What Einstein Told His Cook 2: The Sequel: Further Adventures in Kitchen Science [Hardcover]

Robert L. Wolke (Author), Marlene Parrish (Contributor)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 18, 2005

The scientist in the kitchen tells us more about what makes our foods tick.

This sequel to the best-selling What Einstein Told His Cook continues Bob Wolke's investigations into the science behind our foods—from the farm or factory to the market, and through the kitchen to the table. In response to ongoing questions from the readers of his nationally syndicated Washington Post column, "Food 101," Wolke continues to debunk misconceptions with reliable, commonsense answers. He has also added a new feature for curious cooks and budding scientists, "Sidebar Science," which details the chemical processes that underlie food and cooking. In the same plain language that made the first book a hit with both techies and foodies, Wolke combines the authority, clarity, and wit of a renowned research scientist, writer, and teacher. All those who cook, or for that matter go to the market and eat, will become wiser consumers, better cooks, and happier gastronomes for understanding their food. 20 illustrations

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Food-science columnist Wolke returns with a further compilation of his ever-popular and instructive essays on the whys and wherefores of the foods we cook and eat. With verve and elan, he addresses a host of questions and issues that befuddle not just chefs but anyone who cares about the foods we ingest. How old are 1,000-year eggs? How can one cut onions without crying? What makes some mashed potatoes gluey? Why does split-pea soup turn into green cement? Are nitrites really harmful? Is buckwheat a type of wheat? How can I avoid buying adulterated scallops? What is miso? Wolke addresses all such questions with sound scientific information in his punning, idiosyncratic way, which is sure to provoke many a laugh. In sidebars he generates amusing definitions of food terms. Marlene Parrish offers recipes that complement the subjects of Wolke's essays. His too-brief disquisition on the accurate use of language in food writing ought to be required reading for both menu designers and aspiring food journalists. Mark Knoblauch
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Review

Bob Wolke has a great talent...that makes this book equally useful for the chef or home cook. -- José Andrés

Infectious, informative, and even surprisingly useful. -- Mark Kurlansky, author of Salt and Cod

Teaches cooks about chemistry, and chemists about food. If you love cooking, chemistry, and puns, this is for you! -- Charles P. Casey, 2004 president of the American Chemical Society and professor of chemistry, University of Wisconsin-Madison

Who else can explain the science of braising or the mechanics of heat transfer and still make you chuckle?" -- Jack Bishop, Executive Editor, Cook's Illustrated

Wolke's explanations are so well-written that they read like a witty novel, except it is all true. -- Elinor Klivans author of Big Fat Cookies and Cupcakes!

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 384 pages
• Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company (April 18, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0393058697
• ISBN-13: 978-0393058697
• Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 6.5 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #158,629 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

37 of 38 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Worthy Sucessor to the first book!, April 5, 2005

By 

Joshua Barratt (Santa Monica, CA, United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: What Einstein Told His Cook 2: The Sequel: Further Adventures in Kitchen Science (Hardcover)

As a big fan of the first book in this series, I was glad to see another one pop up and quickly put it on my wish list. I was also glad to see that it was even longer than volume 1, with an extra 110 pages. The style is great -- well paced, well laid out, with the 'harder' science very skimmable and yet approachable to non-chemists. I particularly like the way he challenges conventionally held assumptions by, in many cases, doing simple experiments that seem to answer things conclusively. The inlined recipes (by his wife, Marlene Parrish) look delicious and provide a nice break to the flow of questions. Some of my favorite answers:
Why does iced tea turn cloudy? Will coffee stay hotter if I put the cream in right away or only when I'm ready to drink it? Why are there sulfites in wine? How can I get a red wine stain out of a tablecloth? Why do onions really make me cry? Why are "sweet" onions sweet? When an banana ripes and gets sweeter, does it contain more calories? What is a free radical? What makes mashed potatoes gluey? How can I best match a pasta shape with a sauce? Does marinating work? (suprising!) What's the difference between browning and caramelizing? Why do we cook with wine?

And so on. If you like cooking and like knowing more about what's going on inside the pan and aren't afraid of a few polysyllabic words (mmmm, alpha-galactosidase... don't worry, they are defined in context) then grab this book. I couldn't put it down!

36 of 40 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Entertaining Foodie Read plus Superior Explanations., May 15, 2005

By 

B. Marold "Bruce W. Marold" (Bethlehem, PA United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: What Einstein Told His Cook 2: The Sequel: Further Adventures in Kitchen Science (Hardcover)

`What Einstein Told His Cook 2, The Sequel' by retired chemistry professor and columnist, Robert Wolke is in the same format as the first volume, of which I said:

"This book of what science can tell us about working with food. It is one answer to my wish that every TV chef who is attempting to teach cooking to us foodies take a two semester course in chemistry. The book is not a rigorous approach to the chemistry of sugars, salt, fats, chemical leavenings, heat, acids, bases, and the like. Rather, it is a collection of enhanced answers to questions posed to the author in a regular newspaper column. This makes the book more interesting to read, if a little less available as a resource to applying its teachings to new situations."

This statement is equally true of the second volume. And, I must believe Professor Wolke has read this comment in my review or elsewhere. In his introduction he recognizes that his little columns are all answers to specific questions; however, science, by its nature, is `all tied together' in theories which enable its predictive and explanatory powers. Thus, Wolke says that in order to explain the answer to two related questions, we may find him repeating himself now and then, as he does over and over when he invokes how proteins denature by unwinding themselves and wrapping themselves into tight knots, leading to, for example, cooked eggs or tough cooked meat. I have absolutely no problem with that within the context of his format of question and answer.

On the other hand, this format does not lend itself to be used as a source for looking up specific answers to questions that were not asked by the people writing into Dr. Wolke at the Washington Post. This is a small but real problem, made all the more frustrating because buried in the answers to some questions are some real gems of wisdom such as Table 5 on page 222 which gives the best kinds of sauces for various shapes of hard pasta. As good as the battalions of Italian cookbook writers are in covering their field, none of them has, to my recollection, put things quite so succinctly. This illustrates that genius in writing about cooking is not so much in what science you use, but in how well you present the answer. And, with a few small reservations, it is in this talent where Professor Wolke is a champion. While I may still vote for Alton Brown as my favorite TV foodie, Wolke has mastered the connection between Science, English, Food, and his audience.

One of my favorite examples of how Wolke successfully addresses an issue is on the matter of cutting onions and tears. For starters, he corrects Alton Brown's error in attributing the tearing to sulfur trioxide dissolving in the moisture in your eyes, thus creating a weak sulfuric acid solution. In fact, if any sulfur oxide gas is involved, it is much more likely to be sulfur dioxide which, when dissolved in water, creates the much weaker sulfurous acid. Wolke goes on to say that the phenomena is due to a number of different causes, which makes absolute sense, because if there were a single cause, then the chances of finding relief would be much higher. Wolke goes on to show the problems with all the various remedies. He and Alton agree on the importance of a sharp knife, although I use an extremely sharp Japanese vegetable knife when dicing onions, and I tear like a two-year-old on a jag. Sticking with onions, Wolke gives an excellent explanation of the French vintner's notion of `terroir' and how it relates to the lower bite of Vidalia onions. And, he correctly points out that it is fewer nasty compounds rather than more sugars which make the Vidalia and its cousins milder.

There are three general areas where Wolke could stand some improvement. While I was a journeyman chemist, I was an expert on linguistics and linguistic philosophy so, first, I find Wolke is occasionally a bit inconsistent in his use of works such as alkali (the opposite of acid). Early in the book, he says that alkali should be reserved for the extremely strong bases such as sodium hydroxide and potassium hydroxide, yet I see him frequently using `alkali' for things that are just a tad over pH 7. The second quibble is that while science and the arts have long ago come to a détente and science and religion seem to be at an armed truce, Wolke constantly takes potshots at aspects of legal and political practice. It in incredibly easy for someone schooled in the doctrines of science to take pleasure at the apparent foibles of political practice, yet the people in the political world have problems of entirely different nature than either science or art, so cheap shots at food regulations, for example, are just that, cheap. The last problem I see is with Wolke's humor, especially in his little `Foodie's Fictionary' blurbs. I'm afraid I found not one of them very funny. Sorry. I think most of the humor in his main text is pretty basic and certainly welcome, but Alton Brown does not need to fear his position as the leading culinary class clown. The book would have been just a wee bit better with a good bibliography on food science references.

New in this sequel are sidebars on various scientific issues. Most of the really valuable reference stuff is in these sidebars. What you may wish to do is stick some of those cute little post it note tabs on the sidebarred pages and write a word describing the topic.

This is a really great book to take to your armchair and read from cover to cover. If you liked the first, you will definitely like this one as well or better. If you have read neither and you have an interest in food, buy both now!

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Very interesting, but not particularly useful., July 30, 2009

By 

Tara Shuler "Author" (United States) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: What Einstein Told His Cook 2: The Sequel: Further Adventures in Kitchen Science (Hardcover)

I found this book to be fun and interesting to read, but it wasn't very useful. I was hoping for something along the lines of "On Food and Cooking" by Harold McGee, but this book is actually more of an entertaining trivia book rather than having a lot of useful information that will help you become a better cook.

Yes, there is some useful information in the book. But it's not organized very well, so it's hard to find information about something specific. It's also not a comprehensive guide like "On Food and Cooking", it's just bits and pieces of trivia thrown together mostly haphazardly. The book is organized into sections, but the sections don't make it as easy to find specific information as they should.

I found this book to be relatively entertaining, but it wasn't what I hoped it would be at all. Buy this for purely entertainment value, but don't look at it as any type of culinary reference. You will learn some stuff, but probably not as much practical information as you would like.

I have both volumes of this set, and they are both similar in entertainment value versus usefulness.