माइकल पोलन पिछली सात पुस्तकों के लेखक हैं, जिनमें कुक्ड, फ़ूड रूल्स, इन डिफेंस ऑफ़ फ़ूड, द ओम्निवोर्स डिलेम्मा और द बॉटनी ऑफ़ डिज़ायर शामिल हैं, जो सभी न्यूयॉर्क टाइम्स के बेस्टसेलर थे। न्यूयॉर्क टाइम्स पत्रिका में लंबे समय तक योगदान देने वाले, वह हार्वर्ड और कैलिफोर्निया विश्वविद्यालय, बर्कले में लेखन भी पढ़ाते हैं। 2010 में, टाइम पत्रिका ने उन्हें दुनिया के सौ सबसे प्रभावशाली लोगों में से एक का नाम दिया।
Cooked: A Natural History of Transformation पीडीएफ माइकल पोलान
[I]mportant, possibly life-altering, reading for every living, breathing human being." --Boston Globe In Cooked, Michael Pollan explores the previously uncharted territory of his own kitchen. Here, he discovers the enduring power of the four classical elementsfire, water, air, and earthto 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 Panissetrained 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.