# The Food Lab by J. Kenji López-Alt 7 Hacker News commenters recommended The Food Lab by J. Kenji López-Alt and 0 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 3 of 13 months. **Verdict:** People recommend it as an excellent cookbook that teaches the reasoning behind cooking and builds intuition, with recipes at several effort levels. No recurring criticisms were recorded. ## Why people recommend it - Excellent, widely recommended cookbook (3 comments): "He's got several excellent cookbooks (like the Food Lab and Wok)" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49137544)) "It's the perfect book for HN Nerds that love to cook" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49142264)) "Check out Kenji's book, The Food Lab." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49137776)) - Builds cooking intuition and fundamentals (2 comments): "Kenji goes through great lengths to build intuition." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48314702)) "The Food Lab is a great introduction to cooking." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49142375)) ## Alternatives hackers recommend - [On Food and Cooking by Harold McGee](https://hackerapproved.com/p/on-food-and-cooking.md): 3 recommend - [Modernist Cuisine by Nathan Myhrvold](https://hackerapproved.com/p/modernist-cuisine.md): 3 recommend - [The Sourdough Framework by Hendricius Ruppel](https://hackerapproved.com/p/sourdough-framework.md): 3 recommend - [The Flavor Bible by Karen Page and Andrew Dornenburg](https://hackerapproved.com/p/flavor-bible.md): 3 recommend - [Tartine Bread by Chad Robertson](https://hackerapproved.com/p/tartine-bread.md): 3 recommend ## Where to get it - [See price on Amazon](https://www.amazon.com/dp/0393081087?tag=hackerapprove-20) (affiliate link) - [Bookshop.org](https://bookshop.org/a/130825/9780393081084) (affiliate link) ## Cite as Hacker Approved, "The Food Lab by J. Kenji López-Alt", https://hackerapproved.com/p/food-lab/ (counts from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026).