Culinary Science

Mokhtar Alkhanshali is 24 and working as a doorman when he becomes fascinated with the rich history of coffee and Yemen's central place in it. He leaves San Francisco and travels deep into his ancestral home to tour terraced farms high in the country's rugged mountains. He collects samples and organizes farmers and is on the verge of success when civil war engulfs the country. Saudi bombs rain down, the US embassy closes, and Mokhtar has to find a way out of Yemen with only his hopes on his back.

Growing up in a vegetarian family, Tara Austen Weaver never thought she’d stray. But as an adult, she found herself in poor health and, after trying cures of every kind, a doctor finally ordered her to eat meat. Warily, she ventured into the butcher shop, and as the man behind the counter wrapped up her first-ever chicken, she found herself intrigued. Eventually, he dared her to cook her way through his meat counter.

The unabridged, downloadable audiobook edition of Mary Berry's autobiography, Recipe for Life, read by the actress Patricia Hodge. From Queen of Tarts to the nation's heart, Mary Berry shares her Recipe for Life. "In the words of my father, my birth caused no end of trouble..." From the moment she came into the world - two weeks early, throwing her parents' lives into disarray - Mary has gracefully but firmly done things her own way.

Magda Caraganic already is a successful chocolatier. When she inherits an old stable from her aunt, she decides to convert it into a chocolate shop and café. The best contractor to help with the conversion is the man she has argued with since she was 15. The work sparks off spirit activity marked by the appearance of a mysterious ghost cat. Magda’s beautiful Birman cat, Crystal, starts to act strangely. What can it all mean? This is a story of friendship, friendly ghosts, cats, chocolate, and true love.

Addie’s first Apple Festival is about to turn deadly... The Apple Festival kicks off the fall festival season in Stargaze, and that means colorful trees, cozy coats, apple cider, and fun! It also means an influx of tourists, including a stranger from Betty's past. It turns out the palm reader has a secret past, and it's coming back to haunt her. When a body turns up in Betty’s fortuneteller tent at the Apple Festival, she becomes the prime suspect in the killing. She claims she’s innocent, but her connection to the deceased only makes her appear more guilty. Addie is determined to ...

Words to Eat By explores the remarkable stories behind five of our most basic food words, words which reveal fascinating aspects of the evolution of the English language and our powerful associations with certain foods. Using sources that vary from Roman histories and early translations of the Bible to Julia Child's recipes and Frank Bruni's restaurant reviews, Ina Lipkowitz shows how saturated with French and Italian names the English culinary vocabulary is, "from a la carte to zabaglione."

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.

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.

Have you ever pondered... What led to the creation of the humble sandwich? Why does chocolate have that irresistible allure? What's the story behind our morning cup of coffee? Like the ever-curious, you've perhaps questioned the origins of these everyday items on your plate. Prepare yourself for an enlightening journey as you uncover your favorite foods' unexpected and perhaps slightly peculiar history.

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?

Ambrosia Bourgeois, the New Orleans Goddess of Gastronomy, uses food to seduce men in hopes of concocting Mr. Right. Paralleling Southern cuisine, each chapter captures the hearts, minds, and even the bodies of various men. Ambrosia tries to perfect her craft by using traditional recipes from her deceased grandmother. When she discovers that her meals fall short of converting each man to her calculated preference, she moves on to the next one - a total of 16. Her subjects range from a local sheriff to a Bourbon Street musician. Will she reach her goal of complete succulent seduction before the monstrous hurricane hits her city?

Egg Mastery: The Definitive Guide to Perfect Hard-Boiled Eggs" is an in-depth guide dedicated to the art and science of cooking hard-boiled eggs perfectly. This book thoroughly explores the scientific principles that influence egg cooking, from understanding protein denaturation to mastering the precise heat transfer needed for flawless results. It provides practical advice on selecting the best eggs, detailed steps for various cooking methods, and expert techniques for peeling. Additionally, the guide addresses common issues and questions, offering solutions to ensure every hard-boiled egg...