I highly recommend "On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen" By Harold McGee. First released in '84 and 2nd edition 2004( more and upgraded info). I have both eds. It's a pleasure to read and highly educational.
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A kitchen classic for over 35 years, and hailed by Time magazine as "a minor masterpiece" when it first appeared in 1984, On Food and Cooking is the bible which food lovers and professional chefs worldwide turn to for an understanding of where our foods come from, what exactly they're made of, and how cooking transforms them into something new and delicious.
For its twentieth anniversary, Harold McGee prepared a new, fully revised and updated edition of
On Food and Cooking. He has rewritten the text almost completely, expanded it by two-thirds, and commissioned more than 100 new illustrations. As compulsively readable and engaging as ever, the new
On Food and Cooking provides countless eye-opening insights into food, its preparation, and its enjoyment.
On Food and Cooking pioneered the translation of technical food science into cook-friendly kitchen science and helped birth the inventive culinary movement known as "molecular gastronomy." Though other books have been written about kitchen science,
On Food and Cooking remains unmatched in the accuracy, clarity, and thoroughness of its explanations, and the intriguing way in which it blends science with the historical evolution of foods and cooking techniques.
Among the major themes addressed throughout the new edition are:
· Traditional and modern methods of food production and their influences on food quality
· The great diversity of methods by which people in different places and times have prepared the same ingredients
· Tips for selecting the best ingredients and preparing them successfully
· The particular substances that give foods their flavors, and that give us pleasure
· Our evolving knowledge of the health benefits and risks of foods
On Food and Cooking is an invaluable and monumental compendium of basic information about ingredients, cooking methods, and the pleasures of eating. It will delight and fascinate anyone who has ever cooked, savored, or wondered about food. "
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There are some others that slip my mind that are good as well. W Table is really good for Korean food.
I think some of that is simply reflex. Oh and as for Maangchi you nailed it, it's the cutesy personality.
. I like them just fine by their lonesome though. Grabbing a chocolate chip cookie and biting into it only to find you've been duped by an oatmeal raisin is soul murder. 
