Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat: Mastering the Elements of Good Cooking

Excellent book! I have it in hardback and kindle editions! Ive learnt so much from it and it has made me more confident in trying out new things and having more confidence in my own cooking abilities. I love the science behind why foods behave in certain ways under different conditions! Highly recommend!

Beautiful hardcover book, interesting and easy to read. Makes cooking art and science and fun and interesting all at once.

This is definitely a 5-star book for me. The way everything is written and explained in the book is simply outstanding. The book takes a very scientific approach to cooking and breaks down the elements of good cooking into four simple categories - Salt, Fat, Acid, and Heat. She then goes on to explain each element in detail and how they work together to create the perfect dish. What I particularly loved about the book was the way the author uses stories, anecdotes, and personal experiences to illustrate some points. The book is filled with beautiful illustrations, diagrams, and photographs that make it easy to follow along and understand the concepts she is explaining. Another great thing about the book is that it is not just a recipe book. It's more like a cooking guide that teaches you the principles of good cooking. In conclusion, I would highly recommend this book to anyone who loves cooking or wants to improve their cooking skills. It's a beautifully written and illustrated book that will inspire you to become a better cook and to have more fun in the kitchen.

Best book on cooking I've ever read - it teaches you about fundamentals rather than try to give a particular approach or style of cooking or just robotic recipes. So much useful info that I never knew and totally blew my mind. Bought a copy as a gift for family for Xmas this year.

While some are more attractive than others (according to my personal tastes!), this is overall a really nice set of prints, especially for the price. I also bought the book after watching the show on Netflix so I am definitely a fan, but think I would like them either way. Plan to decorate the kitchen in my new apartment with a handful of these and am thinking I will perhaps frame the others and use them as housewarming gifts or gifts for foodies friends.

This is a book for someone who enjoys proper cooking and wants to improve the flavour and enjoyment of their food. The extravagant praise of other reviewers is well justified, it is excellent and applying its principles has improved my understanding of good cooking more than any other single thing I have read. This is not a cookbook. Yes, 200 of the 470 pages are under the heading "recipes", but they are really worked examples of how to prepare and cook different types of food. The book is best read from end to end, not dipped into. It does not just explain how to develop great flavour and texture in food, but why these techniques work. The author is not frightened to address quite complex scientific issues - cooking is, after all, applied chemistry and physics - and she conveys this understanding in a very accessible and effective way. Without photographs, but with excellent sketches, cartoons and graphics. The writing is a bit gushing and hyperbolic and at times excessively repetitive, with a tendency to state even the blindingly obvious as if it was an Einsteinian revelation. But the enthusiasm is infectious and the constant reinforcement of first principles is helpful. This is not a book with any obvious health or environmental agenda. Those concerned to reduce fat or salt, avoid meat, dairy or gluten or pursue any other particular dietary principles will not see much in direct support of their aims. What the book does do is stress the pleasure of making food using good quality basic ingredients and treating them properly.

Bought as a gift, it arrived quickly and well packaged. The recipient, who enjoys cooking a lot, loved it very much

Generally I find the Amazon ratings guide to be a waste of time, trusting the opinion of a load of nobody’s will hardly substantiate a worthwhile purchase, thus I hardly ever leave a review. Take for example the fact that silver spoon has a higher rating then Claudia Rodens food of Italy and is vastly inferior to the latter particularly in terms of context. This is something akin to a number of phaidon’s backcatalog; 1000’s of recipes in very expensive, big and shiny looking books with little cultural background or thought process behind why, or how. Salt fat acid heat, however is one that deserves 6 stars because it’s teaching you to ‘proverbially fish’ by learning about some of the most important and vital principles in cooking. I have been cooking professionally for the best part of 20 years and I wish I had read this book when I first started out, don’t get me wrong: the journey a chef departs on to learn to think about the principles of cooking can’t be theorised with out practice, but this book will do more then start you off in the right direction; if you apply yourself to it, it will give you a mental compass, and shave a couple of years of your practical experiments and progress I said it was good! If there is one book you need to read on cooking it’s this one, everyone not just pros but all cooks will benefit from the wisdom held within!

Excellent book if you really want to be the best cook possible, all the perfect tips to achieve that goal.

Consumo muchos libros de cocina y recetas y desde Cocinar de Michael Pollan no me había encontrado uno que me hiciera replantearme la cocina como Salt, Fat... Planteamiento muy original y acertado de ver la cocina, con fundamentos científicos pero sobretodo mucha observación y GUSTO.

Amazon Review: Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat by Samin Nosrat is a Game-Changer for Every Home Cook and Chef As a professional chef and food science educator, I’ve read countless cookbooks, but very few have fundamentally reshaped my approach to cooking like Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat by Samin Nosrat. This book isn’t just a collection of recipes. It’s an essential culinary guide that breaks cooking down into its four foundational elements, making it easy for anyone to cook intuitively. Why This Book is Revolutionary Nosrat doesn’t just tell you how to cook—she teaches you why things work in the kitchen. She simplifies complex concepts with clear, engaging explanations, stunning illustrations, and a warmth that makes you feel like she’s guiding you personally. I’ve always believed that understanding the “why” behind cooking techniques is what separates a great cook from an average one, and this book delivers that knowledge in a way that’s both accessible and profoundly educational. Key Takeaways That Changed My Cooking Forever ✅ Salt Enhances Everything – This book deepened my appreciation for how different salts (kosher, flaky, fine) impact flavor and texture. ✅ Fat is Flavor – From olive oil to butter, Nosrat explains how fats carry flavor and influence mouthfeel. ✅ Acid Balances Dishes – One of my biggest takeaways was how acid (vinegars, citrus, fermented foods) brings food to life. ✅ Heat is the Final Key – Understanding the science of heat helped me refine my roasting, searing, and braising techniques. Perfect for Beginners and Experts Alike Whether you’re a home cook just starting out or a seasoned chef looking to refine your skills, Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat belongs in your kitchen. The techniques in this book have helped me train culinary students, teach home cooks, and even improve my own plating and recipe development. Final Thoughts: A Must-Have Culinary Guide This book has changed the way I cook and teach food science, making it one of my most recommended reads. If you’ve ever struggled with seasoning, balancing flavors, or perfecting textures, this book will give you the confidence and knowledge to cook instinctively. ⭐ 5 out of 5 stars! Essential for anyone who loves food. - Chef Rebecca Raffle

Maravilhoso... um presente de livro... o papel poderia ser couchê mas acho que o valor sairia mais alto.

Probably the food book I've most recommended and gifted. It really helps understand the transformative actions we can draw on to prepare food.