Salt Fat Acid Heat

{{short description|American documentary cooking show on Netflix}}

{{Infobox television

| genre = {{ubl|Food|Documentary}}

| creator =

| based_on = Salt Fat Acid Heat by Samin Nosrat

| director = Caroline Suh

| starring = Samin Nosrat

| theme_music_composer = Fall On Your Sword

| num_seasons = 1

| num_episodes = 4

| executive_producer = {{ubl|Bet Cotner|Alex Gibney|Zana Lawrence|Lisa Nishimuru|Samin Nosrat|Stacey Offman|Caroline Suh|Stefano Biraghi}}

| cinematography = Luke McCoubrey

| runtime = 40–48 minutes

| company = Jigsaw Productions

| network = Netflix

| released = {{Start date|2018|10|11}}

}}

Salt Fat Acid Heat is an American cooking documentary television series starring Samin Nosrat. Based on her 2017 book of the same name, the four-part series premiered on Netflix on October 11, 2018.

The show and book's title comes from Nosrat's proposed four elements of successful cooking: salt, fat, acid, and heat.{{Cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/voraciously/wp/2018/10/15/netflixs-new-salt-fat-acid-heat-is-unlike-any-other-food-show-on-tv/ |title=Netflix's new 'Salt Fat Acid Heat' is unlike any other food show on TV |last=Judkis |first=Maura |date=2018-10-15 |newspaper=Washington Post |access-date=2018-12-18 }} Each installment of the series focuses on a particular element, with Nosrat traveling to a different location to demonstrate how the element is used in local cuisine.{{Cite web |url=https://www.bonappetit.com/story/salt-fat-acid-heat-netflix-series |title='Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat' Is the New Netflix Series That's Very Much Worth Your Time |last=Polis |first=Carey |website=Bon Appetit |date=2018-10-10 |language=en |access-date=2018-12-19}} In each episode, Nosrat has guides who walk her through their homeland's cuisine while she pulls out the lessons related to each fundamental element.{{Cite web |last=Giorgis |first=Hannah |date=2018-10-14 |title=Samin Nosrat Wants You to Cook With 'Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat' |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2018/10/samin-nosrat-salt-fat-acid-heat-netflix/572731/ |access-date=2021-12-27 |website=The Atlantic |language=en}} The show is "part how-to guide for home cooks of all skill levels and part aspirational travelogue".

Episodes

{{Episode table |total_width=60| overall=5|title=30|airdate=25|episodes=

{{Episode list

|EpisodeNumber=1

|Title=Fat

|OriginalAirDate={{Start date|2018|10|11}}

|ShortSummary=Nosrat visits Italy, looking at important fats in foods including olive oil, cheese, and meat.

}}

{{Episode list

|EpisodeNumber=2

|Title=Salt

|OriginalAirDate={{Start date|2018|10|11}}

|ShortSummary=In Japan, Nosrat explores how salt is included in traditional cuisine, including soy sauce and miso.

}}

{{Episode list

|EpisodeNumber=3

|Title=Acid

|OriginalAirDate={{Start date|2018|10|11}}

|ShortSummary=Nosrat goes to the Yucatán Peninsula in Mexico to learn about different kinds of acid in cooking.

}}

{{Episode list

|EpisodeNumber=4

|Title=Heat

|OriginalAirDate={{Start date|2018|10|11}}

|ShortSummary=Nosrat returns to her hometown, Berkeley, California, and visits Chez Panisse, the first restaurant she worked at, where she discusses the importance of heat. She also hosts a feast in her home, cooking alongside her Iranian mother.

}}

Reception

The show has received positive reviews from critics. On the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the series has a 100% approval rating based on nine reviews, with an average rating of 7.5 out of 10.{{Cite web|url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/salt_fat_acid_heat/s01|title=Salt Fat Acid Heat: Season 1|website=Rotten Tomatoes|access-date=2018-12-18}}

Maura Judkis of The Washington Post called it "unlike any other food show on TV", particularly mentioning the high proportion of women and home cooks featured on the show.

For Eater, Greg Morabito described Nosrat as "a charming host", and applauded her and director Caroline Suh for conceiving of a "completely new style of culinary TV show".{{Cite web|url=https://www.eater.com/2018/10/13/17972084/salt-fat-acid-heat-best-new-food-show-netflix|title='Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat' Is a New Kind of Food TV Show|last=Morabito|first=Greg|date=2018-10-13|website=Eater|access-date=2018-12-19}}

Doreen St. Félix's review in The New Yorker ascribed the show's success to "Nosrat's uncommon earnestness on camera".{{Cite magazine|last=St.Félix|first=Doreen|date=2018-11-08|title=Samin Nosrat's Sensual, Compassionate Food Travels in "Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat"|url=https://www.newyorker.com/culture/recommends/watch/samin-nosrats-sensual-compassionate-food-travels-in-salt-fat-acid-heat|access-date=2021-12-27|magazine=The New Yorker|language=en-US}} St. Félix also described how the show gives viewers a feeling of nostalgia for something most people have not experienced: local, high-quality ingredients enjoyed in the beautiful vistas of their countries of origin.

History

Nosrat began teaching cooking classes in 2007 and found it a very inefficient way of teaching. Even before she wrote the book on which the TV show is based, she thought about TV as a great way to reach a wider audience. She recalled the moment: {{blockquote|"And after two or three classes, I was like, Man, if I had a TV show, I could get to so many people … Just like I had not seen a book that sets out to teach, I had not seen a show that really sets out to teach."}}