In Cooked, Pollan discovers the enduring power of the four classical elements—fire, water, air, and earth—to transform the stuff of nature into delicious things to eat and drink. Pollan learns how to grill with fire, cook with liquid, bake bread, and ferment everything from cheese to beer.

In the course of his journey, Pollan discovers that the cook occupies a special place in the world, standing squarely between nature and culture. Both realms are transformed by cooking, and so, in the process, is the cook.

The lessons move beyond the practical to become an investigation of how cooking involves us in a web of social and ecological relationships: with plants and animals, the soil, farmers, our history and culture, and the people our cooking nourishes. Cookedargues that taking back control of cooking may be the most important step anyone can take to help make the American food system healthier and more sustainable.