Cooking for Geeks
Arе уου thе innovative type, thе cook whο marches tο a different drummer — used tο expressing уουr creativity instead οf јυѕt following recipes? Arе уου interested іn thе science behind whаt happens tο food whіlе іt’s cooking? Dο уου want tο learn whаt mаkеѕ a recipe work ѕο уου саn improvise аnd сrеаtе уουr οwn unique dish?More thаn јυѕt a cookbook, Cooking fοr Geeks applies уουr curiosity tο discovery, inspiration, аnd invention іn thе kitchen. Whу іѕ medium-rare steak ѕο рοрυlаr? Whу dο wе bake ѕοmе things аt 350° F/175° C аnd others аt 375° F/190° C? And hοw quickly dοеѕ a pizza cook іf wе overclock аn oven tο 1,000° F/540° C? Author аnd cooking geek Jeff Potter provides thе аnѕwеrѕ аnd offers a unique take οn recipes — frοm thе sweet (a “mean” chocolate chip cookie) tο thе savory (duck confit sugo).Thіѕ book іѕ аn ехсеllеnt аnd intriguing resource fοr anyone whο wаntѕ tο experiment wіth cooking, even іf уου don’t consider yourself a geek.Initialize уουr kitchen аnd calibra
Cooking fοr Geeks
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(out οf 13 reviews)
List Price: $ 27.99
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Review by Tracy F. for Cooking for Geeks
Rating:
Alton Brown fans take note! You need a copy of Cooking for Geeks: Real Science, Great Hacks and Good Food. Seriously, this book takes everything I enjoy about Alton’s shows and combines them into a book for the beginner, novice and pro alike.
Sure some recipes may seem basic. Extremely basic actually. It may seem weird to some that there are people who cannot even scramble an egg, but I’ve learned from experience that these people do exist. When my neighbor came flying out her house with a smoking pan, it had simply contained olive oil and water for boiling pasta but she’d turned on her stove and forgotten all about it. It became apparent that people can even burn water if given the opportunity.
Everything you need to know about cooking is in this book. From kitchen set-up and equipment to simple tips like reading a recipe completely before getting started, Cooking for Geeks has everything you need to start preparing home-cooked meals.
The book offers more than 400 pages of tips, recipes and even interviews with geeks of today. I loved reading Mythbuster’s Adam Savage share his love of science and cooking. Learn easy recipes like a 30-Second Chocolate Cake or ones that may seem a little tougher like Butterflied Chicken. By the time you’re done, you’ll understand that kitchen and be able to whip together nutritious meals for yourself and others.
It’s a very rare event that I come across a review book that I feel I must rush out and purchase a copy as soon as it is released. This is one of those situations. I can’t imagine NOT owning this cookbook and I love to cook and know more than the basics already. With outstanding recipes, entertaining interviews and witty writing, this is definitely a book you should hand your friends, family and especially neighbors who do come running out of their home with flaming pans.
Review by James Kalbach for Cooking for Geeks
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This isn’t your ordinary cookbook. Sure, there are recipes–good ones, too–but the author presents a wealth of information about the science of cooking, cooking techniques, and even the psychology of cooking. It’s not so technical that you need a degree in chemistry to understand it. Instead, the author explains things like how human taste senses work in plain terms. There’s also a bit on nutrition towards the beginning, and there are charts and tables now and then to illustrate the mechanics of food and cooking throughout.
If you’re an “innovative cook” (see the interview with Brian Wansink, p. 7), this is right up your alley. Potter gives lots of hacks. Usually, cookbooks are very prescriptive and give exact measurements and ways of doing things. Here, the author encourages us to improvise, and he even gives great tips how to do so. For example, did you know you can roast peppers in a toaster?
I have dozens of cookbooks and love to cook. Cooking For Geeks has surpassed them all and is now my favorite one. Check it out yourself. Well worth the money.
Review by Thomas Duff for Cooking for Geeks
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The typical geek doesn’t just want something to work. They want to know *why* and *how* it works. If your geekness extends to the kitchen, this book is perfect… Cooking for Geeks: Real Science, Great Hacks, and Good Food by Jeff Potter. It’s a wonderful mix of science and hands-on activities, and definitely opened my eyes as to why things work as they do in the kitchen.
Contents:
Hello, Kitchen!: Think Like a Hacker; Cooking for One; Cooking for Others
Initializing the Kitchen: Approaching the Kitchen; Kitchen Equipment; Kitchen Organization
Choosing Your Inputs – Flavors and Ingredients: Smell + Taste = Flavor; Tastes – Bitter, Salty, Sweet, Umami, Others; Adapt and Experiment Method; Regional/Traditional Method; Seasonal Method; Analytical Method
Time and Temperature – Cooking’s Primary Variables: Cooked = Time * Temperature; Foodborne Illness and Staying Safe; Key Temperatures in Cooking
Air – Baking’s Key Variable: Gluten; Biological Leaveners; Chemical Leaveners; Mechanical Leaveners
Playing with Chemicals: Traditional Cooking Chemicals; Modern Industrial Chemicals
Fun with Hardware: Sous Vide Cooking; Commercial Hardware and Techniques
Appendix; Afterword; Index
There’s just so fun stuff here, it’s hard to know where to start. Potter does an excellent job in explaining the science behind what happens when you mix the eggs, flour, and milk together and apply heat. While most books on cooking tell you *what* to do, this one goes into the *why* and *how*. For instance, why does heat change food, and how does that happen? What is involved in protein denaturation, the maillard reaction, and caramelization? And why does knowing all this make a difference to you when it comes to knowing when a particular item is “done cooking”? It’s this type of information that takes you beyond saying “but I left it in for the 10 minutes they said… why wasn’t it cooked?” After reading Cooking for Geeks, you can start to understand what’s going on within the food, and make educated decisions about what happened, what is happening, and what will happen next.
Fortunately, Cooking for Geeks isn’t just a chemistry manual though. It’s full of actual recipes that look delicious, as well as interviews with other cooks who reveal some of their secrets and mindsets behind what they do in the kitchen. Again, it all serves to take you beyond the “follow steps 1, 2, and 3″ method of cooking, into something that is creative and fun.
This is like reading a season’s worth of Alton Brown’s Good Eats shows. Plenty of fun and very informational… and you can eat or toss your mistakes.
Disclosure:
Obtained From: Publisher
Payment: Free
Review by R George Komoto for Cooking for Geeks
Rating:
To tell you the truth, I was a little hesitant about a cookbook coming from O’Reilly Media. They produce design and programming books like Tapworthy: Designing Great iPhone Apps and HTML5: Up and Running, not culinary books…or so I thought…
While waiting for the book release, I checked out Jeff Potter’s videos on Facebook and on the O’Reilly site. From there I was hooked. This book, just like the title says, is designed by a geek for geeks (and non-geeks). This book is all about getting hands on with your “software” and “hardware” in your “lab”
Jeff Potter did a great job in making easy for cooks of all levels to get started. My girlfriend, who claims she’s a novice, enjoyed reading cover to cover. Someday I’ll read it cover to cover myself, but I’m having too much fun learning about the science of cooking a la carte.
The cool recipes I keep experimenting with are the timeless “shock & awe eggs” and the 30-Second Chocolate Cake:)
Awesome job Jeff and O’Reilly to get everyone I know reinvigorated with cooking! Highly recommended for geeks, non-geeks, foodies and novices alike!
Review by miradu for Cooking for Geeks
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I bought this book because I was a nerd, but I’m keeping this book in my kitchen because i’m a nerd who needs to get better at cooking. I’ve previously been a fan of Americas Test Kitchen’s similar detailed explanations – this book is similar, but with better science and more character.
Jeff Potter’s Cooking for Geeks has given me a clear and well researched new framework to cook in. He goes into details about the affects of temperature, time, and air, on all of the various ingredients you use. The book is a delight to flip open to any page and find yourself immersed in nifty tricks, interviews with net celebrities, and hard core science behind cooking. Not to mention that the recipes are straight forward and pretty good
I highly recommend.