Cooking Times for Turkey:
Cooking times for turkey depend on the desired internal temperature, the starting temperature, the oven temperature, and the diffusion coefficient of heat through the food. The diffusion coefficient of heat through food is relatively constant for most foods, and is close to that of water. A good approximation for the cooking time of a turkey can be obtained by assuming the turkey is a sphere and using the diffusion coefficient of water.

Calculating the Size of a Turkey:
To calculate the size of a turkey for the purpose of cooking time calculations, the mass of the turkey is used to estimate its volume, assuming the density of the turkey is close to that of water.

Temperature Gradient in a Turkey:
After cooking, there is a temperature gradient in the turkey, with the outside being hotter than the inside. The temperature of the inside of the turkey will continue to rise after it is removed from the oven due to the diffusion of heat from the outside to the inside.

Nathan Myhrvold’s Work:
Nathan Myhrvold has applied his scientific knowledge to cooking, including sous-vide cooking and modernist cuisine. Myhrvold’s book, “Modernist Cuisine,” brings science to cooking and has had a significant impact on the field.

The Modernist Cuisine Movement:
Nathan Myhrvold defines modernist cuisine as a movement focused on using photography and clear text to explain cooking techniques and food science.

Modernist Cuisine Book:
Myhrvold’s first book, Modernist Cuisine, was an encyclopedic treatment of modern cooking techniques published in 2011. It aimed to explain the science of cooking and showcase esoteric cooking techniques.

Modernist Cuisine at Home:
Myhrvold’s second book, Modernist Cuisine at Home, aimed to bring the modernist revolution to home cooking. It focused on providing practical, home-friendly recipes and techniques.

Physical Quality of the Book:
Myhrvold emphasized the importance of the book’s physical quality to match the quality of the food. He used high-quality paper, ink, and printing techniques to create a visually appealing and durable book.

Stochastic Screening:
Myhrvold explained that stochastic screening, a digital printing technology, was used to create high-quality images in the book. This technique produces images with a more natural and continuous appearance compared to traditional halftone screening.

Color Reproduction:
Myhrvold highlighted the challenges of reproducing certain colors with ordinary printing inks. He used special, “fancy” inks to accurately represent highly saturated colors in the book’s photographs.

The Preference for Print Over Digital:
The preference for print in the 21st century is partly due to the lack of advanced digital reading devices at the time of the book’s layout. Early digital reading devices such as Kindle did not provide an ideal reading experience for the book’s high-resolution photos.

Book Specifications:
The new cookbook consists of two volumes, totaling 9.9 pounds unpacked, with 684 pages. Out of the 684 pages, 228 are waterproof, catering to the practical needs of cooking. The book comprises 23 chapters, 210,000 words, 405 recipes and variations, and 114 step-by-step photos. The team took 86,000 images, resulting in 1,500 photos being included in the book.

Comparison with the Previous Cookbook:
The second cookbook is significantly cheaper, priced at $140 compared to the first book’s $625. The cost per recipe has decreased from $0.41 to $0.35. The book’s price per pound is $14, comparable to the cost of Parmesan cheese.

Pricing Considerations:
Pricing the first cookbook was a challenge due to its size and investment. The new cookbook’s lower price point has made it seem like a bargain, creating a positive perception among consumers.

Length of Text:
If all the text in the new cookbook were arranged in a single line in Microsoft Word, it would stretch from the current location to MIT. In comparison, the text from the first cookbook would reach all the way to Logan Airport if arranged in a single line.

The Essence of Art and Science in Cooking:
Art is the expression of human thought and emotion, while science explores the laws of nature. Cooking involves using heat, chemical reactions, and mechanical means to transform food, making it tastier, nutritious, and edible. Understanding the science behind cooking processes enables better execution of culinary art.

Modernism in Art and Architecture:
Modernism in art involves breaking with traditional aesthetics to challenge societal norms and explore new possibilities. Impressionist art, initially considered shocking, has become widely appreciated today. Modernist architecture, exemplified by Frank Gehry’s Stratocenter, embraces unconventional and visually striking designs.

Challenging Conventions in Food:
Modernist cuisine aims to challenge people’s ingrained ideas about food and its presentation. Ferran Adria’s use of foam on dishes was a deliberate attempt to break rules and provoke thought about culinary norms. The concept of deliciousness is subjective and varies across cultures, contexts, and individuals.

Embracing Innovation and New Techniques:
Modernist cuisine encourages the adoption of new tools, techniques, and ingredients to explore culinary possibilities. Italian cuisine, traditionally associated with basil, tomatoes, and garlic, has undergone significant changes over time. Ancient Romans used liquamen, lovage, and black pepper instead of these ingredients. Medieval Italian cuisine differed from contemporary Italian and was similar to English cuisine.

Changing Culinary Landscapes:
Cooking is a constantly evolving field, driven by cultural exchange and innovation. Italy was the last region in Europe to embrace tomatoes, with Tuscany being the most resistant.

Challenging Traditions:
Michael Pollan’s “great grandmother rule” suggests avoiding foods that our ancestors wouldn’t recognize. This rule is limiting as it excludes many delicious and nutritious foods introduced in recent centuries.

Examples of Culinary Innovations:
Sushi, hummus, hamburgers, and pizza are all relatively new dishes that would not be recognized by our great-grandmothers. Even cured sausages, like soppressata, originated in China and were introduced to Europe in the mid-18th century.

The Impact of the New World:
The arrival of foods from the Americas, such as tomatoes, potatoes, and corn, revolutionized global cuisine. This exchange of ingredients had a profound impact on culinary traditions worldwide.

Conclusion:
Cooking is a dynamic and evolving field that has been shaped by cultural exchange and innovation throughout history. Embracing new ingredients and techniques can lead to delicious and nutritious culinary experiences.

New Foods from Different Continents:
Corn, tomatoes, and chocolate were introduced to new continents, leading to significant changes in cuisine. Espresso, invented in 1900, became popular as a fast food.

Potato Chips as a Glass:
Potato chips are a form of glass, a solid-state matter with a unique structure. Starch in thinly sliced potatoes forms a crisp glass when fried. Prawn crackers, made from tapioca starch, also have a crispy texture due to the formation of a glass.

Creating Watermelon Chips:
Watermelon chips can be made by infusing thinly sliced watermelon with starch in a vacuum. The porous structure of fruits and vegetables allows for the infusion of starch. Frying the infused watermelon results in crispy chips.

The Ultimate French Fry:
The pursuit of creating an ultimate version of humble foods, like French fries, is a theme in modernist cuisine. Steaming and using an ultrasonic bath to infuse starch into the outer layer of potatoes yields crispy fries that stay crisp for hours.

The Leidenfrost Effect:
The Leidenfrost effect describes the phenomenon of liquid droplets bouncing on a hot surface due to a layer of gas. Liquid nitrogen, despite being extremely cold, exhibits the Leidenfrost effect. This effect can be used to create interesting visual and culinary effects.

The Universal Gas Law:
The universal gas law, PV = NRT, demonstrates the relationship between pressure, volume, temperature, and the number of gas molecules. Cooling a balloon in liquid nitrogen causes the air inside to shrink due to decreased temperature. Upon removing the balloon from the liquid nitrogen, the air expands as it warms up.

Introduction of Liquid Nitrogen in Cooking:
Liquid nitrogen has been used in cooking since the late 19th century, with its potential for ice cream making recognized as early as 1901 by Mrs. Agnes Marshall.

French Chef’s Pioneering Use:
In 1979, a French chef in southwest France was the first to use liquid nitrogen in traditional French cooking.

Cryopoaching:
Liquid nitrogen is used in cryopoaching, a technique for rapidly freezing food, which allows for preservation of flavors and nutrients.

Cryo-shattering:
Using liquid nitrogen, foods like parsley can be frozen and then shattered into a powder using a food processor.

Freezing Oils:
Olive oil and other oils can be frozen in liquid nitrogen, creating glass-like shards that melt when placed on a plate.

Creating Spheres:
Liquid nitrogen can be used to create small spheres of liquids by dropping droplets into the liquid nitrogen, allowing them to form and freeze.

High-Speed Camera Experiment:
A high-speed camera is used to capture the expansion of water into steam, demonstrating the原理 behind the puffing up of prawn crackers, souffles, and fried pork rinds.

Grilling:
The characteristic flavor of charbroiling comes from fat dripping onto hot coals and flaring up. The type of charcoal used doesn’t significantly impact the flavor; it’s the fat that matters. For grilled food to taste authentic, the fat must drip onto heat from below, not from above. Zucchini lacks fat, so spraying it with oil before grilling enhances its flavor.

Egg Cookery:
Egg proteins coagulate at different temperatures, leading to challenges in achieving desired textures. Many dishes call for a soft, runny yolk and a firm white. Techniques exist to prevent the yolk from getting too hot before the white is cooked through.

Custard Science:
Nathan Myhrvold emphasizes the scientific approach in cooking, particularly when working with custards. He highlights the importance of understanding the relationship between egg concentration and temperature in achieving the desired texture. A custard table is presented as a valuable reference for creating custards with different textures and concentrations.

Oven-baked Omelettes:
Myhrvold discusses the use of ovens to make omelettes, offering precise temperature control for consistent texture. The “striped omelette” is presented as a creative variation, inspired by a French cake called biscuit joconde. Different ingredients like truffle, mushroom, and tomato can be used to create unique color combinations.

Scrambled Egg Foam:
Myhrvold introduces a visually appealing dish called scrambled egg foam, presented in a non-traditional manner to elevate the simple dish.

High-speed Camera Experiment:
Using a high-speed camera, Myhrvold captures the dramatic process of making an omelette by shooting it with a gun.

Caramelized Carrot Soup:
Myhrvold explores a unique approach to making soups by using pretzels as inspiration. Pretzels brown due to an alkaline environment, leading to caramelization at lower temperatures. This principle is applied to create caramelized carrot soup using a pressure cooker.

Pressure Cooker Technique:
Myhrvold explains how pressure cookers can be utilized to enhance caramelization and browning reactions. By increasing pressure and humidity, water can reach temperatures above its boiling point, enabling browning inside the pressure cooker. This technique is demonstrated with carrot soup, broccoli, and fat rendering, resulting in distinct roasted flavors.

Versatile Soup Variations:
Myhrvold presents various soup variations using the pressure cooker method, including artichokes, cauliflower, broccoli gruyere, corn, apple parsnip, and mushroom. Each variation offers different colors and levels of roasted or browning flavors.

Introduction:
Nathan Myhrvold discusses his approach to creating the ultimate roast chicken, highlighting the challenges of balancing juicy breast meat and crispy skin.

Brining and Injection:
To achieve juicy meat, brining is recommended, but not for the skin, as it can make it rubbery. Instead, injection brining is used, carefully inserting the brine into the meat without touching the skin.

Hanging and Drying the Bird:
Hanging the bird in the refrigerator helps dry out the skin, making it crispy. Traditional trussing of the chicken is discouraged, as it hinders even heat distribution.

Cooking Process:
The chicken is baked at a low temperature for four and a half hours, followed by a high-heat finish to achieve both tenderness and crispiness.

Sauce:
Instead of using butter or cream, chicken sauce is thickened with rendered chicken fat (schmaltz) for a more authentic chicken flavor. Pressure rendering can be employed to enhance the roast flavor of the schmaltz.

Modernist Cuisine at Home:
The Modernist Cuisine at Home cookbook features simpler recipes, ingredients, and food styles compared to the more complex and diverse recipes in the Big Book.

The Science of Mac and Cheese:
Mac and cheese is an emulsion, but starch-based sauces can interfere with the flavor of the cheese. James Craft discovered that adding an emulsifying salt, like sodium citrate, stabilizes the emulsion and creates a gooey, melty cheese sauce.

Melted Cheese Sandwiches:
The melty cheese recipe from mac and cheese can be used for grilled cheese sandwiches and other melted cheese dishes.

Sous Vide Steak Without the Equipment:
Steaks can be cooked sous vide by placing them in a Ziploc bag and immersing them in a cooler filled with hot water for a few hours.

Carnitas, Ribs, and Chicken Wings:
Recipes for carnitas, ribs, chicken wings, and other informal foods are included in Modernist Cuisine at Home.

Ingredients Matter:
Great ingredients are essential for modernist cooking, and chefs should work with local farmers to get the freshest ingredients possible.

Culinary Exploration:
Nathan Myhrvold encourages exploring ingredients and cuisines beyond traditional boundaries. He suggests venturing into different markets and experimenting with various fruits, vegetables, and grains.

Photography Techniques:
The elaborate food photographs in their book involve meticulous efforts and attention to detail. To capture the perfect raspberry drop in a cold soup, they used multiple pounds of raspberries, dropping them two at a time until they got the desired shot. They often cut ingredients in half to showcase cross-sections and create visually appealing images. For suspended gravity shots, they used various techniques, including propping up items or dropping them while maintaining a consistent position.

Favorite Food Memories:
Myhrvold’s favorite emotional food memory involves cooking Thanksgiving dinner at a young age, surprising his family with a dish called “Firecracker Surprise.” He recounts the excitement of lifting a cloche to reveal a lit firecracker under the table, shocking his family members.

Favorite Meals:
Myhrvold’s favorite breakfast is scrambled eggs made with a recipe from their book, incorporating fat to prevent overcooking. He also enjoys a traditional Italian meal of spaghetti and meatballs.

Cooking with Eggs:
Use a combination of whole eggs and egg yolks for a richer, tastier scrambled egg or omelet. The added yolks enhance texture and color, creating a more satisfying dish. Experiment with different ratios of eggs and yolks to find your preferred balance.

Cooking Temperature:
For the perfect scrambled egg texture, cook to 164 degrees in a steam oven. This method yields a tender, creamy interior with a slightly firm exterior. Adjust the cooking time and temperature according to your desired consistency.

Appreciating Culinary Variety:
Modernist cooking embraces a wide range of culinary traditions and techniques, enhancing the diversity of food options. Global cuisines offer exciting flavors and ingredients, contributing to a vast and ever-expanding culinary landscape.

The Future of Cuisine:
The quest for novel and captivating cuisines is driven by our insatiable desire for variety. Innovation and creativity play crucial roles in introducing new dishes and refining existing ones. Modernist techniques, such as molecular gastronomy, expand culinary possibilities and challenge conventional approaches.

Sustaining Culinary Diversity:
The exploration of new cuisines must be balanced with the conservation of existing ones. Preserving traditional recipes and techniques ensures the continuation of culinary heritage and diversity. Supporting local and regional cuisines contributes to the preservation of cultural identity and culinary traditions.

Recipe Criteria and Goals:
Myhrvold’s recipes prioritize personal enjoyment and aim to teach basic cooking techniques rather than strictly adhering to a specific recipe. The new book includes a chapter on basics, covering essential building blocks like stocks and salad dressings, to empower cooks with fundamental skills. Chapters explore various culinary themes, from chicken wings and snacks on a stick to steak and other tender meats, showcasing diverse global cuisines.

Steak Cooking Technique:
Myhrvold introduces a unique steak cooking method that works well even when cooking from frozen. By searing the frozen steak in a hot cast iron pan and then cooking it slowly at a low oven temperature, a perfect medium-rare steak can be achieved, eliminating the gray bands of well-done meat.

Physics in Cooking:
Myhrvold highlights the role of water evaporation in the “stall” phenomenon observed in traditional southern barbecue. The high energy required for water to evaporate cools the meat, causing the temperature to plateau for hours. This debunks common theories attributing the stall to chemical changes in the meat, such as collagen turning into gelatin. Myhrvold’s liquid nitrogen experiment demonstrates the unique properties of water’s hydrogen bonds, which give it a much higher boiling point than similar molecules.

Reactions to Modernist Cuisine:
Myhrvold discusses the positive feedback received from renowned chefs who have tasted his modernist cuisine creations. Thomas Keller, a celebrated chef, expressed great enthusiasm for the innovative dishes, praising their flavors and textures.

Positive Reactions:
People who have seen and experienced Nathan Myhrvold’s cookbook and food have generally responded positively to it. Renowned chefs like Thomas Keller and his team visited Myhrvold’s restaurant for subsequent dinners, indicating their approval of the food’s taste. Thomas Keller even wrote the preface to Myhrvold’s new book, signifying his respect and support for the work.

Negative Reactions:
Some people have negative reactions to the book without having seen it, criticizing its price and questioning its value. A common negative sentiment is that science and technology in cooking, such as sous vide, take away the “soul” of cooking. Myhrvold argues that technology can enhance cooking precision and convenience without compromising its soulfulness.

Criticism of Science in Cooking:
Some people believe that science and technology in cooking, such as sous vide, are detrimental to the art of cooking. Myhrvold disagrees, arguing that technology can be used to improve the accuracy and consistency of cooking while preserving the soulfulness of the process.

Controversy and Media Attention:
A radio program attempted to create a controversy by editing together interviews with Alice Waters and Nathan Myhrvold to make it seem like they were arguing. Despite this, Alice Waters later expressed her appreciation for Myhrvold’s book and his efforts to promote the love of food and cooking.

Pop-Up Restaurants and Tasting Menus:
Myhrvold and his team host pop-up restaurants where guests are invited and cannot pay for the meal. These dinners are exclusive and limited in frequency, but they offer a unique opportunity to experience Myhrvold’s innovative cooking.

Finding Great Inventive Chefs:
Myhrvold recommends seeking out great inventive chefs who incorporate aspects of the modernist movement into their cooking. He mentions specific chefs and restaurants in Boston and highlights the global presence of this culinary trend.