This book, written in the late 1800s, is a book of chemistry that explains the whys and hows of cooking to trained chefs and laymen alike. The book deals with some compounds of common foodstuffs, like albumen or gluten, and illustrates what happens from a chemist's point of view during certain types of food preparation like roasting, frying, or stewing. A part of the chapters also details adulterations of food - thankfully since outlawed - and how to detect them in the finished product.