Culinary Science

Across America, the pure love and popularity of barbecue cookery have gone through the roof. Prepared in one regional style or another, in the South and beyond, barbecue is one of the nation's most distinctive culinary arts. And people aren't just eating it; they're also reading books and articles and watching TV shows about it. But why is it, asks Adrian Miller - admitted 'cuehead and longtime certified barbecue judge - that in today's barbecue culture, African Americans don't get much love?

Winner of the James Beard Award for Literary Writing "Engrossing...hard to put down." — The New York Times Book Review “Frostbite is a perfectly executed cold fusion of science, history, and literary verve . . . as a fellow nonfiction writer, I bow down. This is how it's done.” — Mary...

While most other divers are content to wait out the situation in the safe rooms, Jake and the girls are still trying to find answers as they continue to progress further into the dungeon’s depths, but trouble keeps finding them. Previously unseen and drastically overpowered monsters continue to appear, to the point where even the most battle-hardened dungeon divers need their assistance. There’s also the matter of a certain monster girl with an axe to grind against Jake specifically, but will he be able to survive long enough to see her again?

It’s only my first day as a professional dungeon diver after quitting my old job, and I’m already off to a rough start. My assigned classes are nothing like I’d hoped, and I’ve been sent to face monsters with little more than an empty spellbook and a seemingly indestructible frying pan. But it’s not all bad. There’s a gorgeous swashbuckling catgirl and a stunning gun-crazy half-elf who both have my back. We’re going to need to work together more than ever now that all the dungeon exits have been closed off, trapping us underground with hordes of vicious creatures.

Focusing on contemporary practices, The Culinary Imagination traces the social, aesthetic, and political history of food from myth to modernity, from ancient sources to our current wave of food mania. What does it mean to transform raw stuff into cooked dishes, which then become part of our own bodies; to savor festive meals yet resolve to renounce gluttony; to act as predators where in another life we might have become prey?

America is in the midst of a meat zeitgeist. Butchers have emerged as the rock stars of the culinary world, and cozy gastropubs serving up pork belly, lamb burgers, and sweetbreads rule the restaurant scene. If butchers are our new rock stars, then Berlin Reed is their front man. Through the lens of Berlin's personal story, The Ethical Butcher educates listeners about how they can improve the meat industry by participating in it.

In this entertaining, informative, and thoroughly unconventional wine guide, award-winning sommelier, winemaker, and wine educator André Mack presents listeners with the 99 bottles that have most impacted his life. Instead of just pairing wines with foods, Mack pairs practical information with personal stories, offering up recommendations alongside reflections on being one of the only African-Americans to ever work at the top level of the American wine industry. The 99 bottles range from highly accessible commercial wines to the most rarefied Bordeaux....

The autumn equinox is here, and Caitlyn Le Fey is excited by the upcoming masquerade ball to celebrate the festival of Mabon. Not only is it a chance to dress up in glamorous costumes, but - with the Widow Mags catering - the villagers might finally put their prejudices aside and appreciate the delicious treats from her grandmother's chocolate shop. But on the night of the ball, Caitlyn barely has time to sample the decadent caramel fountain, or help her old vampire uncle search for his missing fangs, before a guest is brutally murdered.

‘A very enjoyable book that brilliantly blends science, insight and passion’ TRISTAN GOOLEY The secret world of fungi is another kingdom. They do things differently there. Diverse beyond our wildest imaginations, fungi don’t obey rules. They pop up unbidden and often dressed in curious...

For years, there has been no doubt that widespread consumption of meat is both environmentally destructive and morally dubious. A growing chorus of scientists, health experts, and activists champion the benefits of a plant-based diet. Nevertheless, change has been slow to arrive, and the chasm between our appetites and our collective well-being seems impossibly vast. We know we must transition to a more plant-based world. But what would such a world look like, and how do we realistically get there? One group of people has been grappling with this question for decades: vegans.

Finalist for the Washington State Book Award From the award-winning author of The Mushroom Hunters comes the story of an iconic fish, perhaps the last great wild food: salmon. For some, a salmon evokes the distant wild, thrashing in the jaws of a hungry grizzly bear on TV. For others...

What can beer teach us about biology, history, and the natural world? From ancient Mesopotamian fermentation practices to the resurgent American craft brewery, authors Rob DeSalle and Ian Tattersall peruse the historical record and traverse the globe for engaging and often surprising stories about beer. They explain how we came to drink beer, what ingredients combine to give beers their distinctive flavors, how beer's chemistry works at the molecular level, and how various societies have regulated the production and consumption of beer. 

In this remarkable culinary biography, Rae Katherine Eighmey presents Benjamin Franklin's experimentation with food throughout his life. At age 16, he began dabbling in vegetarianism. In his early 20s, citing the health benefits of water over alcohol, he convinced his printing press colleagues to abandon their traditional breakfast of beer and bread for "water gruel", a kind of porridge he enjoyed. Franklin is known for his scientific discoveries, including electricity and the lightning rod, and his curiosity and logical mind extended to the kitchen.

Embark on a tantalising journey into the weird and wonderful world of fermentation. Dr Johnny Drain has spent his career exploring how fermentation has shaped the bodies we inhabit, the foods we eat and the world we live in. From making live yoghurt in his grandma’s kitchen, to fermenting...

"Epic and engrossing." —The New York Times Book Review From the #1 New York Times bestselling author and pioneering journalist, an expansive look at how history has been shaped by humanity’s appetite for food, farmland, and the money behind it all—and how a better future is within reach...