In Defense of a $625 Cookbook

Modernist Cuisine: The Art and Science of Cooking, by Nathan Myhrvold, Chris Young, and Maxime Bilet, is a $625 cookbook (actually it's $421.87 on Amazon, with free shipping!). That is very, very expensive, and some folks are understandably shocked by the price. That's okay, though, because the five volume, 2,200-page guide to molecular gastronomy is not really intended for them. Like not at all.

Modernist Cuisine is written for the particular subset of professional chefs who toy with the science of food. The tools required for their craft can be very expensive: for example, an immersion circulator used for sous vide cooking or a centrifuge can both cost anywhere from $1,000 to $3,000 (all prices used in this post are from Amazon). Or much more. (These prices are not exclusive to molecular gastronomy equipment; commercial stoves cost upwards of $4,000, for example, and professional blenders cost between $400 to $500.) There is significant value in thoroughly exploring the capabilities of such equipment after such a large investment.

Also, compared to texts and guides for related industries, the price is comparable. For example, The Theory of Catering is $750, and the 2,099 page Food: Critical Concepts in Social Sciences goes for $1,495. That doesn't make the price excusable, but it does demonstrate that it's not unheard of for professional texts to cost as much or more than Modernist Cooking.

But still. Why is it so expensive? Other chefs in this field have produced cookbooks for far less money: The menu catalogs for Ferran Adrià's El Bulli cost between $200-$300 for example, and Heston Blumenthal's epically huge The Big Fat Duck Cookbook runs around $250. So what are you getting in Modernist Cuisine that's worth an extra three, four hundred dollars?

more

http://eater.com/archives/2010/08/09/in-defense-of-a-625-cookbook.php

So who will buy it? Certainly professionals, culinary schools, and perhaps even more progressive traditional university chemistry departments. That's not to say non-professionals won't buy it: there are plenty of food-obsessed folks with money to burn who would love nothing more than to have Modernist Cooking on their bookshelves, pristine and untouched. Is that silly? Sure. Is it hurting anyone? Not really.

A commenter on the Gawker piece cited above said, "I'd rather spend the $600 on good products, or, better even, a good restaurant." Which is great! And this book could be the key to the dishes one might consume at such an expensive meal. The research and the techniques and the knowledge have the potential for a lasting impact; David Chang has called it "the cookbook to end all cookbooks" and Ferran Adrià said "This book will change the way we understand the kitchen." That sounds like it might be worth $625.

until someone else writes something completely different next year...

And a centrifuge.

And an immersion circulator.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2zKbJWl9nW4

I'm especially impressed with how it handles grapes.

I remember when Kohler introduced the Class 5 a few years ago... curious if this is a new one or the old.

5 volumes - that's under $100 each

That's like 175 Hungry Man™ Dinners!