My favorite food author does it again - exploring more varieties of food and cooking while testing - in his mind - the theory that cooking is responsible for the evolution of humans and human culture. He begins with the classicist Fire, water, air, earth and sets out to see those elements through a variety of cooking lessons that he gets from experts in the field.
The book begins with barbecuing a big through southern barbecue lessons. As always he apprentices with experts and we see through Pollan both the cook and the cooking. A North Carolina barbecue pit master teaches us to grill, a Chez-Panisse cooks teachs braising, an eccentric baker helps us understand how air enters the bread and the development of sour dough, while a strange breed of "fermentos" give insight into cheese, pickles, sauerkraut, and beer.
The lessons help us learn biology of yeasts and microbes, the living matters that become our living matter. Soil, cooking, basic ingredients and the time to nurture the food are a welcome contrast to quick, fat, sugar, salt of processed, quick and easy foods.
No comments:
Post a Comment