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Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat

Mastering the Elements of Good Cooking

Samin Nosrat Wendy MacNaughton Michael Pollan

$65

Hardback

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English
Canongate
01 October 2017
A beautifully illustrated and visionary new masterclass in cooking that distils decades of professional experience into just four simple elements - and will set you free from recipes forever

In the tradition of The Joy of Cooking comes Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat, an ambitious new approach to cooking by a major new culinary voice. Chef and writer Samin Nosrat has taught everyone from professional chefs to middle school kids to author Michael Pollan to cook using her revolutionary, yet simple, philosophy. While cooking at Chez Panisse at the start of her career, Samin Nosrat had noticed that amid the chaos of the kitchen there were four key principles that her fellow chefs would always fall back on to make their food better: Salt, Fat, Acid and Heat.

Master the use of these four elements—Salt, which enhances flavour; Fat, which delivers flavour and generates texture; Acid, which balances flavour; and Heat, which ultimately determines the texture of food—and anything you cook will be delicious. By explaining the hows and whys of good cooking, Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat will teach and inspire a new generation of cooks how to confidently make better decisions in the kitchen and cook delicious meals with any ingredients, anywhere, at any time.

Echoing Samin’s own journey from culinary novice to award-winning chef, Salt, Fat Acid, Heat immediately bridges the gap between home and professional kitchens. With charming narrative, illustrated walkthroughs, and a lighthearted approach to kitchen science, Samin demystifies the four elements of good cooking for everyone. Refer to the canon of 100 essential recipes - and dozens of variations - to put the lessons into practice and make bright, balanced vinaigrettes, perfectly caramelized roast vegetables, tender braised meats, and light, flaky pastry doughs.

Featuring 150 illustrations and infographics that reveal an atlas to the world of flavour by renowned illustrator Wendy MacNaughton, Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat will be your compass in the kitchen. Destined to be a classic, it just might be the last cookbook you’ll ever need.

By:  
Illustrated by:   Wendy MacNaughton
Introduction by:  
Imprint:   Canongate
Country of Publication:   United Kingdom
Edition:   Main
Dimensions:   Height: 240mm,  Width: 195mm,  Spine: 42mm
Weight:   1.500kg
ISBN:   9781782112303
ISBN 10:   1782112308
Pages:   480
Publication Date:  
Audience:   General/trade ,  ELT Advanced
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Active

Samin Nosrat is a writer, chef and teacher. She learned to cook with Alice Waters at Chez Panisse after studying journalism at UC Berkeley. Inspired by her many teachers, Samin runs a series of hands-on cooking classes in the Bay Area. She is widely credited as the person who taught Michael Pollan how to cook and features in his book and TV series Cooked. Samin lives in Berkeley, California. Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat is her first book. www.saminnosrat.com Wendy Macnaughton is an illustrator and graphic journalist. She illustrated the New York Times bestseller The Essential Scratch and Sniff Guide to Becoming a Wine Expert and Lost Cat: A True Story of Love, Desperation and GPS Technology. She lives in San Francisco. www.wendymacnaughton.com

Reviews for Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat: Mastering the Elements of Good Cooking

Samin delves into the science of cooking in an easily digestible way and suddenly makes sense of the instructions you've been blindly following in the kitchen your entire life . . . Just about everything you could want to know about cooking is in this book * * Cate in the Kitchen * * Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat has made me situate cooking high-quality meals for myself as an act of radical self-care back into my life -- Melissa Laveaux * * Clash Magazine * * A guide to handling the essential elements you need to master to be an excellent cook . . . Expect to learn something * * Universe * * An unbelievably useful crash-course in cooking that broke everything down to those four essential elements * * Esquire * * A must-read for both aspiring and experienced chefs and foodies alike * * Sports Illustrated * * One of the best things about Samin Nosrat . . . is her low-key, down-to-earth and joyful approach to cooking. No matter what she's making or talking about, she makes cooking seem fun and downright accessible * * Kitchn * * A genius approach to cooking which breaks down the four essential elements to great cooking * * Esquire * * Superb . . . Samin Nosrat charmingly [breaks] cooking down into its most basic elements * * Times Literary Supplement * * In her liberating and indispensable guide to the whole subject of cooking, Samin Nosrat explains with humour and concision how all great cookery boils down to the four elements of the title * * The Week * * The lush, four-episode Netflix series inspired by this book might be the trebuchet that launched Samin Nosrat to household-name status, but it's her book that we'll still be reaching for decades from now . . . After applying Nosrat's lessons . . . I feel like I've levelled up from journeyman to master * * New Yorker * * The book set to shape significantly what we eat in the future . . . also, her accompanying Netflix documentary series is wonderful * * Daily Mail * * A must for anyone wanting to be a better cook. Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat teaches the fundamentals of cooking and dives into the four elements that make food taste great. So do yourself a favour and buy this book. I promise you won't regret it -- APRIL BLOOMFIELD Funny and beautifully illustrated, this book will change the way you cook * * BBC Good Food * * An exhaustively researched treatise on the four pillars of successful cooking. If you can train yourself to recognize the proper balance between salt, fat and acid, then apply the right kind of heat, you'll churn out simple, sophisticated fare in the spirit of Berkeley's Chez Panisse, where Nosrat started out * * New York Times * * This beautiful, approachable book captures how it should feel to cook: full of exploration, spontaneity and joy -- ALICE WATERS I have become slightly obsessed ... revolutionary in its simplicity -- YOTAM OTTOLENGHI Quite simply an essential book ... a masterpiece -- NIGELLA LAWSON


  • Winner of Fortnum & Mason 2018 (UK)
  • Winner of Fortnum & Mason Food & Drink Awards - Debut Food Book of the Year 2018 (UK)
  • Winner of Fortnum & Mason Food Book Award 2018 (UK)
  • Winner of International Association of Culinary Professionals Cookbook Awards 2018 (United States)
  • Winner of James Beard Book Award 2018 (United States)

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