Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat: Mastering the Elements of Good Cooking

A groundbreaking new master class in cooking from the woman Alice Waters dubbed "America's next great cooking teacher" that condenses decades of professional knowledge into just four easy components.

Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat is an ambitious new approach to cooking by a significant new culinary voice, following in the footsteps of The Joy of Cooking and How to Cook Everything. Samin Nosrat is a chef and writer who has taught everyone from middle school students to professional chefs to author Michael Pollan how to cook using her innovative but straightforward concept. Everything you prepare will taste great if you can master the use of only four ingredients: salt, which improves flavour; fat, which delivers flavour and develops texture; acid, which balances flavour; and heat, which finally decides texture. Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat will educate and motivate a new generation of chefs by elucidating the principles and methods of excellent cooking, enabling them to confidently make better judgements in the kitchen and prepare delectable meals with any materials, anywhere, at any time.

Salt, Fat Acid, Heat instantly closes the gap between home and professional kitchens by reflecting Samin's personal path from culinary beginner to award-winning chef. Samin demystifies the four components of excellent cooking for everyone with a captivating story, illustrated walkthroughs, and a playful take on kitchen science. To put the teachings into practise, prepare light, flaky pastry doughs, precisely caramelised roast vegetables, delicate braised meats and bright, balanced vinaigrettes by consulting the canon of 100 key recipes, along with hundreds of variants.

Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat, a culinary atlas with 150 images and infographics by acclaimed artist Wendy MacNaughton, will serve as your kitchen compass. It's certain to become a classic and may be the only cookbook you'll ever need.

with Michael Pollan's preface.