Nathan Myhrvold on Modernist Cuisine at Home: We Didn't Dumb it Down

Modernist Cuisine author Nathan Myhrvold announced earlier today that a sequel, Modernist Cuisine at Home, is in the works and will be out October 8. Myhrvold found some time to emerge from his secret lair deep within the earth's core (kidding) and chat with Eater about what you can expect from the book.

Tell me about Modernist Cuisine at Home.
It was lots of work. [laughs] When we made Modernist Cuisine we wanted to not dumb it down. Well, we didn't dumb down this book either, but for Modernist Cuisine we focused on the best possible way to make something regardless of how difficult it was. The recipes in Modernist Cuisine at Home should be within reach for most home cooks.

Why tackle the subject of home cooking?
When Modernist Cuisine came out people would ask if they could cook with it at home, and I always told them no, not all of it, but some of it. This book contains food to explore that's less high brow, as opposed to the esoteric recipes from guys like Ferran Adrià and so forth. Not that there's anything wrong with that, it's just a different set of people, a different audience. So this book is things like chicken wings, pizza, mac and cheese, polenta. That kind of stuff.

How is it different than Modernist Cuisine?
Lots of home chefs loved Modernist Cuisine, but we wanted something that was especially for them. So it's designed for people at home, it's not quite the sixth volume of MC. For example it doesn't have the cross references the other book has. Frankly we're hoping people like it enough it becomes the sixth volume, but we'll have to wait and see about that.

So they'll be designed to sit next to each other on the shelf?
Yes, they'll be the same size. We couldn't make the plastic case for this one, it wasn't economical because it turns out most of the cost or those is the labor. But we did make a cardboard case, which holds the book itself and a water resistant, spiral bound kitchen manual with all of the recipes.

· Modernist Cuisine at Home [Eater]
· All Nathan Myhrvold Coverage on Eater [-E-]