator edit: the linked site describes an app / digital version of the books.