Up front the author acknowledges that cardiologists will not agree with the recommendations on salt usage. This book is about taste, not blood pressure.

Many of the foods mentioned in the book are not household names. The author worked in fancy restaurants where they prepared food to delight the most discriminating palates.

The last half of the book the book is recipes, but they are not recipes in the usual sense. We have already been told to adjust the recipes according to taste, sight, and smell. We were told that how a dish is prepared depends on the freshness and flavor that the food already contains. So instead of a straight jacket recipe, they are descriptions of considerations for that food. ( )

For those, like me, with the most rudimentary of cooking training and little opportunity to learn more than just how to follow a recipe, this book is eye opening. Perhaps those who are formally trained or schooled at home or in family restaurants by family members who were not afraid to experiment with food, creating their own recipes handed down by generation, take for granted a lot of the knowledge imparted in this book. It is far more than a cookbook -- its 150 recipes do not nearly fill the 480 pages of it. The bulk of it is solid, useful information about why the title elements are important in cooking, how they enhance flavors and why. I have had my copy of Better Homes & Gardens Cookbook since my wedding shower in the 1970s, followed shortly by Irma Rombauer's The Joy of Cooking, and later Julia Childs, The Moosewood, and a variety of others followed. But aside from beloved recipes that I have tried and repeated over the decades in those books, and likely know by heart now, I feel I can pass those on to someone else and use this book alone as my cooking bible. Ironically, after all the years of rebelling against by society's cramped expectations about "women's sphere" and therefore pursuing an education and career in a testosterone-driven profession, I have an urge to learn to cook well and adventurously in my declining years. My partner cooks for us; he spoils me that way, but I want to learn to be better at it and share the kitchen with him and this book is going to be my constant companion when I retire and embark on that new adventure. ( )

The chapter on salt provides an explanation of the chemistry behind that mineral's essential role in human nutrition and culinary arts.

The book also reinforced my practice (first learned from Angelo Pellegrini's The Unprejudiced Palate") of using rather than following recipes.
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Really, really liked this to the point of buying my own copy after the library one was due, though I have yet to put it in practice yet (as typical with my reading of cookbooks... though she does point out that recipes can sometimes restrict you too much) However, I do think about the elements when eating, so there's that? Samin Nosrat really gets into the *why* of how different cooking methods and elements influence flavor, taste, texture, etc. and offers ways to balance and adjust as you go along. Easy to follow along, and Wendy MacNaughton's watercolor illustrations really brighten up the book as you go. Will absolutely refer to this in the future

I have yet to watch the companion Netflix series (I believe the book came first) so I'm curious about how it's presented in video format. ( )

Excellent book passing on lots of useful cooking experience from an experienced chef.

I listened to this book in audiobook form. I would advise against this, and recommend getting the physical book instead.

While the audio version by all accounts is well narrated, I reckon the book is more useful in physical form. Long sections are rapid fire tips for different kinds of cooking situations. Having the book to physically consult seems more useful when you find yourself in a situation where you actually need those tips.

My score is leaning between 3 and 4 - having listened to the audiobook nudges it down to 3. The physical book would probably be a 4.

That said, excellent material explained well. I reckon most home cooks would take away something useful from this. ( )