Keys to Good Cooking

Not a square inch of space was wasted in the production of Keys to Good Cooking: A Guide to Making the Best of Foods and Recipes by Harold McGee. Right on the jacket cover are the chapter headings and the endpapers are packed with invaluable information such conversion charts, target temperatures, substitutions, and often used formulas.

McGee is an authority on the science of cooking and is also the author of On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen and a column for the New York Times, "The Curious Cook".

The above mentioned chapters cover basic material such as kitchen tools; handling food safely; eggs; nuts and oil seeds; coffee and tea; and sauces, stocks and soups to name just a few of the 24 chapters. The material is presented crisply and thoroughly. There is always Bittman and Rombauer and The Silver Palate, but this volume just seems more accessible and informative. It makes a great gift for newlyweds setting up house; for the young grad starting out on his/her own; or for any cook whose working library lacks a volume with just enough chemistry to keep it really interesting.