Modernist Cuisine: A Photo Tour
Modernist Cuisine: The Art and Science of Cooking
"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
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Pad Thai
Myhrvold's team bisected a wok to examine what happens to pad thai as it cooks.
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Sous Vide Egg Yolks
Egg yolks cooked sous vide to different temperatures result in a range of textures.
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Golden Enoki Mushrooms
Golden enoki mushrooms are one of many ingredients pictured in their natural state.
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Beef Short Rib with Crispy Beef Salad
Sous vide beef short rib pairs with crispy beef salad and a sweet-pungent glaze.
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The Perfect Hamburger
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.