Anything That Moves is a  fascinating book about the world of food.
593255
Dana Goodyear expands my knowledge of foods that people eat.  Goodyear teaches professional writing at the University of South California.  She is also a staff writer at the New Yorker.  I admire anyone who can make money in two jobs. I never thought that food trends could be a subject of professional writing, but Dana Goodyear changes my opinion of that.  She devotes one chapter to Jonathan Gold.  He is a food critic from Los Angeles that has actually won a Pulitzer Prize for his criticism. He has eaten bizarre foods like the ear of a pig and the penis of an ox. These foods do not sound appetizing.  He has also eaten dried beef curry.  This dish sounds pretty good to me.  I admire the career of Jonathan Gold.  I am also envious that he can eat at 300 to 500 restaurants a year.  I haven't even eaten at 300 restaurants in my life.

 Any animal that comes from the ocean is safer than  any food that comes from land.  I have always believed this. I would probably eat whale like Dana Goodyear did in Iceland.  She is a brave young woman who has tried the Filipino dish called balut. Balut is a live duckling eaten inside of a warm egg.  I admire Dana for trying this dish.  It is a food that I would definitely not eat. I learned about a new type of bean called the tonka bean. This bean smells like the vanilla bean.  It can used to make ice cream. However, it contains a substance called coumarin that causes internal bleeding.

 I am adventurous enough to eat some of the foods that Goodyear describes.  I would eat red bell peppers dipping dots.  I love to eat bell peppers.  I would try it even though it sounds unusual.  It is made with liquid nitrogen.  I would also try a caramel popcorn that is made with marijuana.  It is called caramel pot corn.  I would try it, because I think would relax my muscles and satisfy my sweet tooth.  I learned that that the cooks at Harvard University dinning hall serve horse steak.  This is a food I would try just as a different source of protein.  I learned that eating insects is a common practice. I would not try grasshopper tacos or ant eggs.  Goodyear writes about a young cook named Craig Thornton.  He has a restaurant in Los Angeles called Wolvesmouth.  I would be curious to eat his lamb dish with fennel, mushrooms and flowers. I have never even considered drinking raw milk.  Goodyear spends quite a bit of time discussing the fact that drinking raw milk can make people healthier.  Drinking unheated milk reduces rates of asthma and allergies.  This is a subject that I would like to research to get more information about these claims.  Anything That Moves is an insightful about food trends and the people in the food industry.
2720725
There's something in this book for everyone. So many facts I never knew about so many common foods are included.
3097187
Food lit is one of my more favorite genres, and I'm always interested to read more about how restaurants work.  I found 'Flash in the Pan' to be an engaging, interesting and well-written read with a great attention to detail.  I think anyone who wants to know how restaurants are put together would find a lot of value in this book.  I'm glad I read it.
898159
This interesting book examines the history of all sorts of cooking technology. And by technology, Wilson doesn't just mean high-tech. Technology can range from a simple clay bowl to a fork to a sous-vide bath. Organized by various common kitchen implements and machines like the whisk, the spoon, the stove, etc. Wilson shows how cooking has both changed and remained the same over thousands of years of human history. We learn that one reason European and Chinese food differ so much is that fuel was scarcer in China, leading them to cut up their food into small pieces and cook them quickly in a wok rather than to roast huge chunks of meat for hours over a roaring fire. Using the eggbeater as an example, Wilson argues that new technologies are not always better than old. And she makes us aware of how crucial servants were to haute cusine before the twentieth century. If you like cooking or eating, you'll enjoy this and learn a lot.
424212
diverse and fun to read, beautiful illustrations and great food from this part of the world, enjoy
1166618
This collection of essays is a buffet of scholarship on contemporary and ancient practices linking food and religion.  With both scholarly intricacy and readability, this book may be enjoyed by any person from advanced high school students through senior citizens.  Anyone interested in culture, religion, and food will find a fascinating and maybe even delicious bit of learning in this book.
1067766
A mind-map connected with the word salt might be infinite.  Mark Kurlansky has pursued a dozen branches.  He provides a global and historical portrait of food, production and trade.  The book is strongest in providing the cultural context of salt and its various uses in food.  Salt is variously associated with wealth, status, virility, health and class.  It is used as a flavoring, preservative, ingredient and catalyst.  Olives, eggs, pickles, fish, ham, cheese, ketchup, tabasco and soy sauce are served.  Salt's role with soldiers, sailors, taxes, politics and trade are covered.  Technology, chemistry, pipes, pumps, evaporators, canals, shipping, mining, oil and geology are described.

This is a quirky journey which mostly enlightens and amuses.  If you enjoy the variety and surprises of history, cultures, food and technology you'll enjoy digesting this 465 page main course.
332926
This is an unusual book.  Cookbooks abound.  Cookbooks on desserts are a dime a dozen.  Even cookbooks on ice cream related desserts are not uncommon.  However, this book is dedicated just to variations on the theme of the Knickerbocker Glory.  The author has a dual purpose in this.  Firstly this particular dessert has held a fascination for him ever since he discovered it on a trip to Dublin some years ago.  Secondly he has a wider purpose in that he explores innovation in the kitchen, demonstrating what can be done with this particular dessert to produce slight to fundamental changes with a bit of thought, as a demonstration of what the cook can accomplish in any area of their culinary endeavors.

After the intro pages, the author discusses his thoughts on innovation in the next 25 or so pages and very interesting they are too.  I am sure that many have not even thought of introducing variations to the recipes they are using, but if you are tempted to introduce a little of your own personality into what you are cooking there are plenty of practical tips and advice here.

The actual Knickerbocker Glory recipes, of which there are about 60, demonstrate a wide variation and show just what can be done with a bit of imagination.  Some of them certainly look mouth watering.  There are recipes within recipes here as many of these have an individual ice cream recipe, and we will certainly be trying some of these having recently acquired an ice cream making machine.  There are also a fair few cake recipes to provide that element of the KG.

Overall this is an interesting and unusual book, which might give anyone who is prepared to do a little more than slavishly follow a given recipe in the kitchen, food for thought.  The Knickerbocker Glory recipes are very yummy too!
1300813
A great food book for anyone remotely considering any type of restaurant operation.  If you enjoy excellent food, creating a happy atmosphere to make and sell it, and to work hard every day--this book is full of great lessons for you and your team.
Being a cook and growing up on the production side of meat and potatoes, I learned several new things.  People do not realize that one of the most pampered veggies is a potato.  It is babied from the day it is dug to the day it is sliced and fried. Fruit is vastly easier to handle than potatoes.  The story of the meat in their burgers is so good and true that I drool over their presentation.  The only better burger is if you can get prime rib trimmings and coarse grind them for yourself!
This is a book for today's food perfectionists.  The story, the advice, the recipes for home use, and the photos are exceptional.
The "adaptation" of each "Shack" to its location, neighborhood, and climate proves their dedication that goes into each place individually.  They do not do cookie cutter outlets.  They know what makes food taste great, the science behind it, and the appeal to customers that stand in line to taste and savor each bite.
1672628
This is a cool book.  Not only does it have a larger quantity of interesting recipes and ideas than I expected, but it doubles as a cultural insight book:  besides lots of food and market related pictures, it also has interspersed sections explaining a food related item and sections highlighting a condensed biography of (more or less) normal people who have created careers in the Cuban food world.

The book does highlight the fact that Cuban culture is so dispersed and by now different strains have evolved in their own way, that the book tries to capture a bit of everything.  Seeing all these recipes in one book - some known to me previously and some not - makes me realize I haven't given Cuban food enough credit in terms of variety.  A very interesting book.
4687410
If you are looking to know everything about what you eat get this book. This book is a must have for food lovers. It has how to store food, nutritional sources, Ayurveda information, Chinese Medicine, medicinal qualities and properties of foods, and much more. It is a complete and fascinating book to read.
3433488
"A Cook's Tour" by the wonderfully worldly and well-traveled Anthony Bourdain, is a book about food like no other, and it is simultaneously entertaining, exciting, and revolting. Tony travels the world in search of the perfect meal; it's an exciting quest for any chef to ponder, but along the way he comes across numerous local delicacies that can be best described as only for the strong of heart.

Although he encounters several problems with dishes from around the world (the Mexican sauted ant eggs and Scottish deep-fried haggis with curry sauce and deep fried egg stand out), the most stunning for my money are the things he eats in Asia, and especially Vietnam. I for one would not be able to eat the traditional Vietnamese breakfast of soft-boiled duck embryo complete with feathers, followed by a steaming bowl of "chao muk", a hearty soup made from ginger, sprouts, cilantro, shrimp, squid, chives, pork-blood cake, and croutons; later Tony enjoyed some braised bat ("imagine braised inner tube, sauced with engine coolant"). Even worse than that, though, is the concept of eating a still-beating cobra heart, after a very special snake disemboweling ceremony.

While Vietnam takes the proverbial cake, the book features other gastronomic nightmares from around the globe, with Japan coming in second in the contest for unusual and disturbing foodstuffs. The foodie tour of Japan started out benignly enough, with an appetizer of "amuse-gueule of hoshigaka goma-an" (dried persimmon and fried soy curd with sesame paste), but quickly progressed to things like "suppon-dofu" (a soft-shell turtle in egg pudding with green onion and turtle broth), and culminated in the classic and beloved Japanese delicacy, "natto", which Bourdain describes as "an unbelievably foul, rank, slimy, glutinous, and stringy goop of fermented soybeans". After the natto, Bourdain finished with a dish described as "mountain potato": of this he said, "I could only handle a single taste. To this day, I have no idea what it really was.... The small, dark, chewy nugget can only be described as tasting like salt-cured, sun-dried goat rectum".

Throughout the book, Bourdain maintains his wry, sarcastic sense of humor, possibly as a survival tool to get him through his next meal. He mocks a vegan potluck dinner as the "real heart of darkness", discusses fabled and exotic foods such as the unbelievably rank durian fruit, and always manages to do it while being respectful of local traditions and cultures very different from his existence in New York City. This is a great book for anyone interested in foods and cultures of the world, and I recommend it highly!
602982
Wow.  Can slow food be industrialized food?  Are they antithetical to one another?  Is quality food about the nutritional value?  The taste? The process of making it? The exclusion of artificial ingredients? The history?  How do concerns about quality or natural food integrate with ideas about feeding our planet's hungry people on a workable scale?
These are questions a reader will ponder while reading Robin Sloan's excellent novel, Sourdough.  The characters are well formed and the plot is unusual and compelling.  The story is mysterious and funny and thought provoking.  It's a great read.
(Four stars because the ending felt a bit rushed .)
2658151
If you love cooking shows like Good Eats, you'll want this book. Everything you ever want to know, wonder and even some things you never thought to question is included in this book. Every single page is packed full of all kinds of useful information. It's like they combined an amazing cookbook with a science text book to make something all new. If you're like me you'll be reading it while making something and find yourself forgetting to focus on your dish because you get so engrossed in reading the material.

And to top it off, the book even looks great. It's large, has a thick hard cover and each page is well illustrated with bold bright images. It's the kind of book that makes a good looking gift for someone who enjoys cooking.
4490516
This book is great and shows you all about food and where it came from. The book was in good condition and a great price.
1209927
I was expecting a story about a man who loves to cook and his exploits in the kitchen. What I found was a fascinating tale of man with a passion and adventures and mishaps that passion got him into. A great read for anyone interested in food.
3572720
Very interesting cookbook, if you like to explore the relationship between environment and evolution of cooking (like I do). It would take some dedication and access to ingredients to make some of the actual recipes, but it's definitely one of the most exciting cookbooks (and the only non-digital) that I have bought in the past few years.

As I live on the Pacific coast, I'd be really interested in some recipes from the Ohlone, etc.