• Cooked

  • A Natural History of Transformation
  • By: Michael Pollan
  • Narrated by: Michael Pollan
  • Length: 13 hrs and 25 mins
  • 4.6 out of 5 stars (2,564 ratings)

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Cooked  By  cover art

Cooked

By: Michael Pollan
Narrated by: Michael Pollan
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Publisher's summary

Michael Pollan, the best-selling author of The Omnivore's Dilemma, Food Rules, and How to Change Your Mind, explores the previously uncharted territory of his own kitchen in Cooked.

Cooked is now a Netflix docuseries based on the book that focuses on the four kinds of "transformations" that occur in cooking. Directed by Oscar-winning filmmaker Alex Gibney and starring Michael Pollan, Cooked teases out the links between science, culture and the flavors we love.

In Cooked, Pollan discovers the enduring power of the four classical elements - fire, water, air, and earth - to transform the stuff of nature into delicious things to eat and drink. Apprenticing himself to a succession of culinary masters, Pollan learns how to grill with fire, cook with liquid, bake bread, and ferment everything from cheese to beer.

Each section of Cooked tracks Pollan’s effort to master a single classic recipe using one of the four elements. A North Carolina barbecue pit master tutors him in the primal magic of fire; a Chez Panisse-trained cook schools him in the art of braising; a celebrated baker teaches him how air transforms grain and water into a fragrant loaf of bread; and finally, several mad-genius “fermentos” (a tribe that includes brewers, cheese makers, and all kinds of picklers) reveal how fungi and bacteria can perform the most amazing alchemies of all. The listener learns alongside Pollan, but the lessons move beyond the practical to become an investigation of how cooking involves us in a web of social and ecological relationships. Cooking, above all, connects us.

The effects of not cooking are similarly far reaching. Relying upon corporations to process our food means we consume large quantities of fat, sugar, and salt; disrupt an essential link to the natural world; and weaken our relationships with family and friends. In fact, Cooked argues, taking back control of cooking may be the single most important step anyone can take to help make the American food system healthier and more sustainable. Reclaiming cooking as an act of enjoyment and self-reliance, learning to perform the magic of these everyday transformations, opens the door to a more nourishing life.

©2013 Michael Pollan (P)2013 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

"Pollan narrates his book in a conversational style filled with conviction and eagerness that drive the listener to join his evolutionary quest." (AudioFile)

What listeners say about Cooked

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Good for the non-biologist or new chef

Really good stuff- I just happened to know most of it already, as a biologist and experienced chef.

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Great Foodie Read

I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys learning the ins and outs, history and culture surrounding some of our most beloved foods. Michael Pollan does a good job of keeping the reader interested and engaged while delving into scientific explanations and details.

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As always-A Pollan Masterwork!

From Coleridge’s Secondary Imagination analogy to the many laugh out loud moments throughout, Pollan once again informs, entertains, and enlarges our understanding of mankind’s symbiotic and mutually enriching relationship with Nature. His knowledge and depth of research is brought to life with his eloquent and masterful command of language. In this book, as well as all his works, he combines his natural gifts as a story teller with his forays into the experiential subjects he details— making the journey into a style of substantive investigative journalism one of pure reading and listening delight! Love you MP!

P. S. I also just listened to his first book, Second Nature. This is a must-listen, if only to hear his hysterical anti-ode to America’s obsession with the lawn!

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  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars

Way too much meat

For an author know for saying, "Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants," this book was 3/4 about eating animals. It also lacked cohesion. He has this central question about why modern Americans have stopped cooking and, but most of the chapters don't address this and go off on their own wankery tangent. I liked te chapter on alcohol but it had fuck all to do with food or cooking.

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What’s Not to Love?

I love this book, and I get why that’s not saying much, being that it’s Michael Pollen, who has, in my opinion, a defining and landmark style to his writing: accessible but intricate, intelligent but not banal, Pollen has so much to say, and every word is a joy to listen to.

Cooked is a story of human development as seen through the classical elements, which are further abstracted into food - what it means to work with fire, water, air, fungus, how it defines us, and why the forms of food are the way that they are. It’s an anthropological exploration, but one that can be discovered in your kitchen. Moreover, it’s an homage to the human story. Pollen’s section on air is probably my favorite part of the novel, but the water sections are likewise excellent. It is a joy to listen to, and you’ll learn a lot in the process.

It is a breeze to listen to the whole text, and all the more so if you’re doing it while cooking. Read it: it’s fantastic, and worth every minute.

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El viaje necesario. The one trip.

Todo humano debe tomar el viaje de este libro.

Every human should take this trip.

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excellent

anyone who has interest in the science and lore of cooking and food as a part of culture should love this book. very entertaining and well constructed.

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Good, but naive

I loved the Netflix documentary based on this book. After reading this book, I found that both are a little bit different, while the theme has not changed. Anyway, I enjoyed this book, but thought that his approach is a little naive.

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Enjoyable, with a small exception...

This book was enjoyable to listen too, primarily due to the author’s passion for the subject, evident in his narration. It sounds like he truly enjoyed researching his subject. My only exception to this enjoyment was the excessive discussion of evolutionary development of human beings and how it is only the use of fire that separates us from other animals. That doesn’t really set well with my world view.

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Another Great Pollan Book

I am already a fan of his previous books so it wasn't much of a surprise to like this one too. Always insightful and well-researched, the information leaves me feeling like listening to this book was time well spent.

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