The Missing Ingredient: The Curious Role of Time in Food and Flavour

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Review ------ Brilliant and original ... From slow feasts to fast food, Linford shows that, no matter what we are cooking, time is of the essence' (Bee Wilson Sunday Times) Thoughtful, lively and original. No one has approached food in regard to time before (Jill Norman, Food and Wine Writer) A compelling book...Time is the unacknowledged genie of the kitchen. The Missing Ingredient considers the meanings that go beyond quantitative measures (Darra Goldstein TLS) Interesting...clever...revelatory (Rachel Cooke Guardian) Thoughtful and engaging (Waitrose Weekend) Beautifully written and highly original. Jenny Linford scrutinises time-honoured food production methods and cookery techniques through the often ignored lens of time. A gently informative, almost lyrical volume for our impatient times (Joanna Blythman, author of Shopped: The Shocking Power Of British Supermarkets) Jenny Linford has created something quite remarkable: a treatise on the single most vital and most overlooked element of food and cooking that's as page-turning as a thriller. It's hard to believe nobody has tackled the concept of 'time' before, and Jenny has done it more than justice. A glorious, essential addition to every food lover's book shelves. (Marina O’Loughlin, restaurant critic) From the Inside Flap -------------------- The Missing Ingredient is about what makes good food, and the first book to consider the intrinsic yet often forgotten role of time in creating the flavours and textures we love. Written through a series of encounters with ingredients, producers, cooks, shopkeepers and chefs, exploring everything from the brief period in which sugar caramelises, or the days required in the crucial process of fermentation, to the months of slow ripening and close attention that make a great cheddar, or the years needed for certain wines to reach their peak, Jenny Linford shows how, time and again, time itself is the invisible ingredient. From the patience and dedication of many food producers in fields and storehouses around the world to the rapid reactions required of any home cook at the hob, this book allows us to better understand our culinary lives.