What Einstein Told His Cook: Kitchen Science Explained

商家名称	信用等级	购买信息	订购本书
		What Einstein Told His Cook: Kitchen Science Explained
		What Einstein Told His Cook: Kitchen Science Explained

基本信息·出版社：W. W. Norton & Co.
·页码：368 页
·出版日期：2008年10月
·ISBN：0393329429
·条形码：9780393329421
·装帧：平装
·正文语种：英语
·外文书名：爱因斯坦告诉厨师了什么: 厨房科学释义

内容简介 In "What Einstein Told His Cook", 'an American food columnist and chemistry professor manages to make the mysteries of food science funny and accessible' ("The Observer"). 'Perfect reading for the room that can't be mentioned on the food and drink pages' ("The Guardian"), "What Einstein Told His Cook" engages cooks and chemists alike in providing reliable and witty explanations for the most burning food questions, while debunking misconceptions and helping interpret confusing advertising and labelling.
作者简介 Robert L. Wolke is a consulting editor for Cook's Illustrated. His Washington Post column, "Food 101," ran for more than ten years, and his work regularly appears in both food and science magazines. He lives in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
编辑推荐 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 --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

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. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

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 --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Review
"an American food columnist and chemistry professor manages to make the mysteries of food science funny and accessible" (The Observer). "Perfect reading for the room that can't be mentioned on the food and drink pages" (The Guardian) "...a fascinating and humorous explanation of 130 kitchen mysteries and phenomena..." House and Garden "...a myth-busting compendium of scientific answers to culinary problems." Bee Wilson, New Statesman "A fascinating, accessible insight into the science of cookery." Waitrose Food Illustrated "an enjoyable second volume of scientific answers to culinary teasers. With recipes." (The Bookseller)."

For the kitchen nerd with a sense of humor. An absorbing read. -- Food & Wine

Fun science—even for novice cooks. -- San Antonio Express

Wolke is Martha Stewart with a PhD. -- American Scientist

Wolke...is one of the great demystifiers of scientific information. -- BusinessWeek

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