Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat: Mastering the Elements of Good Cooking
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- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2021-05-12 08:54:23
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Samin Nosrat
- ISBN：1476753830
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Summary
A visionary new master class in cooking that distills decades of professional experience into just four simple elements， from the woman declared “America’s next great cooking teacher” by Alice Waters。
In the tradition of The Joy of Cooking and How to Cook Everything 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。 Master the use of just four elements—Salt， which enhances flavor; Fat， which delivers flavor and generates texture; Acid， which balances flavor; 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 flavor 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。
With a foreword by Michael Pollan。
In the tradition of The Joy of Cooking and How to Cook Everything 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。 Master the use of just four elements—Salt， which enhances flavor; Fat， which delivers flavor and generates texture; Acid， which balances flavor; 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 flavor 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。
With a foreword by Michael Pollan。
Reviews
Megan O’Shea
，
This is the cookbook for which I’ve been looking/waiting/wishing。 Read it front to back like I did， because even if you’re a confident cook， it’s good to be reminded that food is joyful。
Titiaan
，
This is not your typical cookbook。 It's a must-read for anyone who loves to cook and wants to get better。 Rather than providing a list of recipes， this book dives into the physics and chemistry of cooking， using a four-part framework: salt， fat， acid， and heat。 For people who've watched the Netflix show with the same title: the book is much better。 I found fascinating facts and useful tips on almost every page。 Some favorites: - Make sure you heavily salt the water for cooking vegetables。 Why？ This is not your typical cookbook。 It's a must-read for anyone who loves to cook and wants to get better。 Rather than providing a list of recipes， this book dives into the physics and chemistry of cooking， using a four-part framework: salt， fat， acid， and heat。 For people who've watched the Netflix show with the same title: the book is much better。 I found fascinating facts and useful tips on almost every page。 Some favorites: - Make sure you heavily salt the water for cooking vegetables。 Why？ Because as a rule of chemistry， beans will seek to establish a balance of minerals with the surrounding water。 If the vegetables have more minerals （including salt） than the water， they will release minerals to the water。 - When you salt a vegetable that holds a lot of water， such as an eggplant， you will notice small water droplets forming on the surface。 This is the result of [[Osmosis]]， the chemical principle that mineral balances will seek to be equal。 - Olive oil stays good only for 12-14 months。 So， when buying olive oil， look for a production date。 Focus on oils made 100% from olives from a single region， e。g。 California or Italy。 - When frying， the fat should be hot before adding foods， since the point is __not__ to use the oil to add seasoning， the point is to add texture。 So， heat the pan first。 Then， when the pan is hot， add the oil。 Then， only add the food once the oil is hot。 The oil should sizzle when you’re adding food。 - Emulsions are "temporary peace treaties between fat and water"。 Left to their own devices， they’ll try to break again。 This is why you need a third ingredient — an emulsifier。 Mustard is the emulsifier for oil and vinegar。 - Acid helps egg proteins coagulate more quickly and loosely than when only heat is applied。 This is why you add vinegar to the water when poaching eggs。 Also， a few drops of lemon juice will make scrambled eggs creamier！ 。。。more
Katherine Wahl
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I only borrowed this book from the library， but I desperately need a copy of my own and I would also like to send one to everyone I know with an interest in cooking good food。 Brilliantly laid out like only the most useful of reference materials， Salt， Fat， Acid， Heat is like no cookbook you have ever read。 Samin Nosrat obviously has a talent for teaching， and in each section there is something for readers at every level of comfort with cooking。 Whether you have hardly ever cooked your own meals I only borrowed this book from the library， but I desperately need a copy of my own and I would also like to send one to everyone I know with an interest in cooking good food。 Brilliantly laid out like only the most useful of reference materials， Salt， Fat， Acid， Heat is like no cookbook you have ever read。 Samin Nosrat obviously has a talent for teaching， and in each section there is something for readers at every level of comfort with cooking。 Whether you have hardly ever cooked your own meals， you just cook for your family like me， or you are known for your intricate dinner parties， you can learn something new to apply in the kitchen。 As I was reading I felt like secrets were being unlocked for me， things that professional chefs are taught or learn from experience， but that home cooks miss out on without the proximity to those professionals。 I can't wait to have this on my shelf and be able to reference the charming charts and illustrations by Wendy MacNaughton， or the practical advice， suggested menus， and delicious looking recipes by Chef Nosrat。 Buy this for your kid who is moving out， or for your sibling who is starting a family- this is the kind of book that keeps people fed and fed well。 Recommend for any reader who enjoys cooking and wants to know more about how to impress their friends and family 。。。more
Mariko
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Basically the cooking Bible; Salt， Fat， Acid， Heat is a total game changer for my kitchen game。 I loved the illustrations and the writing style， I loved Samin’s stories and it felt like I was hanging out in the kitchen with her while she explained to me all of the how’s and why’s。 I said multiple times throughout the book that I wish this is how science was taught！ It was really amazing to learn about chemical reactions and processes that help make our food taste better。 I’ve noticed a dramatic Basically the cooking Bible; Salt， Fat， Acid， Heat is a total game changer for my kitchen game。 I loved the illustrations and the writing style， I loved Samin’s stories and it felt like I was hanging out in the kitchen with her while she explained to me all of the how’s and why’s。 I said multiple times throughout the book that I wish this is how science was taught！ It was really amazing to learn about chemical reactions and processes that help make our food taste better。 I’ve noticed a dramatic improvement in my meals already。 Two caveats to this: a lot of what she recommends and asks for is not accessible to the average income or to many folks who do not live in areas with bountiful farmers markets。 She’s right in saying fresh Parmesan makes all the difference， and so does Maldon salt — but let’s be real， your regular person who shops at the Food Basics just doesn’t have the means to make meals like this a reality on the regular。 The second caveat is that I think this book is probably best used for someone who is already pretty comfortable in the kitchen。 A lot of the lower-star reviews I read said that it was intimidating and in many places unnecessarily lengthy for someone purporting “simplicity” in recipes， and I don’t disagree with this。 It’s certainly not a beginner cookbook and definitely floats more along the line of a well-written textbook more than anything else。 The only real critique I have of this book is that it really ignores African and South American cooking。 There are individual wedges in the pie chart of flavours for Italy and France， Spain， Germany and the UK， but the entire continent of Africa has the smallest portion with only 3 subdivisions into quite large regions？ I was honestly shocked by this and would have really loved to see the author put more care and research into flavours in other places that aren’t as dominant in the culinary world。 。。。more
Amy
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This is a wonderful cookbook for beginners and seasoned cooks too！
Darby Leiber
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Taught me so much！
Lizandri De Merwe
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It’s a truly beautiful book to own。 I love paging through it。 Feels like a treasure hunt with pretty illustrations and interesting recipes。 Really helpful and and insightful for any level of cook I believe。
Candace
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A great walkthrough on how to be a more confident cook to create flavorful dishes。。。。maybe it will help expand my littles' palette past chicken nuggets & pizza。 A great walkthrough on how to be a more confident cook to create flavorful dishes。。。。maybe it will help expand my littles' palette past chicken nuggets & pizza。 。。。more
Kuan
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Good for dialing down the essentials of cooking， how certain basic ingredients and cooking methods affects taste
Nicole Rubenstein
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This book has absolutely changed the way we cook。 Will be using as a reference guide for years to come。 I'd give almost anything to eat a meal cooked by Samin。 This book has absolutely changed the way we cook。 Will be using as a reference guide for years to come。 I'd give almost anything to eat a meal cooked by Samin。 。。。more
Anna Rose
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Her improvisational approach isn't for me but her writing style is funny and warm and her advice heartfelt Her improvisational approach isn't for me but her writing style is funny and warm and her advice heartfelt 。。。more
Joy Pouros
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This is the first cookbook I've read， so bear that in mind when it comes to my opinion。 Several people I know recommended this book， and my cooking has improved over time but I certainly don't know any "foundations" and am pretty lost without a recipe。 Cons: It took me months to read this book。 It's just so much information that also requires practical testing and just time to absorb if you aren't used to reading about all the different ingredients and ways to cook。 I will definitely need to ref This is the first cookbook I've read， so bear that in mind when it comes to my opinion。 Several people I know recommended this book， and my cooking has improved over time but I certainly don't know any "foundations" and am pretty lost without a recipe。 Cons: It took me months to read this book。 It's just so much information that also requires practical testing and just time to absorb if you aren't used to reading about all the different ingredients and ways to cook。 I will definitely need to refer back， because I could only possibly retain a fraction。 I don't love the recipes。 I don't care how much better it tastes， I'm not going to make my own mayonnaise。 There were also a lot that required ingredients I just don't keep on hand。 I may try some， but you definitely aren't buying the book for the recipes。 Samin loves cooking and appreciates the nuance of ingredients。 I find a lot of the book unattainable and not geared towards busy people who want to cook well but don't want to spend hours in the kitchen daily。 Pros: I did feel like I learned a lot from the book。 I feel more comfortable with figuring out what's missing from a meal， and there are some practices that were easy to incorporate into everyday cooking。 I hope to skim the book again in the future as I commit some practices to memory and am ready for new things to do。I enjoyed the writing style。 It was down-to-earth and personable， which made it easier to read。 All in all， I would recommend it to people wanting to cook better， and even more， understand more about cooking。 。。。more
Melanie
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This is not your traditional cookbook。 It breaks down cooking into different aspects that should be honed and gives cooking a new perspective。 The author uses her own experiences to color the specifics she covers and addresses in the book。 It was not all what I expected and I cannot wait to try to use these methods for my next recipe。
Alexandria
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This puts some of my other cookbooks to shame！ I wish I'd picked this up sooner as I've already learnt so much about choosing the best ingredients， food storage， maximising flavour and general hacks to make life easier in the kitchen。 I enjoyed cooking before， but this book has made me so excited to experiment and dedicate more time to creating great dishes。 I've since been trawling the Internet for the best extra virgin olive oil （do NOT scrimp on this） and have finally learnt how to finely dic This puts some of my other cookbooks to shame！ I wish I'd picked this up sooner as I've already learnt so much about choosing the best ingredients， food storage， maximising flavour and general hacks to make life easier in the kitchen。 I enjoyed cooking before， but this book has made me so excited to experiment and dedicate more time to creating great dishes。 I've since been trawling the Internet for the best extra virgin olive oil （do NOT scrimp on this） and have finally learnt how to finely dice an onion the right way without inducing the Poseidon adventure from my eyes！I've now read it through once and will be going back a second time to make notes！Samin is a great food writer， her passion for cooking is crystal clear and she makes it very accessible for us mere mortals who might have thought Masterchef was out of reach。 I love the humour she brings throughout。 Between this and the Netflix show of the same name， she's definitely a teacher I'd want to learn from - you'd have so much fun whipping up culinary delights！ I can't tell you what a revelation it was to add that much salt to pasta water - I feel like I've just entered a new chapter of food discovery and unchartered territory for my taste buds。The second portion of spaghetti bolognese we had this week （largely influenced by Samin's ragu recipe） had my partner looking forward to it all day。 That's high praise indeed and I can't wait to wow some more with my newfound cooking knowledge。Thank you Samin for sharing all of your best kept culinary secrets and providing essential context around food that is rarely seen amongst today's plethora of cookbooks。 Back to the kitchen I go！！ 。。。more
Alannah
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Quintessential cooking/food science textbook。 A must read for anyone who wants to understand the why behind salting pasta water and the important role acid plays。 It’s also beautifully illustrated。
Ozge
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Yemek kitabı olunmaz aslında， şöyle bir bakılır， sonra yemek yapma anlarında ilgili bölümlere detaylı bakılır， çünkü tarif odaklı olurlar genelde。 Bu kitap ise bambaşka bir kurguya sahi。 Samim Nosrat yemek pişirmeyi analitik bir düzleme çekmiş， buna uzun süre kafa yormuş， yemek pişirmeyi dört ana öğe üzerinden anlamış ve bize aktarmış。 O kadar güzel detaylar var ki。。。 Bazı uygulamaları gayri ihtiyari yaparken nedenini kitapta bulmak bana çok kıymetli geldi。 Kitabın dili de gayet akıcı， merak uya Yemek kitabı olunmaz aslında， şöyle bir bakılır， sonra yemek yapma anlarında ilgili bölümlere detaylı bakılır， çünkü tarif odaklı olurlar genelde。 Bu kitap ise bambaşka bir kurguya sahi。 Samim Nosrat yemek pişirmeyi analitik bir düzleme çekmiş， buna uzun süre kafa yormuş， yemek pişirmeyi dört ana öğe üzerinden anlamış ve bize aktarmış。 O kadar güzel detaylar var ki。。。 Bazı uygulamaları gayri ihtiyari yaparken nedenini kitapta bulmak bana çok kıymetli geldi。 Kitabın dili de gayet akıcı， merak uyandırıcı ve samimi。 Kitapta fotoğraf yerine çizim ile görselleştirilmiş alanlar var， şahane tablolar， özetler。。。 Aynı zamanda Netflix tarafından belgeselleştirildiği için biraz hafife almıştım baştan ama çok şahsına münhasır bir kitap olduğunu söylemek zorundayım。 Tarif beklentisi için doğru kitap olmaz， tarihler mevcut ama güçlü olduğu alan bence orası değil。。。 。。。more
Dhea Anecito
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Awesome novel。 I love it。 You can join in NovelStar writing contest with a theme "WEREWOLVES" Prices are amazing！https://author。starlight。ink/essay/in。。。 （PC）http://app。novelstar。top/index/index/。。。 or email any of the following editors;hardy@novelstar。topjoye@novelstar。toplena@novelstar。topapp。novelstar。top Awesome novel。 I love it。 You can join in NovelStar writing contest with a theme "WEREWOLVES" Prices are amazing！https://author。starlight。ink/essay/in。。。 （PC）http://app。novelstar。top/index/index/。。。 or email any of the following editors;hardy@novelstar。topjoye@novelstar。toplena@novelstar。topapp。novelstar。top 。。。more
Pau
，
I've been dying to own and read this book since I first heard of Samin through the Netflix show -- hard to believe but the show didn't prepare me for how lovely this book was。 A true treasure。 I've been dying to own and read this book since I first heard of Samin through the Netflix show -- hard to believe but the show didn't prepare me for how lovely this book was。 A true treasure。 。。。more
Sara Oikawa
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Really interesting cook book！ It does a great job explaining the science behind cooking and how to use the title elements in different ways。 It helped to explain some cooking techniques that I use often but didn't know the reason for。 More than half the book is recipes so it isn't a long read。 Really interesting cook book！ It does a great job explaining the science behind cooking and how to use the title elements in different ways。 It helped to explain some cooking techniques that I use often but didn't know the reason for。 More than half the book is recipes so it isn't a long read。 。。。more
Eva
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Best cookbook I’ve ever come across。 So much love in every detail， it reads like prose。 So recommended！
Monica
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Thought some of it was obvious （e。g。 how to make an overly salted dish less salty？ do I really need to read this） but for the most part it was interesting and fun to read。 It has lil illustrations throughout。 I also liked how she presented cooking dishes from a particular cuisine as picking the salt/acid/fat that is particular to that cuisine。 I do think I can use some of the knowledge from this book in everyday cooking so felt it was overall worth my time。 I kinda skipped the recipes section si Thought some of it was obvious （e。g。 how to make an overly salted dish less salty？ do I really need to read this） but for the most part it was interesting and fun to read。 It has lil illustrations throughout。 I also liked how she presented cooking dishes from a particular cuisine as picking the salt/acid/fat that is particular to that cuisine。 I do think I can use some of the knowledge from this book in everyday cooking so felt it was overall worth my time。 I kinda skipped the recipes section since I read the kindle version and my loan time is about up but maybe I will give it a go someday。 。。。more
Sheila
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Love this。。。My understanding of flavor/ingredients will never be the same。
Christine B。
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This was a nice intro to cooking。 I knew a lot of it already， but I still learned a lot and just found it pleasant to listen to。
Leigh Kramer
，
This is a must-have cookbook for every kitchen！ I first met Samin through Michael Pollan’s book Cooked， although I did not put two and two together until I watched her marvelous Netflix show。 While I have several recipes bookmarked （and have made a few before owning this）， the real reason to read this is Samin’s philosophy of cooking and her clear explanations for why things work the way they do。 I enjoy cooking and I’m pretty good at it but now I feel even more equipped。
Julia
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"Recipes do not make food taste good， people do。 Most of the time， the path to good food is simple; get the Salt， Fat & Acid right and apply the right type of heat for the right amount of time。"I enjoyed the author's knowledge and way of making cooking seem like fun。 She is a master chef and even though I think I am a decent cook， I felt somewhat disconnected to this cookbook。 The last section of this book is recipes， however， there was nothing that I felt I must try。 "Recipes do not make food taste good， people do。 Most of the time， the path to good food is simple; get the Salt， Fat & Acid right and apply the right type of heat for the right amount of time。"I enjoyed the author's knowledge and way of making cooking seem like fun。 She is a master chef and even though I think I am a decent cook， I felt somewhat disconnected to this cookbook。 The last section of this book is recipes， however， there was nothing that I felt I must try。 。。。more
Kathryn
，
This was the last food-themed book on my to-read shelf， and I can easily say that I saved the best for last。 Half food science textbook， half cookbook， this book has educated me on the science behind what we do in the kitchen and inspired me to do more in the kitchen。 Samin Nosrat's love of food is something I deeply relate to。 I enjoyed her writing style， along with the fun illustrations and charts throughout the book。 I will definitely be keeping this one close at hand on my kitchen bookshelf。 This was the last food-themed book on my to-read shelf， and I can easily say that I saved the best for last。 Half food science textbook， half cookbook， this book has educated me on the science behind what we do in the kitchen and inspired me to do more in the kitchen。 Samin Nosrat's love of food is something I deeply relate to。 I enjoyed her writing style， along with the fun illustrations and charts throughout the book。 I will definitely be keeping this one close at hand on my kitchen bookshelf。 。。。more
Florencia Giorgi
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Everything you need to know about cooking。 I still cite it to friends when we start cooking。
Rachel
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when i choose a city to settle down in so i can finally amass a cookbook collection， this is the first on the list。 mans is undoubtedly having the lads round for a cheeky 4-course dinner party when this corona madness is all over xx
Edward
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DeliciousCan't say that I've ever read a cookbook so closely before。 Have I ever read a cookbook before， come to think？ I've used 'em as references same as everybody else。 But never read one， as such。 And I can't claim that I read every recipe in here。 I skimmed all of them， although， again， to be fair， I totally skipped the Meat chapter of recipes， so， no， I didn't skim all of them。 But I honestly and thoroughly read the hundreds of pages of theory and practice before and after the recipes。 I'm DeliciousCan't say that I've ever read a cookbook so closely before。 Have I ever read a cookbook before， come to think？ I've used 'em as references same as everybody else。 But never read one， as such。 And I can't claim that I read every recipe in here。 I skimmed all of them， although， again， to be fair， I totally skipped the Meat chapter of recipes， so， no， I didn't skim all of them。 But I honestly and thoroughly read the hundreds of pages of theory and practice before and after the recipes。 I'm counting it。 。。。more
Joe Darden
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