| Salt Fat Acid Heat | |
|---|---|
| Genre |
|
| Based on | Salt Fat Acid Heat by Samin Nosrat |
| Directed by | Caroline Suh |
| Starring | Samin Nosrat |
| Theme music composer | Fall On Your Sword |
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 4 (list of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Executive producers |
|
| Cinematography | Luke McCoubrey |
| Running time | 40–48 minutes |
| Production company | Jigsaw Productions |
| Original release | |
| Network | Netflix |
| Release | October 11, 2018 |
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.[1] 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.[2] 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.[3] The show is "part how-to guide for home cooks of all skill levels and part aspirational travelogue".[3]
| No. | Title | Original air date | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Fat" | October 11, 2018 | |
| Nosrat visits Italy, looking at important fats in foods including olive oil, cheese, and meat. | |||
| 2 | "Salt" | October 11, 2018 | |
| In Japan, Nosrat explores how salt is included in traditional cuisine, including soy sauce and miso. | |||
| 3 | "Acid" | October 11, 2018 | |
| Nosrat goes to the Yucatán Peninsula in Mexico to learn about different kinds of acid in cooking. | |||
| 4 | "Heat" | October 11, 2018 | |
| 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. | |||
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.[4]
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.[1]
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".[5]
Doreen St. Félix's review in The New Yorker ascribed the show's success to "Nosrat's uncommon earnestness on camera".[6] 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.[6]
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:
"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."[3]
