Editing Justus von Liebig (section)

====Methods of cookery====
Liebig drew upon his work in plant nutrition and plant and animal metabolism to develop a theory of nutrition, which had implications for cookery. In his ''Researches on the Chemistry of Food'' (1847) Liebig argued that eating not only meat fibre, but also meat juices, which contained various inorganic chemicals, was important. These vital ingredients would be lost during conventional boiling or roasting in which cooking liquids were discarded.  For optimum nutritional quality, Liebig advised that cooks should either sear the meat initially to retain fluids, or retain and use cooking liquids (as in soups or stews).<ref name=Brock/>{{rp|217–218}}

Liebig was acclaimed in ''The Lancet'' for revealing "the true principles of cookery", and physicians promoted "rational diets" based on his ideas. Well-known British cookery writer [[Eliza Acton]] responded to Liebig by modifying the cookery techniques in the third edition of her ''Modern Cookery for Private Families'', and subtitling the edition accordingly.<ref name=Brock/>{{rp|218–219}}  Liebig's idea that "[[searing]] meat seals in the juices", though still widely believed, is not true.<ref name=McGee2004>{{cite book |chapter=The Searing Question | last=McGee |first=Harold | title=On Food and Cooking | publisher=Scribner | year=2004 | isbn=0-684-80001-2|page=161| edition=Revised }}</ref>