There are ingredients, and then there are Ingredients. An ingredient is a tomato, a tortilla, or some tarragon. An Ingredient (with a capital "I") is a fundamental building block or recurring theme that works behind the scenes in everything we cook. There are millions of ingredients, but only eight Ingredients: Water, Sugars, Carbohydrates, Lipids, Proteins, Minerals, Gases, and Heat. Each Ingredient has its own personality, a set of things it does or does not do. This book teaches you the personalities of the Ingredients, where to find them, and how to put them to work. In this entertaining, informative guide, one of the leading experts in culinary science paints a portrait of each of the fundamental building blocks of food, giving all cooks a way to visualize and respond to what's really happening in the pan.