Cooked：A Natural History of Transformation

“Important，possiblylife-altering，readingforeveryliving，breathinghumanbeing."--BostonGlobeInCooked，MichaelPollanexploresthepreviouslyunchartedterritoryofhisownkitchen.Here，hediscoverstheenduringpowerofthefourclassicalelements—fire，water，air，andearth—totransformthestuffofnatureintodeliciousthingstoeatanddrink.Apprenticinghimselftoasuccessionofculinarymasters，Pollanlearnshowtogrillwithfire，cookwithliquid，bakebread，andfermenteverythingfromcheesetobeer.EachsectionofCookedtracksPollan’sefforttomasterasingleclassicrecipeusingoneofthefourelements.ANorthCarolinabarbecuepitmastertutorshimintheprimalmagicoffire;aChezPanisse–trainedcookschoolshimintheartofbraising;acelebratedbakerteacheshimhowairtransformsgrainandwaterintoafragrantloafofbread;andfinally，severalmad-genius“fermentos”(atribethatincludesbrewers，cheesemakers，andallkindsofpicklers)revealhowfungiandbacteriacanperformthemostamazingalchemiesofall.ThereaderlearnsalongsidePollan，butthelessonsmovebeyondthepracticaltobecomeaninvestigationofhowcookinginvolvesusinawebofsocialandecologicalrelationships.Cooking，aboveall，connectsus.Theeffectsofnotcookingaresimilarlyfarreaching.Relyinguponcorporationstoprocessourfoodmeansweconsumelargequantitiesoffat，sugar，andsalt;disruptanessentiallinktothenaturalworld;andweakenourrelationshipswithfamilyandfriends.Infact，Cookedargues，takingbackcontrolofcookingmaybethesinglemostimportantstepanyonecantaketohelpmaketheAmericanfoodsystemhealthierandmoresustainable.Reclaimingcookingasanactofenjoymentandself-reliance，learningtoperformthemagicoftheseeverydaytransformations，opensthedoortoamorenourishinglife.