A new five-volume, 2,400-page cookbook on molecular gastronomy is sure to raise a few eyebrows not just because of its hefty size but also it's listed price: $625 US.
Modernist Cuisine: The Art and Science of Cooking is the brainchild of three noted chefs, one of which is billionaire Nathan Myhrvold, who was once the chief technology officer at Microsoft but has since turned his attention to inventions as well as being a chef.
In the mid 2000's, he popularized the "sous-vide" cooking method that uses vacuum-sealed plastic bags to cook food in warm water.
An example of his unorthodox cooking techniques include using a dog hair brush to poke holes in a piece of duck breast to get the fat out and then putting the meat on dry ice to prevent overcooking while being seared.
Chefs Chris Young and Maxime Bilet are also listed as authors.
The book, slated for a Dec. 1 release, includes chapters on food safety, traditional cooking techniques, cooking with microwaves, making foams and cryogenic freezing. The recipes, on the other hand, sound less alien with dishes like mushroom swiss burger, braised short ribs, fish and chips and onion tart.
On the book's website, is says the price is so high due to the high quality of paper used as well as excellent printing.
"That level of quality makes it costly to produce. We set out to build a very high quality book that we could be proud of, and we hope that other people will agree that it is a good value for the price," the website says.
Modernist Cuisine has a list price of $625, though Amazon U.S. has slashed $200 off for pre-orders.
http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/WeirdNews/2010/08/08/14959841.html
Modernist Cuisine: The Art and Science of Cooking is the brainchild of three noted chefs, one of which is billionaire Nathan Myhrvold, who was once the chief technology officer at Microsoft but has since turned his attention to inventions as well as being a chef.
In the mid 2000's, he popularized the "sous-vide" cooking method that uses vacuum-sealed plastic bags to cook food in warm water.
An example of his unorthodox cooking techniques include using a dog hair brush to poke holes in a piece of duck breast to get the fat out and then putting the meat on dry ice to prevent overcooking while being seared.
Chefs Chris Young and Maxime Bilet are also listed as authors.
The book, slated for a Dec. 1 release, includes chapters on food safety, traditional cooking techniques, cooking with microwaves, making foams and cryogenic freezing. The recipes, on the other hand, sound less alien with dishes like mushroom swiss burger, braised short ribs, fish and chips and onion tart.
On the book's website, is says the price is so high due to the high quality of paper used as well as excellent printing.
"That level of quality makes it costly to produce. We set out to build a very high quality book that we could be proud of, and we hope that other people will agree that it is a good value for the price," the website says.
Modernist Cuisine has a list price of $625, though Amazon U.S. has slashed $200 off for pre-orders.
http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/WeirdNews/2010/08/08/14959841.html