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.
About the Author
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.
Industry Reviews
Quite simply an essential book ... a masterpiece -- NIGELLA LAWSON
I have become slightly obsessed ... revolutionary in its simplicity -- YOTAM OTTOLENGHI
This beautiful, approachable book captures how it should feel to cook: full of exploration, spontaneity and joy -- ALICE WATERS
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 * *
Funny and beautifully illustrated, this book will change the way you cook * * BBC Good Food * *
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
The book set to shape significantly what we eat in the future . . . also, her accompanying Netflix documentary series is wonderful * * Daily Mail * *
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 * *
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 * *
Superb . . . Samin Nosrat charmingly [breaks] cooking down into its most basic elements * * Times Literary Supplement * *
A genius approach to cooking which breaks down the four essential elements to great cooking * * Esquire * *
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 must-read for both aspiring and experienced chefs and foodies alike * * Sports Illustrated * *
A guide to handling the essential elements you need to master to be an excellent cook . . . Expect to learn something * * Universe * *
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 * *
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 * *
