Michael Pollan, the bestselling author of The Omnivore's Dilemma,
Food Rules, How to Change Your Mind, and This is Your Mind on Plants
explores the previously uncharted territory of his own kitchen in
Cooked.
Having described what's wrong with American food in his best-selling
The Omnivore's Dilemma (2006), New York Times contributor Pollan
delivers a more optimistic but equally fascinating account of how to do
it right. . . . A delightful chronicle of the education of a cook who
steps back frequently to extol the scientific and philosophical basis of
this deeply satisfying human activity. --Kirkus (starred review)
Cooked is now a Netflix docuseries based on the book that focuses on
the four kinds of transformations that occur in cooking. Directed by
Oscar-winning filmmaker Alex Gibney and starring Michael Pollan,
Cooked teases out the links between science, culture and the flavors
we love.
In Cooked, Pollan discovers the enduring power of the four classical
elements--fire, water, air, and earth--to transform the stuff of nature
into delicious things to eat and drink. Apprenticing himself to a
succession of culinary masters, Pollan learns how to grill with fire,
cook with liquid, bake bread, and ferment everything from cheese to
beer.
Each section of Cooked tracks Pollan's effort to master a single
classic recipe using one of the four elements. A North Carolina barbecue
pit master tutors him in the primal magic of fire; a Chez
Panisse-trained cook schools him in the art of braising; a celebrated
baker teaches him how air transforms grain and water into a fragrant
loaf of bread; and finally, several mad-genius "fermentos" (a tribe that
includes brewers, cheese makers, and all kinds of picklers) reveal how
fungi and bacteria can perform the most amazing alchemies of all. The
reader learns alongside Pollan, but the lessons move beyond the
practical to become an investigation of how cooking involves us in a web
of social and ecological relationships. Cooking, above all, connects us.
The effects of not cooking are similarly far reaching. Relying upon
corporations to process our food means we consume large quantities of
fat, sugar, and salt; disrupt an essential link to the natural world;
and weaken our relationships with family and friends. In fact, Cooked
argues, taking back control of cooking may be the single most important
step anyone can take to help make the American food system healthier and
more sustainable. Reclaiming cooking as an act of enjoyment and
self-reliance, learning to perform the magic of these everyday
transformations, opens the door to a more nourishing life.
