Includes bibliographical references and index.

"As Serious Eats's culinary nerd-in-residence, J. Kenji López-Alt has pondered [how to pan-fry a steak with a charred crust and an interior that's perfectly medium-rare from edge to edge when you cut into it] and more. In [this book], Kenji focuses on the science behind beloved American dishes, delving into the interactions between heat, energy, and molecules that create great food. Kenji shows that often, conventional methods don't work that well, and home cooks can achieve far better results using new--but simple--techniques"--Amazon.com.