Episode 250: The Curious Cook, Harold McGee

This week on Cooking Issues, Dave and Nastassia are joined by "The Curious Cook" Harold McGee, an author who writes about the chemistry and history of food science, cooking and molecular gastronomy. He is best known for his seminal book On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen, initially published in 1984 and revised in 2004. Currently, he writes a regular column for the New York Times – "The Curious Cook" – which examines (and often debunks) conventional kitchen wisdom. Along with Dave Arnold and Nils Norén, he also teaches a three-day class at The French Culinary Institute in New York City entitled the Harold McGee Lecture Series. Peter Kim and Daniel Gritzer also join in to discuss losing your sense of smell, sticky white scum, Jerusalem artichokes, greazy donuts, and more. And don't miss next week's show, when the guest will be Jim Lahey, developer of the No-Knead bread recipe!