Science in the Kitchen and the Art of Eating Well (Lorenzo Da Ponte Italian Library) Kindle Edition

Purchased this for my husband who loves to cook, and enjoys history.He loved it so much, he had me purchase several to give as gifts.I went to take a picture of how many cookbooks he keeps in the kitchen, and couldn't find this one, so I called my husband to ask where it was.Turns out it was on his night table because that is what he has been reading each night before bed, he enjoys the recipes and their history so much!

This is much more than a recipe book. It feels more like a Master Class with history and details of the regions and background of the foods. The first 25 pages is an intro with the subsequent 550 pages of recipes. None of which contain pictures. Just detailed instructions and guidance.My wife and I came across this while watching Stanley Tucci Searching for Italy which is a must see for foodies. My wife went nuts over the show and her interest in the book. Just wish the show continued. It was too short.The problem I have has nothing to do with the book itself but rather how it was delivered. It was shipped in a bag. I returned the first as it had crushed corners. The replacement has the same issue (see pictures). A book of this size needs to be shipped in a box. At least bubble wrap. Although this is a gift and should be presented as new, I'm not going to return the second as it's for my wife. She'll end up just hand it to me once she finds what she likes. (I'm the cook of the house.) If it was for someone else I'd return it until it came in good condition.Can't wait to try the recipes.

I would have given 5 stars except for the price. I’m not sure why a book written 100+ years ago with the author being dead needs to cost so much, especially for a paperback. It will certainly be considered a family heirloom though! My friend who lives in Italy has a mother who cooks better than any chef! She suggested this book to me. Grazie!

`Science in the Kitchen and The Art of Eating Well' by Bologna native, Pellegrino Artusi, recently republished in English with a new introduction by American food writer, Michelle Scicolone is a work originally written in Italian and published by the author almost 115 years ago. I was drawn to it by a very positive reference to it in Paul Bertolli's cookbook, `Chez Panisse Cooking'.If it were not for this recommendation, I may have been inclined to dismiss the book as irrelevant to today's cooks, given the wealth of Italian cookbooks from Marcella Hazan, Lydia Bastianich, Michelle Scicolone herself, and a dozen of scribblers on the cooking from the various regions (Tuscany, Lazio, Campania, Sicily, etc.) and `superregions' (north versus south) of Italy. So, here I am to say that there is much of value here for the foodie and the professional cook. For all you casual cookbook clients out there, you may want to give this one a pass. In spite of its title, it has absolutely nothing in common with the kind of kitchen science written by Harold McGee, Shirley Corriher, and Alton Brown.This is not to say that there is no deep thinking about food in this book. The paperback has over 650 pages filled with 790 recipes plus an English and an Italian index. And, in all that space, there are hundreds of little observations about the right way to cook dishes. The problem for the amateur is that almost all the recipes assume you already know a lot about cooking, so lots of little details are left off. One of my favorite examples is in the recipe for veal saltimbocca (Veal cutlets, Roman Style). Artusi gives scant details on the size of the cutlet except that they should be a half a finger thick. He also gives no details about the sautee time except to say that the side with the procuitto should not be cooked for too long, lest it become too tough. On the other hand, the author takes the time to say that the veal should not be prepared with a whole sage leaf, as this would be too much. One wonders how large his sage leaves are, as I have made this dish several times and used a full sage leaf with no ill effects. To the good, I welcome the warning about not sauteeing too long. I just finished making a veal Marsala which turned out poorly, as the meat was too thin for my cooking time. Live and learn.Probably the biggest disadvantage for typical American amateur cooks is that most measurements are made by weight. The fact that they are translated from metric into Imperial units does little good, as most kitchens are simply not equipped to weigh an ounce of butter or 2/3 of an ounce of grated Parmesan cheese. Thus, unless you use the book to provide supplementary insights to recipes from Mario Batali, I would place the book by your favorite reading chair rather than on the kitchen shelf between `The Joy of Cooking' and `Mastering the Art of French Cooking'.As an historical document, this is really a great read. It was first published just after the unification of Italy and, while the book has many references to the geographical sources of these recipes, it does address the cuisine of Italy as a whole, at a time before Escoffier, when claims to dominance in the cuisine of Western Europe between Italy and France was a pretty lively issue. In fact, the author was criticized for being too French and by reflecting the practices of the French professionals working for the nobility rather than the practices of mother and grandma in the kitchens of Sienna or Leghorn. The most pervasive evidence of this French influence is that almost all sauces are strained before serving. I think Mario Batali would rather sell his firstborn before he strains an Italian sauce. But there it is. Artusi gives us professional Italian culinary practice among the nobility and restaurante chefs of 1890.While the value of this book is unmatched, I give it only four stars to warn anyone to read the review carefully before buying this book with mistaken expectations.If you are a died in the wool foodie, food professional, or cookbook collector, you must have this book. In addition to the recipes, there are dozens of stories, the kind which foodie readers really appreciate. For all others, consider a more modern encyclopedia of Italian recipes such as Michelle Scicolone's own `1000 Italian Recipes'.

Not the best edition -- the latest Italian print with Massimo Bottura's intro is much prettier -- but it's an important book and a fairly pretty edition just the same.

Type is pretty small for using it while actively cooking. Wish the book was larger as well as the print.

Really cool book.

It’s wonderful to know such touching and revered books about our beloved Italy are still in press.

Was recommended this book by a foodie in Bologna. He told me that this is the book every household would have, passed down from generations with notes added. The book is most comprehensive, and although it is about "Italian cooking", the emphasis is on Emilia-Romagna and Tuscany. This is not a book for the faint-hearted, and not for someone who just wants to quickly whip up a easy weekday supper.The book is about 100 years old (-ish) so it's like reading an Italian version of Mrs Beeton -- part of it may seem a little dated but absolutely essential for anyone who is seriously interested in understanding Italian cooking.

Great book.

After several attempts to learn about Italian cooking, I decided to get this well-known (and loved)book, albeit in translation.Great fun to read and many great recipes to try. I expect to experiment rather than accurately follow some of the rather vague instructions for some recipes. Well worth a look if you're at all interested in food and cooking history.

Very interesting reading about what was the standard food of Italy in the 19th century. So very tempting recipes which we will certainly try out.

It's wonderful to imagine when these were originally written what life was like, yet we can still replicate and eat these recipes in the 21st C.