In Cooked, Michael Pollan explores the previously
uncharted territory of his own kitchen. Here, he 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. In the course of his
journey, he discovers that the cook occupies a special place
in the world, standing squarely between nature and culture.
Both realms are transformed by cooking, and so, in the
process, is the cook.
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: with plants and animals, the soil, farmers,
our history and culture, and, of course, the people our
cooking nourishes and delights. 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.
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