10 books that changed the world

Perhaps that's a bit of hyperbole, but this list of books is the perfect foundation to any aspiring food scholar. I have chosen each book from first hand experience, reputation, and significance. Part of the reason why I love studying food is that I get a chance to use it as a lens to see everything else and with that in mind I made sure to cover the spectrum: science, art, history, politics, economics, anthropology, and of course how-to. All these aspects are covered in these 10 books, primed and vetted from both popular culture and peer review.

On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen by Harold McGee
This is the classically essential book. If you ever wanted to learn anything about food and cooking this is it. It’s the book that my idol, Alton Brown, reads. It’s the one book that anybody who is serious about cooking needs to read. It's the alpha and omega. Start and end your library with this.

What Einstein Told His Cook by Robert Wolke
This lovely read addresses the everyday questions that pop into your head. He breaks down concepts and illustrates them with wonderful recipes. The perfect read for the amateur or casual chef who is curious about how things work.

Molecular Gastronomy by Herve This
The world’s only degree holding molecular gastronomist, Herve This has revolutionized the field of study. He explores the phenomena of taste, smell, and perception. He debunks the old myths about cooking. He beautifully blends science and cooking into an understandable art form.

The Oxford Companion to Food by Alan Davidson
No encyclopedia is as definitive or as entertaining as Davidson’s. A huge and authoritative dictionary of 2,650 entries on just about every conceivable foodstuff, seasoning, cuisine, cooking method, historical survey, significant personage, and explication of myth, it is supplemented by some 40 longer articles on key items. If you love reading wikipedia articles, getting side tracked into others again and again, this is the encyclopedia for you.

The Complete Guide to the Art of Modern Cookery by Escoffier
There is a reason that even today, every culinary student is given a copy of this at welcome week. It is still the authoritative manual for Haute Cuisine.

I’m Just Here For the Food vol. 1&2 by Alton Brown
I make no attempts to hide how much Alton Brown has influenced my cooking style. These two volumes teach everything the basic home chef needs to know to make both cook (vol. 1) and bake (vol. 2) a wide variety of dishes in a practical and timely manner. Clear, concise, and also complete. Recipes are amazing but also serve as spring boards of inspiration for the home chef to add their own touches.

The Omnivore’s Dilemma by Michael Pollan
Michael Pollan has become a sort of guru and his book The Omnivore’s Dilemma shows why. In it he scrutinizes the major foodways that we, as both a society and an individual, are obtaining our food. And shows us things we may not have wanted to know.

Food Politics by Marion Nestle
Marion Nestle provides insights like no other into the political machine that keeps driving the food industry. Where people like Pollan and Schlosser show how the food is made, Nestle shows why. It’s a disturbing awakening to understanding how we are affected without even necessarily being aware of it.

Fast Food Nation by Eric Schlosser
The inspiration for people like Pollan and Morgan Spurlock’s Super Size Me. Schlosser shows every dirty speck in the prepackaged world of fast food.

Hungry Planet: What the World Eats by Peter Menzel and Faith D'Aluisio
An amazing look at how families across the world eat. It drives home not only concepts of abundance and poverty but of cross cultural exchange and international commercialization. Provocative and eye opening.