What Einstein Told His Cook

Kitchen Science Explained

By: Robert L. Wolke

Narrated by: Sean Runnette

Length: 9 hrs and 12 mins

Publisher's summary

Why is red meat red? How do they decaffeinate coffee? Do you wish you understood the science of food but don't want to plow through dry, technical books? In What Einstein Told His Cook, University of Pittsburgh chemistry professor emeritus and award-winning Washington Post food columnist Robert L. Wolke provides reliable and witty explanations for your most burning food questions, while debunking misconceptions and helping you interpret confusing advertising and labeling. A finalist for both the James Beard Foundation and IACP Awards for best food reference, What Einstein Told His Cook engages cooks and chemists alike.

Download the accompanying reference guide.

©2002 Robert L. Wolke (P)2012 Tantor

Critic reviews

"With its zest for the truth, this book will help cooks learn how to make more intelligent choices." ( Publishers Weekly)

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

Wolke...is one of the great demystifiers of scientific information. ( BusinessWeek)

Pretty Good

Any additional comments?

Interesting, but I think it could be more thorough. I still have a lot of questions and feel like the info is a bit subjective and a little dated. Its full of useful knowledge though, and it was captivating.

This Book Will Save You Money!

Award winning chemistry professor Robert Wolke answers myriad questions on the subject of food and food preparation, all from the point of view of the science of where food comes from, how to best store it, how to cook it, etc. etc. His explanations are so good, they will more than pay back the price of buying this audiobook. For example, you will never again spend more for sea salt or a salt grinder than you will for a box of regular table salt, and you will understand why from a simple scientific point of view.

As you might expect from a non-fiction book that doesn't have a defined narrative flow (each section stands on its own), the best comes first. The opening sections on sugar, salt, and fat -- basic ingredients with significant health factors -- are outstanding. The middle sections on proteins, chemicals, and drinks are still excellent, but a bit scattershot in terms of relevance (do I really care if light cream is technically heavier than heavy cream or whether an egg can really fry on a hot sidewalk?).

The penultimate chapter on microwaves is essential and will change the way you use yours -- understanding how microwaves defrost frozen food vs. the alternatives will, once again, save you lots of money, or at least improve your culinary results. But the closing section seriously starts to sag, which is a shame since it focuses on kitchen tools -- still, it could save you serious bucks when it comes to buying tools since you will be that much more knowledgeable about what they do and what they can't do for you.

The lively narration helps. I look forward to reading the follow-up, although I worry that, like the last chapter of this volume, there will be a natural downtrend in interest level. My only other caveat is that, unlike another science book I recently listened to (Neil DeGrasse Tyson's Great Courses lectures on physics), it does seriously help to have a foundational understanding of some scientific principles in order to understand this book -- nothing more than high school level, though, which is the highest level of science I ever studied.

Much of what I learned I won't be able to apply

In listening to this book, I discovered I must be more of a foodie than I realized, because there was not much in this book I did not already know, or at least have some idea about. I didn't have any problem understanding the technical aspects as some have noted in previous reviews, perhaps due to excessive Food Network consumption.
I did appreciate the actual scientific testing the author performed regarding some kitchen myths, such as the best way to get juice our of a lemon or lime. Now I know the two-step method. The background on salt, sugar and fat was interesting. And now I know I can't tell my kids automatically "the alcohol cooks out" when they question my liberal use of wine in a few of my dishes.
The performer did fine and read the chemical names etc. without difficulty. However, nothing about the performance really stands out to me either.
Bottom line, this was an ok book. I don't regret purchasing it and listening, but not a whole lot stands out to me either.

So much more than I expected

What did you love best about What Einstein Told His Cook?

I found this to be an extremely interesting. I learned so much about the science behind the food we eat. I've recommended this book to many people.

What about Sean Runnette’s performance did you like?

He definitely showed the rye sense of humor needed to make a book about food science extremely interesting.

Good for anyone, non science types

A quick introduction to my ratings...everyone has their own views so you should know what mine are so my review may be of help
***** - 5 Stars, an all time great that I would want to read every year
**** - 4 Stars, a good book that I would be willing to read again
*** - 3 Stars, an average book, glad I read but would not read again
** - 2 Stars, I finished but was sorry I did and would not recommend it
* - 1 Star, i could not even finish it

I list my recommendation if you were my friend, my overall thoughts and then list the 2 things I liked best and the 2 things I liked least about the book. This is not conclusion, rather a 1 min review.

Recommendation - If you are not knowledgeable about science or how science interacts with everyday items in our lives, then you will get a lot from this book

Overall, this is for the laymen with little or only basic science knowledge. Although I have some friends with chemistry master degrees who did not know some of these things. I would read this book every year because it is practical.

Best
1. The description and explanations in the book are spoken as if your friend was explaining the weather, it is very basic and uses common words and even better yet, uses everyday examples

2. I enjoyed the common examples like how there is no difference in salt no matter the color or where it is it from!! Or what makes a non-stick pan non-stick and how it is not our mothers non-stick pan.

Least
1. There is little to say here. I am not sure how the author chose his topics, some seemed abstract and most were not related.

2. There really was nothing major I did not like about this book. It will come down to personal preference.

Shame I didn't absorb as Much as I wanted

Review
This was a hard book for me to finish, not because it was boring, but because it was hard for me. In his introduction the author says he will to try to make things easy for you to understand the book, but unfortunately, his attempts failed with me.

This is not a health or nutrition book. I was a little disappointed by this. This is a chemistry book. If you don't know much about chemistry, or don't remember what you learned in high school, I suggest you go to basic chemistry first.
The author tries to be funny and tries to tone things down for readers like me, but I think it wasn't enough, for I realized I need to get my chemistry together.
I did Learn interesting things here, but I have to away I retained very little information. It is a good book. I recommend it, but only if you commit to listen to it many times.

Try to start a fire by rubbing two pieces of water

Where does What Einstein Told His Cook rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

I would put this on my Top Ten Listens

What was the most compelling aspect of this narrative?

Very informative and fun to listen to

Which character – as performed by Sean Runnette – was your favorite?

All

If you could give What Einstein Told His Cook a new subtitle, what would it be?

What you need to know now about cooking.

Why didn't I get this book sooner?

I had stuck this book in my wish list a long time ago and finally felt like it was time to listen to it. I wish I had purchased it sooner because it was not only highly informative but Extremely Fun.
If you are looking for something entertaining and unusual this book is certainly worth every star I gave it.
Enjoy!

super interesting and super detailed

unapproachable summary of the food science behind many parts of cooking in the kitchen from head to toe. I listen to do it best one chapter at a time otherwise it was too much cool information at once.

Concise, informative and fun!

I enjoyed the writers style. Then the Raiders voice is clear and easy to hear and his internation is perfect. I definitely feel smarter after listening to this book.