Fire, water, air, earth—our most trusted food expert recounts the story of his culinary education
In Cooked,
Michael Pollan explores the previously uncharted territory of his own
kitchen. Here, he discovers the enduring power of the four classical
elements—fire, water, air, and earth—to transform the stuff of nature
into delicious things to eat and drink. Apprenticing himself to a
succession of culinary masters, Pollan learns how to grill with fire,
cook with liquid, bake bread, and ferment everything from cheese to
beer. In the course of his journey, he discovers that the cook occupies a
special place in the world, standing squarely between nature and
culture. Both realms are transformed by cooking, and so, in the process,
is the cook.
Each section of Cooked
tracks Pollan’s effort to master a single classic recipe using one of
the four elements. A North Carolina barbecue pit master tutors him in
the primal magic of fire; a Chez Panisse–trained cook schools him in the
art of braising; a celebrated baker teaches him how air transforms
grain and water into a fragrant loaf of bread; and finally, several
mad-genius “fermentos” (a tribe that includes brewers, cheese makers,
and all kinds of picklers) reveal how fungi and bacteria can perform the
most amazing alchemies of all. The reader learns alongside Pollan, but
the lessons move beyond the practical to become an investigation of how
cooking involves us in a web of social and ecological relationships:
with plants and animals, the soil, farmers, our history and culture,
and, of course, the people our cooking nourishes and delights. Cooking,
above all, connects us.
The effects of not cooking are
similarly far reaching. Relying upon corporations to process our food
means we consume huge quantities of fat, sugar, and salt; disrupt an
essential link to the natural world; and weaken our relationships with
family and friends. In fact, Cooked argues, taking back control
of cooking may be the single most important step anyone can take to help
make the American food system healthier and more sustainable.
Reclaiming cooking as an act of enjoyment and self-reliance, learning to
perform the magic of these everyday transformations, opens the door to a
more nourishing life. -- Publisher Marketing
