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What Einstein Told His Cook #2
What Einstein Told His Cook 2: The Sequel: Further Adventures in Kitchen Science
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
492 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2005
195 people are currently reading
1348 people want to read
About the author
Robert L. Wolke
29 books66 followersRobert L. Wolke is professor emeritus of chemistry at the University of Pittsburgh and a food columnist for The Washington Post. As an educator and lecturer, he enjoys a national reputation for his ability to make science understandable and enjoyable.
He is the author of Impact: Science on Society and Chemistry Explained, as well as dozens of scientific research papers. His latest book, the fourth in his Einstein series on everyday science, is What Einstein Told His Cook 2, The Sequel: Further Adventures in Kitchen Science.
Robert L. Wolke has won the James Beard Foundation’s award for the best newspaper column and the International Association of Culinary Professionals’ (IACP) Bert Greene Award for the best newspaper food writing. “What Einstein Told His Cook: Kitchen Science Explained” was nominated by both the James Beard Foundation and the IACP as the best technical or reference book of the year. The American Chemical Society has selected Dr. Wolke for the 2005 Grady-Stack Award for interpreting chemistry for the public.
He is the author of Impact: Science on Society and Chemistry Explained, as well as dozens of scientific research papers. His latest book, the fourth in his Einstein series on everyday science, is What Einstein Told His Cook 2, The Sequel: Further Adventures in Kitchen Science.
Robert L. Wolke has won the James Beard Foundation’s award for the best newspaper column and the International Association of Culinary Professionals’ (IACP) Bert Greene Award for the best newspaper food writing. “What Einstein Told His Cook: Kitchen Science Explained” was nominated by both the James Beard Foundation and the IACP as the best technical or reference book of the year. The American Chemical Society has selected Dr. Wolke for the 2005 Grady-Stack Award for interpreting chemistry for the public.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 73 reviews
January 2, 2016
Small update. This is the follow-up book to What Einstein told his Cock Cook. I learned quite a bit from that book. Especially about the similarity in effect of vaginas and nucleation sites and cocks and lemons.
That book was really quite good. This one, not so much. It's much more technical and reads exactly like what the lengthy and extremely tedious and self-congratulatory introduction says, lectures on kitchen science. I don't know why I bother reading introductions, they are either dry and unnecessary or they are the author being allowed to ramble (especially about themselves and why they wrote the book etc.) without benefit of a strict editor.
Anyway, we shall see. So far it's been coffee and tea and he covered that in the first book. Let's see what new stuff he has to enlighten me with. Up to wines and beers now. This is b-o-r-i-n-g. Nothing that Einstein would want to read when trying to get (more) juice from his lemon.
That book was really quite good. This one, not so much. It's much more technical and reads exactly like what the lengthy and extremely tedious and self-congratulatory introduction says, lectures on kitchen science. I don't know why I bother reading introductions, they are either dry and unnecessary or they are the author being allowed to ramble (especially about themselves and why they wrote the book etc.) without benefit of a strict editor.
Anyway, we shall see. So far it's been coffee and tea and he covered that in the first book. Let's see what new stuff he has to enlighten me with. Up to wines and beers now. This is b-o-r-i-n-g. Nothing that Einstein would want to read when trying to get (more) juice from his lemon.
August 7, 2012
First things first – this book has nothing to do with Einstein, for which I ought to dock it several stars for gratuitous use of the great man’s name, but I can’t because it’s such a good book. And it’s about the chemistry of food.
The format is simple. Robert Wolke gives us a series of questions about food that have a chemistry-based answer and… he answers them. Interspersed there are a fair number of recipes, vaguely relevant to the question. And that’s about it. But it’s the way he tells them.
Firstly, Wolke is genuinely funny. I would advise any science writer not to use humour, because on the whole it just doesn’t work. The writer comes across as smug and/or silly. But for some reason, Wolke’s funnies (painful though some of them are) hit the spot for me. Take this from the opening:
What are the first two things a server says to you as soon as you’ve been seated in a restaurant? (1) “Hello, my name is Bruce/Aimee and I’ll be your server.” (2) “May I bring you something to drink?”
Thus far, I have been successful in repressing the replies: (1) “Glad to meet you. My name is Bob and I’ll be your customer.” Or (2) “Thanks, but I came here primarily to eat.”
That sets the tone nicely. (He goes on to point out it would be useful to know your server’s name if it were socially acceptable to yell it across the room when you wanted service… but it isn’t.) Wolke breaks down the food into various sections (drinks, dairy, vegetables) etc. and just piles on the wonderful (and sometimes silly) questions that enable him to explore the subject. I don’t know if he makes the questions up like most magazines (I don’t really care) – but the format works really well and I genuinely learned a lot about how food and cooking work from the viewpoint of a chemist.
A couple of minor moans. It is quite American in feel, with reference to various products Europeans will never have heard of, but it really doesn’t make much difference to the readability and sheer fun of this book. I admit I didn’t read the recipes, but I’m sure they’re nice too. I did notice one oddity. Sometimes (but not always) the recipe calls for ‘kosher salt’. This sounds as bizarre a concept as organic salt. I wish he had a) explained what it was and b) debunked the ‘expensive salts taste better’ myth – and c) pointed out the meaningless of the concept of kosher salt.
Overall, though, a real find. Great summer reading – it’s very light to read – but some genuinely interesting scientific concepts put across well.
Review first published on www.popularscience.co.uk and reproduced with permission
The format is simple. Robert Wolke gives us a series of questions about food that have a chemistry-based answer and… he answers them. Interspersed there are a fair number of recipes, vaguely relevant to the question. And that’s about it. But it’s the way he tells them.
Firstly, Wolke is genuinely funny. I would advise any science writer not to use humour, because on the whole it just doesn’t work. The writer comes across as smug and/or silly. But for some reason, Wolke’s funnies (painful though some of them are) hit the spot for me. Take this from the opening:
What are the first two things a server says to you as soon as you’ve been seated in a restaurant? (1) “Hello, my name is Bruce/Aimee and I’ll be your server.” (2) “May I bring you something to drink?”
Thus far, I have been successful in repressing the replies: (1) “Glad to meet you. My name is Bob and I’ll be your customer.” Or (2) “Thanks, but I came here primarily to eat.”
That sets the tone nicely. (He goes on to point out it would be useful to know your server’s name if it were socially acceptable to yell it across the room when you wanted service… but it isn’t.) Wolke breaks down the food into various sections (drinks, dairy, vegetables) etc. and just piles on the wonderful (and sometimes silly) questions that enable him to explore the subject. I don’t know if he makes the questions up like most magazines (I don’t really care) – but the format works really well and I genuinely learned a lot about how food and cooking work from the viewpoint of a chemist.
A couple of minor moans. It is quite American in feel, with reference to various products Europeans will never have heard of, but it really doesn’t make much difference to the readability and sheer fun of this book. I admit I didn’t read the recipes, but I’m sure they’re nice too. I did notice one oddity. Sometimes (but not always) the recipe calls for ‘kosher salt’. This sounds as bizarre a concept as organic salt. I wish he had a) explained what it was and b) debunked the ‘expensive salts taste better’ myth – and c) pointed out the meaningless of the concept of kosher salt.
Overall, though, a real find. Great summer reading – it’s very light to read – but some genuinely interesting scientific concepts put across well.
Review first published on www.popularscience.co.uk and reproduced with permission
March 1, 2022
I really enjoyed this book! Wolke's humor and sarcasm had me laughing! He makes this very understandable, and his style of writing is very fun to read!
The only concern I had was his faith... Multiple times he mentioned the Bible, or God, or something related, but then there were times he mentioned evolution. It was hard to tell when he was serious and when he was not, so I have some serious questions about what he really believes.
Other than that, it was a very enjoyable book that I had to read for school and it includes many helpful cooking tips!
The only concern I had was his faith... Multiple times he mentioned the Bible, or God, or something related, but then there were times he mentioned evolution. It was hard to tell when he was serious and when he was not, so I have some serious questions about what he really believes.
Other than that, it was a very enjoyable book that I had to read for school and it includes many helpful cooking tips!
March 26, 2024
I’ve never been so happy to finish a book
February 8, 2014
The book is a fun read for cooks and foodies. The topics are based on curious food questions that the author answered in his "Food 101" column in the Washington Post. It is about food chemistry with food facts and a wry sense of humor thrown in. If you enjoyed the first book "What Einstein Told His Cook," you'll like this one (also called "What Einstein Told His Cook 2"). Whether you use the tips or not, they're interesting to know (such as chilling an onion first and using a sharp knife to minimize crying or adding cream to your coffee sooner rather than later -- yes, there was a study conducted to measure if there was a difference). Another example is the topic on cake mix instructions -- various temperature settings depending on the type of pan you use. His advice - toss it all out the window. While metal conducts heat faster than glass and a dark colored pan more so than a light colored pan, no two ovens are the same. At the end, you'll just have to stick a toothpick in it to know for sure.
August 5, 2013
It was interesting, and I learned some helpful things, but overall, the author is kind of an asshole. He writes very condescendingly to the reader and uses enormous words when a simple one would get the same point across. I read a chapter to my husband last night, and he was asleep almost immediately.
March 16, 2024
This book demonstrates that the author is a very knowledgeable chemistry professor aand he covers a wide range of foods with informative eloquence. This book supplies an excellent antidote to many public misconceptions about cooking, treating and appreciating various foods. In the end, having proper chemistry insights holds the key to true understanding about how we should obtain, cook, treat, and consume stuffs that sustain our well being.
Like all his earlier books I have read, the author maintains his pleasant humor and fluent writing proficiency in communicating with his readers in as much plain language as a good teacher should do. Additional cooking recipes for many plates from his wife add appreciable colors that his previous books did not provide.
As I have read a few books before on science of food and cooking. I already knew about half of what are discussed in this book. So, the knowledge value of this book is at its utmost degree for readers who never read this type of book before. Readers of this book would end up becoming more informed consumers and cooks who treat foods properly without prejudice nor ignorance. What else can enthusiastic pop-science readers expect?
Like all his earlier books I have read, the author maintains his pleasant humor and fluent writing proficiency in communicating with his readers in as much plain language as a good teacher should do. Additional cooking recipes for many plates from his wife add appreciable colors that his previous books did not provide.
As I have read a few books before on science of food and cooking. I already knew about half of what are discussed in this book. So, the knowledge value of this book is at its utmost degree for readers who never read this type of book before. Readers of this book would end up becoming more informed consumers and cooks who treat foods properly without prejudice nor ignorance. What else can enthusiastic pop-science readers expect?
August 27, 2021
Einstein has nothing to do with a book on the science of food. The book takes a light-heared approch to the subject never missing a pun or an opportunity to poke fun. While explaining the chemistry of what happens when we cook food it stops short of becoming too technical for the casual reader. It also has recipes that help demystify the process.
For example saltpeter, potassium nitrate is used in pickling because it helps maintain the meat’s desirable rosy red colour. The fact that it’s a carcinogen is balanced against the deadly bacterial toxins it prevents. It was also rumoured to inhibit sex drive and be fed to soldiers and seminary students.
In the final chapter he asserts that the locusts John the Baptist ate in the desert were the beans of the locust tree otherwise know as carob.
For example saltpeter, potassium nitrate is used in pickling because it helps maintain the meat’s desirable rosy red colour. The fact that it’s a carcinogen is balanced against the deadly bacterial toxins it prevents. It was also rumoured to inhibit sex drive and be fed to soldiers and seminary students.
In the final chapter he asserts that the locusts John the Baptist ate in the desert were the beans of the locust tree otherwise know as carob.
June 10, 2017
Questions about kitchen science issues answered. Solid, sometimes pretty technical responses that explain various phenomena on the stove and in the oven.Cooking oils, transfats, saturated and unsaturated fats distinguished one from the other, though little is likely to stay fully clear in this mind. The difference between bananas and plantains explained. Which pasta shapes hold sauce better and why. Caramelization vs. the Mailliard reaction. That sort of thing.
Read as a nighttime bed read, perfect for such, with relatively short entries that can be put down at any time. Entertaining without making me laugh and disturb my wife.
an excellent reference book for when I want to double check some concept that springs to mind. A worthy addition to my food books shelf.
Read as a nighttime bed read, perfect for such, with relatively short entries that can be put down at any time. Entertaining without making me laugh and disturb my wife.
an excellent reference book for when I want to double check some concept that springs to mind. A worthy addition to my food books shelf.
July 29, 2019
This is the sequel. A scientist takes a look at why and what happens in cooking and with food. Lots of questions answered literally. Plus recipes from his culinary wife. Great take on the difference between the caffeine in coffee and tea. Great recipes that I can’t wait to try.
Some of the science and calculus go beyond what I need or want to know, but I love when he explodes a myth.
Some of the science and calculus go beyond what I need or want to know, but I love when he explodes a myth.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 15, 2025
I'm counting this as 'read' even though I skimmed the last couple chapters. It was pretty interesting, but we've been slowly reading it for homeschool chemistry for so long now that I was just kinda done. 😂
March 25, 2018
Dry humor + Cooking + Science = What Einstein Kept Under His Hat
Light and fun.
Light and fun.
January 30, 2019
This one just didn't sing as much as the first one did. I'm not quite sure why, but I found this one slower to get through.
May 14, 2019
Fun read if you like the science of cooking.
December 26, 2019
Very fun book about the chemistry of cooking explained well for someone who hasn't studied Chemistry. The author does write condescendingly at times.
October 17, 2020
Mildly interesting kitchen science interspersed with corny jokes. Not my cup of tea.
May 29, 2021
I thoroughly enjoyed both of the What Einstein Told His Cook books. I loved the humor mixed in with the food science information. My teen and I read it together for school and enjoyed it very much!
March 28, 2025
It was okay. I had to read it for school.
May 6, 2025
just as good as first
July 14, 2025
3.5 stars
July 29, 2007
I came across Robert L. Wolke, a professor emeritus of chemistry at the University of Pittsburgh, while reading food 101 column in the Washington Post. I like his witty writing style. I also like the fact that he can explain complex chemistry in cooking with simple layman's English.
So, I bought his two books: What Einstein Told His Cook 1 & 2.
Those are excellent books. His writing style was consistently funny and simple throughout. He covers topics from miniscule ingredients to kitchen equipments. There are some interesting facts that I would otherwise be ignorant of. One example is "scratching your frying pans by the too vigorous use of metal spatulas make things [ie. egg sticking to a non-stick frying pan. vtn] even worse. I use PTFE-coated spatulas, even on my metal-surfaced pans." (page 271, book 1). I found that to be true and, now, I use my wooden spatulas (I hate those pliantly PTFE-coated ones) for all my cooking.
As always, I find slightly more faults in second books. I do not like the second one as much, thus, the combined rating of 3. The second book dwells on more technicals topics and explains less unique science-cooking relationships. It is also arranged in, to me, a less intuitive way: book 1 is arranged by ingredients to tools, thus covering a more varied landscape, while book 2 is by types of food.
Overall though, they do make interesting read. It is not easy to dissect cooking chemically because it is something so habitual, so everyday life, and so automatic to us. It is even harder to explain chemistry to the masses in a language that everyone understands. Sure, as Yohan pointed out, we do not need to buy books for this as there are free blogs on the internet. I agree that there are some excellent ones such as Cooking for Engineers which I think is a good alternative (or copy-cat?) to 'What Einstein Told his Cook' series.
But I believe in books.
So, I bought his two books: What Einstein Told His Cook 1 & 2.
Those are excellent books. His writing style was consistently funny and simple throughout. He covers topics from miniscule ingredients to kitchen equipments. There are some interesting facts that I would otherwise be ignorant of. One example is "scratching your frying pans by the too vigorous use of metal spatulas make things [ie. egg sticking to a non-stick frying pan. vtn] even worse. I use PTFE-coated spatulas, even on my metal-surfaced pans." (page 271, book 1). I found that to be true and, now, I use my wooden spatulas (I hate those pliantly PTFE-coated ones) for all my cooking.
As always, I find slightly more faults in second books. I do not like the second one as much, thus, the combined rating of 3. The second book dwells on more technicals topics and explains less unique science-cooking relationships. It is also arranged in, to me, a less intuitive way: book 1 is arranged by ingredients to tools, thus covering a more varied landscape, while book 2 is by types of food.
Overall though, they do make interesting read. It is not easy to dissect cooking chemically because it is something so habitual, so everyday life, and so automatic to us. It is even harder to explain chemistry to the masses in a language that everyone understands. Sure, as Yohan pointed out, we do not need to buy books for this as there are free blogs on the internet. I agree that there are some excellent ones such as Cooking for Engineers which I think is a good alternative (or copy-cat?) to 'What Einstein Told his Cook' series.
But I believe in books.
November 2, 2012
Mr. Wolke has done it again. Wisely separating the heavy scientific jargon from the plain writing that is more of a help to the struggling novice, he has created another book that entertains as well as informs. There are more illustrations, exactingly rendered, that serve as handy guides for the text. Of course there are the recipes of his wife, also acting as delicious experiments to demonstrate a point.
The science part is a bit much for me, the sort of thing most of us have forgotten after being forced to take chem class in college. But it’s worth sticking with it, if only to spot the difference between a cookbook written by a knowing chef who understands the workings of a proper kitchen and a spotlight-hogging celebrity who’s rushed his book to the market and doesn’t have a clue.
Mr. Wolke does keep it simple. Good for him; better for us
The science part is a bit much for me, the sort of thing most of us have forgotten after being forced to take chem class in college. But it’s worth sticking with it, if only to spot the difference between a cookbook written by a knowing chef who understands the workings of a proper kitchen and a spotlight-hogging celebrity who’s rushed his book to the market and doesn’t have a clue.
Mr. Wolke does keep it simple. Good for him; better for us
September 5, 2009
Wolke's humorous and slightly dorky approach to kitchen science really endeared me to him when I read What Einstein Told His Cook. While the science is just as interesting in the second volume, and I photocopied a few of the recipes for future baking experiments, I found myself groaning at Wolke's jokes this time around. I think he'd be a lot of fun to listen to in a one-hour lecture (he was a college chemistry professor before retiring to write full time), but reading corny joke after corny joke rubbed me the wrong way this time around. Still, if I need to know the best method for adding cream to coffee and keeping it piping hot (unlikely with my non-coffee-drinking status), he's the man I'd turn to to explain things intelligently and simply.
July 19, 2010
A fascinating book for all you kitchen nerds. Wolke explains in a very readable format everything you always wanted to know about food & the science of cooking, plus a whole lotta stuff you didn't *know* you wanted to know... He keeps the book interesting with his conversational writing style, a witty sense of humor & puns, and by separating out the truly hard-core science into optional "side bars", for those of us who like to totally geek-out. The book is formatted in a "Dear Abby" style of question & answer, which makes it a great example of what I term "Bathroom literature", meaning that you can open it to any page at random, and start reading, without needing to have read the previous chapters to be able to understand & enjoy it, and it has frequent good places to stop reading.
January 10, 2013
A useful resource for the kitchen chemist. Lots of interesting Q&A AND recipes! (Sadly neither the table of contents nor the index has a listing of the recipes; you must thumb through the book to find them.)
Page 18
Unfortunately, according to Wolke's Law of Pervasive Perversity, all other things are never equal.
Page 19
The higher the temperature of an object, the faster it will loose its heat by radiation. That's the Stefan-Boltzmann Law. Also the bigger thte temperature difference between two objects in contact with each other (such as coffee and air, for example). the fater the hot one will lose its heat to the colloer one by conduction. That's Newton's Law of Cooling.
Page 153
A list of fruits that don't ripen after picking and fruits that do.
Page 18
Unfortunately, according to Wolke's Law of Pervasive Perversity, all other things are never equal.
Page 19
The higher the temperature of an object, the faster it will loose its heat by radiation. That's the Stefan-Boltzmann Law. Also the bigger thte temperature difference between two objects in contact with each other (such as coffee and air, for example). the fater the hot one will lose its heat to the colloer one by conduction. That's Newton's Law of Cooling.
Page 153
A list of fruits that don't ripen after picking and fruits that do.
March 1, 2011
Wolke separates the book into 10 sections by types of food to explain basic kitchen science. I have not read the first book but this was more scientific than I expected with a greater emphasis on the chemical compositions of specific foods and their reactions.
It wasn't the best kitchen science book (I already know what emulsify means and why it works in mayonaise). But I did learn some key facts about tea, about what exactly makes something a legume, and about rhubarb. Best of all, the book gave me a couple excellent looking recipes for BBQ sauce and osso bucco.
I'd recommend it as a quick read, but not a must have for your bookshelf.
It wasn't the best kitchen science book (I already know what emulsify means and why it works in mayonaise). But I did learn some key facts about tea, about what exactly makes something a legume, and about rhubarb. Best of all, the book gave me a couple excellent looking recipes for BBQ sauce and osso bucco.
I'd recommend it as a quick read, but not a must have for your bookshelf.
December 12, 2012
I loved this book! There's a delightful blend of so-called hard science and popular science so that non-scientists like myself are not scared off. I found I could skip the more technical parts and read the final one or two paragraphs in a particular essay to get the gist of the answer to the posed question. More technical readers will want to read the entire answer. Dr. Wolke's humor is infectious; his puns are outrageous. He is no-nonsense and not afraid to challenge widely held assumptions about food and cooking. If you love to eat and/or cook, you'll find this book extremely entertaining and full of useful information. And the recipes are fun, too!
November 19, 2016
After having read the first Einstein a while ago, it was time to read the second. The novelty of the concept of mixing cooking and chemistry is gone, which didn't affect the contents of the book insofar that a lot of handy tips are being exchanged by answering readers questions. What did happen was that the exaggerated humour of the writer appeared way more over the top in my humble opinion, in such a way that I started to get tired of it after so many corny word jokes. All in all still a nice book but I liked the first one way better, like most sequels unfortunately...
July 30, 2007
Simply more of What Einstein Told His Cook. Not really a sequel, in the sense that you don not need to read one to understand the other. However, Wolkes does assume a that you learned a few elementary things about cooking and science in the first book. For folks that enjoyed his first book about kitchen science, or if you can't find a copy of the first book, the book answers many kitchen science questions you probably never, ever thought of while in the kitchen!
April 12, 2014
Robert L. Wolke writes a nationally syndicated column, "Food 101", for the Washington Post and in this book he explains the science and the chemical relationships and reactions involved with cooking and our food. For those who want to delve deeper into the chemistry of cooking, he offers "Sidebar Science". Wolke's knowledge and humor leap from the pages, but his puns are too numerous and outrageous for my taste. Warning: this book has nothing to do with Albert Einstein.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 73 reviews