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What Einstein Told His Cook: Kitchen Science Explained 1st Edition

by Robert L. Wolke (Author)

4.5 546 ratings

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Einstein's cook was lucky. But you, too, can have a scientist in your kitchen: Robert L. Wolke.

Do you wish you understood the science of foods, but don't want to plow through dry technical books? What Einstein Told His Cook is like having a scientist at your side to answer your questions in plain, nontechnical terms. Chemistry professor and syndicated Washington Post food columnist Robert L. Wolke provides over 100 reliable and witty explanations, while debunking misconceptions and helping you to see through confusing advertising and labeling. In "Sweet Talk" you will learn that your taste buds don't behave the way you thought they did, that starch is made of sugar, and that raw sugar isn't raw. Did you know that roads have been paved with molasses? Why do cooked foods turn brown? What do we owe to Christopher Columbus's mother-in-law? In "The Salt of the Earth" you will learn about the strange salts in your supermarket. Does sea salt really come from the sea? (Don't bet on it.) Why do we salt the water for boiling pasta? And how can you remove excess salt from oversalted soup? (You may be surprised.) In "The Fat of the Land" you will learn the difference between a fat and a fatty acid, what makes them saturated or unsaturated, and that nonfat cooking sprays are mostly fat. Why don't the amounts of fats on food labels add up? Why does European butter taste better than ours? In "Chemicals in the Kitchen" you will learn what's in your tap water, how baking powder and baking soda differ, and what MSG does to food. What Japanese taste sensation is sweeping this country? Is your balsamic vinegar fake? Why do potato chips have green edges? In "Turf and Surf" you will learn why red meat is red, why ground beef may look as if it came from the Old Gray Mare, and how bones contribute to flavor. Want a juicy turkey with smooth gravy? How does one deal with a live clam, oyster, crab, or lobster? In "Fire and Ice" you will learn how to buy a range and the difference between charcoal and gas for grilling. Did you know that all the alcohol does not boil off when you cook with wine? How about a surprising way to defrost frozen foods? And yes, hot water can freeze before cold water. In "Liquid Refreshment" you will learn about the acids and caffeine in coffee, and why "herb teas" are not teas. Does drinking soda contribute to global warming? Why does champagne foam up? Should you sniff the wine cork? How can you find out how much alcohol there is in your drink? In "Those Mysterious Microwaves" you will learn what microwaves do―and don't do―to your food. What makes a container "microwave safe"? Why mustn't you put metal in a microwave oven? How can you keep microwave-heated water from blowing up in your face? In "Tools and Technology" you will learn why nothing sticks to nonstick cookware, and what the pressure-cooker manufacturers don't tell you. What's the latest research on juicing limes? Why are "instant read" thermometers so slow? Can you cook with magnetism and light? What does irradiation do to our foods?

Amazon.com Review

Why do recipes call for unsalted butter--and salt? What is a microwave, actually? Are smoked foods raw or cooked? Robert L. Wolke's enlightening and entertaining What Einstein Told His Cook offers answers to these and 127 other questions about everyday kitchen phenomena. Using humor (dubious puns included), Wolke, a bona fide chemistry professor and syndicated Washington Post columnist, has found a way to make his explanations clear and accessible to all: in short, fun. For example, to a query about why cookbooks advise against inserting meat thermometers so that they touch a bone, Wolke says, "I hate warnings without explanations, don't you? Whenever I see an 'open other end' warning on a box, I open the wrong end just to see what will happen. I'm still alive." But he always finally gets down to brass tacks: as most heat transfer in meat is due to its water content, areas around bone remain relatively cool and thus unreliable for gauging overall meat temperature.

Organized into basic categories like "Sweet Talk" (questions involving sugar), "Fire and Ice" (we learn why water boils and freezers burn, among other things), and "Tools and Technology" (the best kind of frying pan, for example), the book also provides illustrative recipes like Black Raspberry Coffee Cake (to demonstrate how metrics work in recipes) and Bob's Mahogany Game Hens (showing what brining can do). With technical illustrations, tips, and more, the book offers abundant evidence that learning the whys and hows of cooking can help us enjoy the culinary process almost as much as its results. --Arthur Boehm

From Publishers Weekly

Wolke, longtime professor of chemistry and author of the Washington Post column Food 101, turns his hand to a Cecil Adams style compendium of questions and answers on food chemistry. Is there really a difference between supermarket and sea salt? How is sugar made? Should cooks avoid aluminum pans? Interspersed throughout Wolke's accessible and humorous answers to these and other mysteries are recipes demonstrating scientific principles. There is gravy that avoids lumps and grease; Portuguese Poached Meringue that demonstrates cream of tartar at work; and juicy Salt-Seared Burgers. Wolke is good at demystifying advertisers' half-truths, showing, for example, that sea salt is not necessarily better than regular salt for those watching sodium intake. While the book isn't encyclopedic, Wolke's topics run the gamut: one chapter tackles Those Mysterious Microwaves; elsewhere readers learn about the burning of alcohol and are privy to a rant on the U.S. measuring system. Sometimes the tone is hokey (The green color [in potatoes] is Mother Nature's Mr. Yuk sticker, warning us of poison) and parenthetical Techspeak explanations may seem condescending to those who remember high school science. However, Wolke tells it like it is. What does clarifying butter do, chemically? Answer: gets rid of everything but that delicious, artery-clogging, highly saturated butterfat. With its zest for the truth, this book will help cooks learn how to make more intelligent choices.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Those who follow Wolke's "Food 101" newspaper column know him for his thorough scientific answers to questions about everyday food science. What Einstein Told His Cook is a compilation of these popular columns. Wolke covers such basic questions as how cookware conducts heat, how water filters do their job, and how coffee is decaffeinated. He sets up controlled experiments to test how to extract maximum juice from citrus fruits. He addresses controversies such as the irradiation of foods. Recipes supplement and illustrate the scientific principles. Wolke writes about these serious topics with a good sense of humor that doesn't belittle the seriousness of his purpose. Mark Knoblauch
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

About the Author

Robert L. Wolke, a professor emeritus of chemistry at the University of Pittsburgh, received his doctorate in chemistry from Cornell University. He lives in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, with his wife, noted food writer Marlene Parrish.

ISBN-10

9780393011838
ISBN-13

978-0393011838
Edition

1st
Publisher

W. W. Norton & Company
Publication date

May 17, 2002
Language

English
Dimensions

6.5 x 1.3 x 9.5 inches
Print length

370 pages
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Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ 0393011836
Publisher ‏ : ‎ W. W. Norton & Company; 1st edition (May 17, 2002)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 370 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 9780393011838
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0393011838
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.46 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.5 x 1.3 x 9.5 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #217,494 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #229 in Gastronomy Essays (Books)
- #243 in Food Science (Books)
- #344 in Cooking, Food & Wine Reference (Books)

Customer Reviews:
4.5 546 ratings

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Marlene Parrish
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Robert L. Wolke
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READ more from Robert L. Wolke at www.robertwolke.com
Robert L. Wolke received his B.S. in Chemistry from the Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn (now Polytechnic Institute of N.Y.U.) and his Ph.D. in Nuclear Chemistry from Cornell University. He has taught chemistry(in Spanish)at the University of Puerto Rico and the Universidad de Oriente in Venezuela, and is now professor emeritus of chemistry at the University of Pittsburgh.
His books include Impact: Science on Society; Chemistry Explained; What Einstein Didn't Know; What Einstein Told His Barber; What Einstein Told His cook (nominated for both the James Beard Foundation's and the IACP's awards for best technical or reference book), and What Einstein Told His Cook 2 (also James Beard and IACP nominees). Further Adventures in Kitchen Science. His four "Einstein" books have been translated into more than 20 languages.
From1998 to 2007 he wrote a food science column (Food 101) for the Washington Post. His journalism awards include the James Beard Foundation's award for best newspaper column, the IACP's Bert Greene Award for best newspaper food writing, plus several awards from the Association of Food Journalists and the National Society of Newspaper Columnists. In 2005 he won the American Chemical Society's Grady-Stack Award for Interpreting Chemistry for the Public.
His extracurricular activities have included stand-up comic monologues and consulting for UNESCO in Bangladesh.
He lives in Pittsburgh with his wife, Marlene Parrish, a food journalist, in Pittsburgh, PA.
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4.5 out of 5

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Great read; recommend to anybody

Reviewed in the United States on March 7, 2016

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The book “What Einstein Told HIs Cook,” by Robert L. Wolke brings a scientific outlook to the normalities of food and the kitchen. The book, assigned to our Chemistry class by the teacher, was a lot of fun to read and held attention despite its educational context. Its fun, understandable subject matter makes rebuking myths fun to read. Wolke himself is quite distinguished in the field of chemistry, and currently is a professor at the University of Pittsburgh. His decision to debunk cooking myths and explain why certain things occur allow for an interesting read due to the easily relatable subject.
An example of Wolke’s discussions would be when he speaks of non-stick frying pans, and how they work chemistry-wise. The metal itself of course doesn’t prevent sticking but the spray on coating of PTFE, or polytetrafluoroethylene. PTFE is quite special- on the atomic level it doesn’t want to bond with anything. Of course this means any foreign substance should slide right off, or at least not stick to it. Why does this work? Wolke explains that PTFE is a fluorolymer, meaning the chemical is made up of many smaller structures, in this case containing fluorine and carbon. The way it is arranged fills the outer energy levels of each fluorine, and therefore fluorine wants nothing to do with any other atom, creating the non-stick surface we all know and love.
A second myth Wolke adresses is whether or not lemons yield more juice after being rolled and microwaved. He tests this with a large pool of lemons, and finds that simply squeezing holds up pretty well to those that had been rolled and microwaved. Of course the automatic squeezer claimed the best results. However, Wolke finds that rolling and then microwaving the lemon has the best results for hand squeezing. The rolling breaks the cell walls, followed by the microwaves exciting the water molecules creates this.
Overall, the book was a fun and understandable read, with well organized evidence. Fun topics, such as the mysterious non-stick frying pan, and how to properly juice lemons. Wolke does a good job making a book that is relatable to the audience, yet at the same time is fun to read. I would easily recommend this book to anyone- an interest in chemistry is not required to enjoy this book.

3 people found this helpful

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Wyndell H Merritt MD

interesting information

Reviewed in the United States on November 5, 2023

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Written with delightful humor

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Entertaining, Accurate Application of Science to Cooking

Reviewed in the United States on April 8, 2004

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This book is about 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.
The second chapter on salt is a perfect example of the kind of misunderstandings this book clears up. More than one TV chef (and more than one cookbook author) has spoken at great length about differences in salt, giving one the impression that there is a basic difference between table salt, kosher salt, and sea salt. There is, of course, a difference, but that difference is based almost entirely on the physical differences, akin to the difference between liquid and frozen water. All salt is sodium chloride. By weight, no type of salt gives a saltier result than another. The very small additional differences between, say, kosher salt and sea salt are in the presence of incredibly small quantities minerals in addition to sodium chloride. Even differences in taste may be due to the differences in physical form. I have a sense that these considerations may be just a little too subtle to be worth all this fuss. I'm inclined to agree, until it occurs to me that if someone hears a statement that `kosher salt' is less salty than table salt, they may use this as a reason to use more kosher salt and ignore the evidence of their senses that they are indeed eating a lot of salt. This becomes significant if one must lower their intake of sodium chloride.
This book addresses many such confusions, and addresses them accurately and persuasively. It does this so well that Alton Brown wishes he would have written this book. My suggestion to Alton Brown is that with the lesson of this book, he would be able to do a better job of it.
I may be stepping on an intellectual land mine here since I have not yet read Shirley Corriher's book `Cookwise' so I do not know if she has already been over this territory, but here goes.
I think the definitive book on food science for the masses has not been written yet. This book covers many of the right topics and I found no inaccuracies in the science. But, the book suffers from being a collection of edited columns. Science is about theories explaining facts. For example, a full explanation of salt would involve a discussion of what a salt is, in general, and use this information to show, among other things, why salt is dangerous to people with hypertension and how chemicals other than table salt can influence body fluid volume in hypertensives.
A scientific discussion would extend the notion of salts to what it means to dissolve a salt in water. By doing so, it would clear up the most seriously abused work in cooking explanations. That word is `dissolve' and it's various past, past perfect and pluperfect tenses. Almost every culinary demonstrator on TV and many writers in cookbooks misuse the term dissolve by applying it to the very different operations of creating an emulsion, melting, and creating a colloid.
I think what I am really recommending as some future Alton Brown project is a book that combines physics, chemistry, and physiology to give an UNDERSTANDING of food, cooking, and health. Understanding is the real goal of science, so that one can apply what one knows in one situation to cooking food in other situations. Strange as it may seem, this is an almost perfect characterization of what Herr Brown believes he is doing.
The subtitle of this book, `Kitchen Science Explained' is a perfect representation of how this book is not science itself, but the carrying of science to the `gentiles'. In itself, the title is a redundancy, since science itself is explanation incarnate.
This is a very good book. I found no errors (I was a professional chemist, so I would probably have found really bad errors if there were any) in science. I believe the writing is lucid and entertaining. I believe the author is always intellectually honest in saying when either he does not know the answer or if science in general does not yet have an explanation.
The only point of my ranting is that this is not the ideal book on food science which bridges the gap between the research of Harold McGee and the practical worlds of Alton Brown and Shirley Corriher. A book that comes a lot closer to this goal is McGee's book, `The Curious Cook'.
I recommend this book to anyone with any curiosity about food. Excellent reading even if you don't cook.

24 people found this helpful

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Mark B

Must Read

Reviewed in the United States on March 1, 2016

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Robert Wolke wrote a fabulous book in What Einstein Told His Cook. It centers around the chemistry of cooking and can be understood by all ages. I read this book for class but I believe it can be used by chefs, chemistry students, and readers interested in science. I highly recommend this book for these groups of people plainly for how useful the book is for day-to-day operations.
What Einstein Told His Cook makes chemistry understandable for all experience levels. For example, I had no idea there were multiple types of sugar until I finished this book. But now I know these types and it honestly affects my daily life. I also did not know the difference between saturated and unsaturated but fully understood the two types after reading this book.
If you have any kitchen or cooking fears then this book is for you. This book proves and disproves many myths that relate directly to our health while still using language that is easy to digest. One of the biggest myths it disproved was that microwaves can cause cancer/are dangerous. It also explained why the green spots on chips aren't dangerous in an understandable way.
What Einstein Told His Cook is a thoughtfully done piece that is a must read for everyone who eats food. All the facts in the book are as true as chemists know being that Wolke is a professor at University of Pittsburgh. If you aren't sure whether the book is for you, put your trust in me; this book is useful for everyone.

2 people found this helpful

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Top reviews from other countries

Chris

A must have for anybody interested in the science of good food

Reviewed in Canada on May 28, 2021

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A great book. The chocolate mousse has become a holiday staple in my house.

Denise

Really good!

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 19, 2023

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I bought this book as a birthday present and the person was really pleased with it.

Carlos J.

Interesting

Reviewed in Spain on February 8, 2013

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Some parts are better than others (the scientific analysis combined with recipes is quite peculiar), but for people interested in food it is quite interesting.

g.d.

Fast delivery , thanks

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 28, 2022

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Speedy delivery, copies of a fascinating book

LInze

Four Stars

Reviewed in Canada on November 20, 2015

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Cute concept book with fun food related factoids.

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