Full review at Leveled Up ReadingI love a good cookbook, but Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat goes beyond the normal boundaries of the genre. I would almost say that this book is like the kosher salt in your kitchen - it's going to enhance alllll the other recipes and cookbooks in your life. Personally, I have more confidence in my cooking than before reading this book, AND my food is more delicious. I couldn't' really ask for anything more!

I do not purchase cookbooks lightly, but I will be seeking out a copy of this one. I will also be enthusiastically recommending this book to everyone I know with a kitchen and tastebuds. This is the rare cookbook that transcends boundaries of cooking experience, background, and personal taste preferences. I would just as easily recommend this book to a picky eater who's just starting out cooking as to a voracious and kitchen-experienced foodie.Nosrat has created a solid system for teaching peopl...

Only a few years ago, I ate mostly frozen pizza and restaurant take-out. I'd always had an interest in cooking, but the way it is usually taught did not appeal to me. You see, I hate recipes and following directions. Doing things one after another without understanding why it works or doesn't work sounded like a chore.Then I discovered an online class called Foodist Kitchen. I went from only cooking frozen food to making my own meals from scratch, almost daily, often without a recipe. And my mea...

I was frustrated by this book. But it was also fantastic. Why it's good: It's just an excellent explanation for cooking and a great way to view the whole enterprise. I love cooking and am pretty decent at making the stuff I like, but there was a lot in here that you get intuitively as a cook that is nice to see explained and spelled out. Like the acid part. I already love salt and I have intuitively used acid (lemon and vinegar) in most of my foods, but it was great to understand why. The frustr...

Kind of disappointing overall, but that's a relative opinion. I'm pretty sure the value of this rises in direct proportion to how little time the reader has spent cooking & learning about food prior to picking this up, and how much patience one has for the story part of recipe blogs. After a few pages the tone goes from breezy to grating fast. Yes, it has useful information even for experienced cooks, but it doesn't really feel "indispensable."Also, omitting garlic and adding ginger instead to t...

This book is flat-out genius and more than deserves all the praise it received. Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat is far from a normal cookbook: Nosrat uses approachable, funny prose and helpful drawings to explain the basics of cooking and baking by considering the elements of salt, fat, acid, and heat. In this way the book really teaches you how to cook everything, not just the recipes clustered at the book's conclusion. This is a cookbook you actually READ vs flipping through a litany of recipes before g...

I can't remember ever being so disappointed in a cookbook. The hype was HUGE! First off, I should say that there is a massive gap between home cooking and cheffing, and I am a home cook with a home cook's preoccupations: put healthy food on the table, 3 X's a day, with variety, an eye to seasonality and what's on sale at the grocery store, using as few pots as possible, wasting as little as possible. I don't often have dinner parties. I'm not looking to WOW every meal, but I want every meal to b...

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Alas, flavor is on the tongue of the eater. Even Chef Samin Nosrat is aware of this sad fact: “The sad truth is that most Americans accustomed to the taste of rancid olive oil, actually prefer it.” (p.65) Nevertheless, she persists!This is no ordinary cookbook. It is about managing flavor. The key elements are salt, acid, fat and heat. Ultimately, Nosrat is urging us to recalibrate our relationship with food. One way to articulate our current relationship i...

I bought this after seeing her at an author talk. She's INCREDIBLY fun and lively and the book is wonderfully illustrated. She brings a lot of cooking experience, humor, and scientific knowledge to her explanation of how an understanding of the four basics of salt, fat, acid and heat can enable you to cook pretty much anything in the kitchen.Perversely, what I found was that this book actually made me feel more intimidated about cooking, not less, despite her funny stories about real-life kitche...

What a great idea for a cookbook! I feel like this should be required reading for anyone even marginally interested in cooking. For one thing, it's fascinating, and very well written. But perhaps more importantly, Ms. Nosrat provides a non-intimidating guide to correcting the mistakes (over- or under-seasoning, not knowing which ingredients pair well together, not knowing how to cook a cut of meat, etc.) that scare folks out of the kitchen. Genius! The number one comment I hear when I talk about...

I was not a fan of the wide-eyed "well golly!" tone of the author's writing/reading (listened to this book as an audiobook). I felt completely talked down to, and for the first two sections I gleaned very little that I did not already know. The acid section gave me some new pointers, and overall I enjoyed the science of the heat section, but generally I didn't get much out of this book.Would be a great gift for someone really new to food, who likes science and can forgive an author who clearly o...

This was kind of fascinating to listen too. This author had some great tips. I was in awe because I wasn't really expecting useful information, and it turned out, there was plenty of useful information to be found. I thought it would be more of a history of cooking and it wasn't. The author talks about the benefits of salt, fat, acid & heat. But also when, how and what kind will produce the best results. The author was also very personable. I liked that she seemed like a mere mortal capable of l...

Never have I ever: sat on the couch andnread every single page of a cookbook from cover to cover. Nope, drink. Because now I have and my life and my kitchen will be forget changed. Freaking fantastic. 5 tasty (salty, fatty, acidic, perfectly heated) stars.

Definitely learned some new tricks, but I thought the salt and fat and heat sections were stronger than the acid section, where I need the most help! I think the concept of balance still feels elusive and that is what I want to learn. But I definitely moved in the right direction and made a much improved roast chicken! The author has a great "voice", and I look forward to trying things she suggested.

Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat does offer an interesting way to think about the preparation of food, but I didn't find it “indispensable” or one that I “can't imagine living without” as Michael Pollan writes in the foreword. Author Samin Nosrat tells us that “there are only four basic factors that determine how good your food will taste: salt, which enhances flavor; fat, which amplifies flavor and makes appealing textures possible; acid, which brightens and balances; and heat, which ultimately determines...

The informational chapters with the basics on Salt, Fat, Acid, and Heat are highly worth it to get a good base. I've made a bunch of the recipes this year too - have really enjoyed this cookbook.

This book is so interesting! I never read regular cook books because I just Google specific recipes when I need to. This book is a "how to cook book" or cooking theory. There are lots of things that seem obvious once I read them (like places that have meadows for grazing use lots of butter, but other places use other oils/fats. Duh, but I had never thought about it.) Or some things that I had read in recipes but didn't get the reasoning (like let ingredients come to room temperature before begin...

The best most beautiful cookbook I’ve ever owned. Totally liberating for the at home cook. Thoughtful and clear. Makes me excited to cook and try new things.

If you order takeout for every meal or have a personal chef, feel free to ignore this book. Everyone else on the planet, do yourselves a favor and read her first four chapters! I consider myself a decent cook for an untrained young adult with mediocre cookware, but Samin Nosrat blew my mind with her simple and honest tips and lessons. Apparently, I've been using the wrong salt this whole time, bottled lime juice is the devil, you don't melt the butter for baked goods!!!, and acid is way underuti...

Best cookbook I’ve ever read. It’s not so much about the recipes, but Nosrat’s amiable and engaging manner of imparting her knowledge of the fundamentals of what makes good cooking. Armed with the understanding of what these elements do in a dish, it’s easier to adapt recipes with what’s available in your pantry instead of just blindly following them.Oh, I've also made her buttermilk roast chicken twice, albeit with a smaller whole chicken as I couldn't source the same size over here. By adaptin...