Cooking isn’t just about collecting recipes. Of course, recipes are important, but it is far more important to learn the principles that make our recipes work.

Here’s a short list of the most influential books I’ve ever read about food. If you read just one of these books, it will change your food forever. Check out the list:

Salt Fat Acid Heat by Samin Nosrat

This is the most influential book on the list, and easily the first book I recommend to anyone getting into cooking.

The reason I recommend this book is because it completely rebuilds your understanding of food basics and builds from there. Usually when I see a hobbyist getting into cooking, they start off obsessing over spice mixes. They added oregano to their top ramen once, and now they’re Gordon Ramsey.

In this book, Nosrat takes a deep dive into the four pillars of great cooking (which, unsurprisingly, are salt, fat, acid, and heat). The book isn’t just a collection of boring essays, either. It’s a clear and simple explanation of the best ways to incorporate the fundamental aspects of cooking into your food—from layering different salts into your food to pairing the proper fat with your stir fry, this book has everything you need to jumpstart your cooking to an entirely new level.

The Flavor Bible by Karen Page and Andrew Dornenburg

This book is an excellent follow up to Salt Fat Acid Heat for two reasons. First, it approaches food from a totally different perspective by dividing cooking into different approaches: such as an intellectual approach, an emotional approach, etc. Reading this helped me understand the niche I enjoy most (which is a strong lean into my American roots combined with an engaged interest in food science).

But the second reason this book is so amazing is because two entire thirds of it are taken up by flavor pairing recommendations. Remember that novice cook I was making fun of who is overly obsessed with his spice mix? With this book, that novice chef will have a heyday. Curious about all the different ways to use nutmeg? Trying to invent a new barbecue sauce recipe focused around rosemary? This book has you covered.

On Food and Cooking by Harold McGee

Warning: this book is dense. It flirts with the line between textbook and technique book. Not everyone is interested in the molecular arrangement of different strains of dairy (or how to use that understanding to make amazing milk foam). However, this is an excellent book for the hardcore foodies who are trying to become legendary.

This book isn’t bursting with actionable information the same as the first two books. However, it’s a valuable resource for sussing out the finer details of food science.

Meathead by Meathead Goldwyn

Finally, the ultimate book for barbecue enthusiasts. To me, this book was as influential as Salt Fat Acid Heat. It dispels a huge list of myths around meat and cuts straight into the perfect way to cook any cut of meat in your smoker.

I do most of my smoking on a classic Weber kettle that I bought on a discount, but with help from this book, I’ve competed against people boasting fancy offset smokers and pellet grills. Guess who won. Not me. But I got second. It was all thanks to Meathead.

I hope you found this list helpful! If you have any other book you’d recommend, let me know in the comments.