"Bad Food Bible: How and Why to Eat Sinfully" by Aaron Carroll MD

Publisher:Boston : Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2017.
ISBN: 9780544952560
Characteristics: xxxiv, 234 pages :,illustrations

The title of this book is something of a misnomer, as there are really no such thing as bad foods. However as everybody pretty much in the world is aware there are hundreds of books, websites, articles, and who knows at else that love to give you advice on things that are bad for you. Or at least are supposedly bad for you based on their convoluted idea of what science is.

Dr. Carroll takes a totally different approach in that he examines the science behind nutrition. I say a different approach because a lot of books, websites etc. have nothing to base the claims and recommendations they make to consumers, and Dr. Carroll tells it like it is.

In this book he deals with topics such as butter, meat, eggs, salt, gluten, GMO's, alcohol, coffee, diet soda, MSG, and non-organic foods. He explains these topics very well and anybody who is even slightly concerned about any of these subjects, will I'm sure have their eyes opened wide.

Having seen a few nutritionists in the years previous to this I can definitely understand where he's coming from in the way he presents his material. Pretty much every nutritionist I've seen has given me a different story. I'm not sure if this is because they just simply are not keeping up with literature, but it is extremely frustrating and it makes it seem that they don't know what they're talking about.

In any case--to step down off my soapbox--I would highly recommend this book to anyone who is interested in nutrition and the controversies surrounding it.

"Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat: Mastering the Elements of Good Cooking" by Samin Nosrat

Publisher:New York : Simon & Schuster, 2017.

Edition:First Simon & Schuster hardcover edition.

Copyright Date:©2017

ISBN: 9781476753836 

Characteristics: 469 pages :,colour illustrations

"Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat" is the ultimate cookbook for those who have been cooking for years and want to know how to improve their end product, as well as for those who are just curious why things do what they do in the kitchen. It is also be a great resource for those just starting out, as it takes you from the very basics by telling you what to do, and what to expect when you do it.

The author gives great insights into her experiences in various kitchens by describing what she learned, and what differences it made to her food, but also tells where she made mistakes, why she did it that way, and what she learned from these mistakes.

Chef Nosrat goes into great detail with regard to how salt, fat, acid and finally heat can be used in conjunction with each other as well as how they can be deleterious to each other when combined incorrectly.

This is a book that should be on every cooks shelf, and is one that definitely needs to be part of the curriculum in any decent cooking school.