Cooked

A Natural History of Transformation

De: Michael Pollan

Narrado por: Michael Pollan

Michael Pollan, the bestselling 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 reader 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.

Pollan does it again! Brilliant and compelling

If you could sum up Cooked in three words, what would they be?

Only Michael Pollan can take the idea of how we cook our food and make that most basic of activities relate to who we are and how we came to be human.

What did you like best about this story?

I was intrigued by the idea that we are the only animals who cook our food...and that may be what, in fact, what allowed our brains to get enough energy-dense meals fast enough to allow our energy-hog brains to develop. Fire also took us from solitary hunter/gatherers to social beings. The last chapter, about fermentation, was absolutely fascinating. What we have done to damage the microflora we need in our co-evolution with the microbial world is the information we need to make better decisions as a society.

Have you listened to any of Michael Pollan’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

I've never heard Michael Pollan read before, and, of course, he is the perfect voice for his words. He is a charming and engaging reader. (In a tiny comment, he do wish he say genu-in rather then genu-wine.)

Any additional comments?

I am an unabashed fan of this writer whose brilliance and intriguing topics touch all of us in such fundamental ways!

A good "read"

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Anyone who is interested in learning a little more about the basic fundamentals of cookig will enjoy this book.

Earth, air, fire, water - how they change food

A look at learning how the four "ancient" elements change food, and how these changes have changed us as humans. I was skeptical after seeing a brief interview, but after listening to the book, getting the whole explanation instead of the 15-second sound bite, I have recommended this book to co-workers, family, and friends. Pollan does not write from a clinically detached place, he actually learned to bake bread from his own natural starter culture, braise with the best of them, brew at home, pickle and ferment veggies, make cheese, and barbeque. He shares the triumphs of the processes, as well as the failures, and his encounters with the true artists he met along the way. He has learned that cooking can bring the family together, especially when the interest and passion is shared with the other members of the family. I think the fact that he still continues to make bread, braise, and brew occasionally speaks volumes to the satisfaction that can come from food lovingly and artfully produced and appreciated. When you learn to appreciate the art and effort that go into the preparation, you are much more conscious and conscientious in the eating and drinking!

I would not listen to this in one marathon evening or even weekend, but it is worth the time to change your understanding and appreciation of cooking.

How cooking is culturally developed and ultilized.

The story of how cooking defines culture and what allows humans to be nourished. Grains especially need to be cooked with implications across the food chain.

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.