Modernist Cuisine: A Photo Tour

"I outdid myself," says Nathan Myhrvold, the author of Modernist Cuisine: The Art and Science of Cooking, his exhaustive 2,438-page, six-volume cookbook. That's quite a statement coming from Microsoft's former chief technology officer, who researched cosmology with Stephen Hawking and writes scholarly paleontology articles almost as a hobby. $377; amazon.com

Myhrvold's team bisected a wok to examine what happens to pad thai as it cooks.

Egg yolks cooked sous vide to different temperatures result in a range of textures.

Golden enoki mushrooms are one of many ingredients pictured in their natural state.

Sous vide beef short rib pairs with crispy beef salad and a sweet-pungent glaze.

Myhrvold considered every component to come up with his modernist version:

• Tender hamburgerbun, made from scratch and toasted in beef suet.
• Hamburgerglaze of suet, pureed tomato confit, beef stock and smoked salt.
• Maitakemushroom, sautéed in beef suet.
• Romainelettuce infused sous vide with liquid hickory smoke.
• Vacuum-compressed heirloomtomato.
• Cheese slice made from aged Emmental, Comté and wheat ale.
• Short ribpatty ground to vertically align the grain.
• Cremini mushroomketchup with honey, horseradish, fish sauce, ginger and allspice.