If cooking is a craft concerned with the "how" of preparing food, then gastronomy is its attendant science, examining the "why." Molecular gastronomy takes this examination one step (or several steps) further — down to the molecular level, where a perfectly risen soufflé is not a recondite art but simply a matter of chemistry.

Hervé This (pronounced "Teess") was the first to complete a Ph.D. in the nascent field of molecular gastronomy — a term he and the Oxford physicist Nicholas Kurti coined in the late 1980s. This has since become the field's most fervent evangelist, spreading the gospel of a scientific approach to cooking both on French TV and in a series of popular cookbooks. As with most things continental, the U.S. is only just now catching on; Molecular Gastronomy is This' first work in English, but fear not, foodies, the Mr. Wizard of the kitchen is now stateside.

This specializes in tackling perennial culinary conundrums (Should steak be salted before or after cooking? How does one center the yolk of a hard-boiled egg?) by walking the reader through the science to arrive at the answers (salt whenever you like; roll the egg while it boils). Each topic has its own pithy, three-page chapter, and while the hard science can admittedly be quite hard at times, This' explanations are intended for both the chemist and layman alike. The book's 101 chapters cover everything from umami (the so-called "fifth" taste) to the terroirs of wine, cheese, and whiskey. In so doing, these sections distill the latest research in food science into digestible (sorry) form.

There is a revolutionary aspect to This' way of thinking. It's more than the simple premise that we're all capable of understanding the science behind the recipes we follow and the food we eat — even if words like "amylopectin" and "tensioactive" mean nothing to us. For This, we can all become better cooks as a result.

-Chris Lamb