Modernist cuisine at home

What Hacker News says

1. D-MachineJan 2026
   SeriousEats is great most of the time, and if you can "acquire" copies of any of the Modernist series (Modernist Cuisine, Modernist Cuisine at Home, Modernist Bread, Modernist Pizza), those are all done by mass with baker's percentages.
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2. josephmosbyFeb 2025
   I have used Modernist Cuisine at Home for years. The techniques are a little more approachable for the home chef, and the results are A+.

   And if science-infused cooking is your jam, Kenji Lopez-Alt is another great read. https://www.kenjilopezalt.com

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3. tyleoFeb 2025
   I’m surprised to see this on the front page! I posted this on a whim after buying Modernist Cuisine at Home last week. It’s essentially, “cooking for scientists and engineers” and has a great breakdown of ingredients, cooking tools, and why things are the way they are. It’s surprisingly written by Microsoft’s former CTO.

   I shared the full version but haven’t read it. I’d highly recommend the home version if you are interested in cooking though.

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4. mattmaroonFeb 2025
   I’m curious what did you find to not work as written? I’ve had no problems making any recipes out of it, but I’ve also not done so exhaustively.

   The Modernist Cuisine At Home book was pretty practical for muggles and would probably be where I’d recommend people start if they’re just looking to make some stuff for sure though, the full series is more something you read.

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5. GravitasFailureJul 2023
   I'd go for Modernist Cuisine At Home by Nathan Myhrvold, then his Modernist Cuisine set for a more thorough look at food science. Neither is exactly cheap ($90 and $500ish, respectively), but your local library might have at least the one for you to take a look at before committing. Generally, modernist cuisine/molecular gastronomy related resources can have some good info on food science, though a lot of them focus on being flashy.
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6. dlkinneyOct 2018
   Serious Eats Food Lab [1] Egullet [2]

   I can also recommend Modernist Cuisine, which is a sort of text book version of On Food and Cooking. Though it has a lot of industrial equipment and ingredients that aren't applicable to home cooks, it has excellent photos and diagrams that illustrate the cooking process from a biological and physical level. (Modernist Cuisine at Home isn't nearly as comprehensive, though it shirks a lot of the weird/expensive equipment and additives.)

   Also Modernist Bread for breads is fantastic and comprehensive.

   1. https://www.seriouseats.com/the-food-lab

   2. https://forums.egullet.org/

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