--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: By now, cooking has become so thickly…" description: "\"“By now, cooking has become so thickly crusted with pretension and gadgetry and marketing hype that the effort to reduce it to its most basic elements,..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a4c/michael-pollan-408_food_by-now-cooking-has-become-so-thickly-cru_648551.png" --- # By now, cooking has become so thickly crusted with… ![“By now, cooking has become so thickly crusted with pretension and gadgetry and marketing hype that the effort to reduce it to its most basic elements, to drive it into a corner and see it plainly, seemed like a good way to take hold of it again.” quote by Michael Pollan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a4c/michael-pollan-408_food_by-now-cooking-has-become-so-thickly-cru_648551.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a4c/michael-pollan-408_food_by-now-cooking-has-become-so-thickly-cru_648551.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a4c/michael-pollan-408_food_by-now-cooking-has-become-so-thickly-cru_648551.png) > ““By now, cooking has become so thickly crusted with pretension and gadgetry and marketing hype that the effort to reduce it to its most basic elements, to drive it into a corner and see it plainly, seemed like a good way to take hold of it again.”” [Michael Pollan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-pollan/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Modern cooking is clouded by pretension, gadgets, and hype, obscuring its simple, essential nature. **In simple terms:** Cooking has become overly complicated and commercial. Key Takeaway Strip back to basics to rediscover cooking’s essence. Themes food simplicity culture Mood contemplative inspired Type culinary reflective When to use this quote - home cooking - culinary education - food journalism Key Concepts culinary fundamentals consumerism authenticity Questions to Reflect On - What basic element of cooking do you miss? - How can tradition and innovation coexist? A Different Perspective Simplifying may overlook benefits of modern techniques. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Cooking Thickly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cooking-thickly-5191946/) [Crusted](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/crusted-3952590/) [Crusted Pretension](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/crusted-pretension-5191948/) [Food](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/food/) [Pretension Gadgetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pretension-gadgetry-5191949/) [Thickly Crusted](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thickly-crusted-5191947/) ## Related quotes > [“The surface of the earth crusted. A thin hard crust, and as the sky became pale, so the earth became pale, pink in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/the-surface-of-the-earth-crusted-a-thin-hard-crust-and-as-the-sky/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [Every peasant cuisine has incredible ingenious tricks for getting a lot of nutrition out of a small amount of ingredients. 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Accordingly...they became abominably wicked, and they were justly exterminated by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/before-noah-men-having-only-water-to-drink-could-not-find-the-truth/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [On Sundays, that's my pig out day and I do the pizza and the beer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victoria-silvstedt/on-sundays-that-s-my-pig-out-day-and-i-do-the-pizza-and-the-beer/) [Victoria Silvstedt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victoria-silvstedt/) ## More by Michael Pollan > [“In the same way that the picturesque designers were always careful to include some reminder of our mortality in their gardens -- a ruin,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-pollan/in-the-same-way-that-the-picturesque-designers-were-always-careful-to/) [Michael Pollan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-pollan/) > [My hope is that if people have the knowledge, and if they actually see where their food comes from and have access to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-pollan/my-hope-is-that-if-people-have-the-knowledge-and-if-they-actually-see/) [Michael Pollan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-pollan/) > [The problem is that we let special-occasion food become everyday food. 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You do know that right?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beth-ashworth/my-god-joseph-your-toasted-sandwiches-are-the-fucking-shit-you-do/) [Beth Ashworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beth-ashworth/) > [I feel like I could eat the world raw.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeline-miller/i-feel-like-i-could-eat-the-world-raw/) [Madeline Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeline-miller/) > [To me, Caribbean food is about fresh, seasonal produce - using what's in season to create vibrant and great tasting food. The spicing is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ainsley-harriott/to-me-caribbean-food-is-about-fresh-seasonal-produce-using-what-s-in/) [Ainsley Harriott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ainsley-harriott/) > [ “\[S\]ometimes, when you are a food person, the possible irrelevance of what you are doing doesn’t cross your mind until it’s too late. 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