How can we make the yolk of a boiled egg perfectly centered? What do we need to do to make the broth clear? Can mayonnaise be made without eggs? Foam from pure chocolate? How can butter be spread as soon as it comes out of the refrigerator? When is food more aromatic: when we chew slowly or when we chew quickly? And can we really "seal" the juices in the meat we roast? But when should we season it: before or after cooking? And what about wine? Does the shape of the glass affect its taste?

Just a small sample of the interesting but also useful and often entertaining questions that Herve This undertakes to clarify. Until now, the chemistry of food was only the subject of chemists. "Molecular gastronomy" brings it - as it also brings physics and biology - into the kitchen, making it another tool in the hands of those who cook. How you will use this tool is up to you. You can perfect familiar everyday dishes, but you can also be inspired and create new combinations of styles, flavors, and aromas. You can even simply satisfy your curiosity and immerse yourself in the narrative of a chemist who loves cooking and decided to enter the kitchen holding his pots in one hand and his test tubes in the other.