How to Read a French Fry

by Parsons, Russ

• ISBN13: 9780618379439
• ISBN10: 0618379436
• Edition: Reprint
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2003-09-08
• Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

Summary

In a book widely hailed for its entertaining prose and provocative research, the award-winning Los Angeles Times food journalist Russ Parsons examines the science behind ordinary cooking processes. Along the way he dispenses hundreds of tips and the reasons behind them, from why you should always begin cooking beans in cold water, to why you should salt meat before sauting it, to why it's a waste of time to cook a Vidalia onion. Filled with sharp-witted observations ("Frying has become synonymous with minimum-wage labor, yet hardly anyone will try it at home"), intriguing food trivia (fruit deprived of water just before harvest has superior flavor to fruit that is irrigated up to the last moment ), and recipes (from Oven-Steamed Salmon with Cucumber Salad to Ultimate Strawberry Shortcake), How to Read a French Fry contains all the ingredients you need to become a better cook.

Author Biography

RUSS PARSONS is the food and wine columnist of the Los Angeles Times. He is the author of the best-selling How to Read a French Fry, a winner of multiple James Beard Awards for his journalism, and the recipient of the IACP/Bert Greene Award for distinguished writing.

He lives in California, which produces more than half of the fruits and vegetables grown in this country. He has been writing about food and agriculture for more than twenty years.

Table of Contents

Recipes	p. x
Introduction	p. 1
How to read a french fry	p. 9
The second life of plants	p. 47
Miracle in a shell	p. 123
From a pebble to a pillow	p. 149
Meat and heat	p. 217
Fat, flour and fear	p. 285
Index	p. 313
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