A dramatic title I realize, but hang with me.
I was tooling around the Sur La Table on Travis yesterday, sleuthing out goods for an upcoming story, when I stumbled upon the massive, six-volume, Lucite box encased awesomeness that is Modernist Cuisine: The Art and Science of Cooking.
No matter that I have zero interest in molecular gastronomy and therefore have no intention of actually cooking anything from the collection’s 2,438(!) pages. Who cares that I’m not the least bit intrigued by the promise of owning, “the most comprehensive guide yet published on cooking sous vide, including the best options for water baths, packaging materials, and sealing equipment; cooking strategies; and troubleshooting tips“?
And we can just disregard the small issue of the $625 price tag, ok?
Friends, I. want. these. books. (And the Lucite box they’re housed in.) Bad.
I want them for their endless pages filled with artful, gorgeous food photography. I want them for their ability to make me feel like an über-modern, cutting-edge foodie just by their potential proximity to my earthy, well-worn, slightly hippie Chez Panisse cookbooks. I want them because the covers are insanely cool. (I’m not afraid to admit it…I sometimes buy books solely for their covers.)
Did I mention that they come in a Lucite box?
5 comments
If you really want to be impressed, read the resume of the lead author Nathan Myhrvold, a real modern Renaissance man. Unfortunately, he’s also behind some nasty tech patent silliness, but that doesn’t make him less impressive.
Randy — just read Myhrvold’s resume and you’re right…holy cow.
He’s way more impressive than that Lucite box!
You can get it for low. low price of $455 from Amazon.
I’ll probably wait for the baking and pastry volumes:
http://blogs.wsj.com/speakeasy/2012/05/01/the-450-cookbook-is-going-strong/?mod=google_news_blog
Eventually there will be a set at the Half Price Books mothership on Northwest Highway.
amy — that’s what I’m banking on!