Cooking for Geeks:Real Science, Great Hacks, and Good Food
By Jeff Potter
At our core, though, all of us geeks still share that same inner curiosity about the hows and whys with the pocket-protector crowd from yesteryear. This is where so many cookbooks fail us. Traditional cookbooks are all about the what, giving steps and quantities but offering little in the way of engineering-style guidance or ways of helping us think. Learning to cook is not so much about rote memorization or experience as it is about curiosity, and that’s something us geeks have way more of than your average “random.”
Cooking for Geeks is not a cookbook. It is a book about cooking, more specifically the science involved in the creation of culinary concoctions. Yes, there are recipes, but this book is more of a textbook, an explanation of the chemistry, physics, and molecular gastronomy observed in the cooking process. Jeff Porter explains it all, from basics, such as the bare minimum technical equipment needed to make a pancake, to industrial (and slightly dangerous) hardware and chemicals necessary to create 30-second Cocoa-Goldschlager Ice Cream.
The book reads like a college course the science of cooking (which I totally would have taken for credit) taught by the young, hip T.A. who can hack some sous vide salmon or complex computer code with equal aplomb. But I would have taken the class because I love food and cooking — my brain glazes over at the mere mention of physics –- I would have been going for the easy ‘A.’ Thankfully, Potter weaves complex techie talk with basic chemistry refreshers for those of us who haven’t seen a molecular diagram in years.
The recipes are included as examples of the principles taught: Watermelon and Feta Cheese Salad explains how to pair primary taste components to enhance their effect on our taste receptors; roasting a chicken is simply an experiment on how to produce the proper Maillard (browning) reaction for optimal taste and aroma.
Speaking of experiments – this book is full of them. Some are basic: as much as I enjoy playing with my taste buds, I wanted to determine if I was a supertaster (one who experiences sweet, salty, and especially bitter tastes more intensely). As I did not have any phenylthiocarbamide handy to test via Method #1, I dyed my tongue blue, held a hole-punched card to the tip of my tongue, and counted my taste buds as instructed for Method #2. Yes, I am a supertaster. No, I will not be sharing the photos of my blue tongue.
Other experiments are exceptionally more complicated: as much as I would love to make ice cream in 30 seconds, I am not about to purchase any liquid nitrogen and a dewar from my local scientific gas distributor. (However, this would be a rocking experiment to do in a class.) But I totally want to make the DIY Lego Ice Cream Maker – much more my speed.
Interspersed within the chapters are interviews with culinary greats (David Lebovitz of Chez Panisse fame), favorite TV brains (Mythbuster co-host Adam Savage), and, yes, college professors, engineers, and computer geeks galore. Instead of coming across as brainy or condescending, their advice and experiences read as if they are sought-after guest lecturers, with the entire class hanging on their every word.
Potter deftly explains the mechanics of the cooking system and encourages all of us to be brave. Attempt the duck confit. Try the crepes. And as he repeats through our education: don’t be afraid to fail…you can always order pizza.
1-2-3 Crepes
Whisk or puree until entirely mixed, about 30 seconds:
1 cup (250g) milk (preferably whole milk)
2 large (120g) eggs
1/3 cup (40g) flour (all-purpose)
Pinch of salt
Let rest for at least 30 minutes, preferably longer, so that the gluten in the flour has a chance to thicken the batter. (Stash the batter in the fridge if you’re going to leave it for more than half an hour.)
Making crepes is like riding a bicycle: it takes practice before it’s easy. Expect to completely screw up the first few you make (training wheels!), and keep in mind that while the batter is easy and the technique simple, the error tolerances are actually pretty tight, so don’t get discouraged! Like riding a bicycle, it’s far easier to :: fast; going slow is hard.
Start with a nonstick frying pan over medium-high up the pan for about 30 seconds, or until a drop of water sizzles when dropped into it. Once your pan is at temperature, plan to work quickly: butter, wipe down, pour batter in while swirling, flip, flip again, add fillings, plate, and repeat. Because they’re fast and cheap, crepes are great for dinner parties or brunches, but you should definitely practice beforehand.
Butter: Grab a cold stick of butter with the wrapper partially pulled back, and using the wrapper part as a handle, spread a small amount of butter around the pan.
Wipe down: Use a paper towel to thin out the butter over the surface of the pan, wiping up almost all of it (and on repeats, any crumbs left behind from the previous crepe). The pan should look almost dry; you want a super-thin coating of butter, not noticeable streaks.
Pour: Pour in the batter while swirling the pan. Pour about 1/4 cup / 60 ml of batter into a 10″ / 25 cm pan, adjusting as necessary (you want enough batter to just coat the bottom evenly). While pouring in the batter with one hand, use your other hand to hold the pan in the air and swirl it so that the batter runs and spreads over the surface of the pan. If you can pour batter out of the pan after swirling, you’re using too much. If you’re short on batter, you can “spot pour” a bit in to fill in the gap. This is also the point at which you should check the heat of the pan; it should be hot enough that the batter develops a lace-like quality — little holes all over the crepe as the steam tunnels up through the batter. If your crepes come out whitish, turn up the heat.
Flip: Wait until the crepe begins to brown. Don’t poke, don’t prod; just let it cook. Once the crepe has begun to brown around the edges, use a silicone spatula (one of those folding spatulas works well) to push down the edge all around the circumference. This will release the edge of the crepe so that it lifts off the pan. Carefully grab that little edge to flip the crepe with both hands.
Flip Again: Let the crepe cook on the second side for half a minute or so, until it’s cooked. The first side should come out a uniformly brown tone, so flip the crepe again before adding the fillings. This will leave the better-looking side on the outside of the finished crepe.
Add fillings: Add whatever fillings you like. You can heat and even cook the fillings by leaving the pan on the heat during this step. Or, you can move the crepe to a plate and fill it off the heat if you’re using something cold (e.g., lox, cream cheese, dill). Crepes are a great vehicle for almost any filling, either savory or sweet. If a combination of ingredients works on pizza or in a pie, it’ll probably work in a crepe.
- From Cooking for Geeks by Jeff Potter
Crepes and I have had a secret love affair since I first discovered them in high school, but they can be tricky and time consuming to make. This recipe worked. The directions were clear and easy to follow. And they made sense. I doubled the ingredients and ended up with 12 thin and pliant crepes. My taste testers swooned over them (with an Apricot-Dijon Chicken filling) at dinner. And for dessert, Nutella and banana crepes with a chocolate drizzle. Try it. Your friends will thank you.
Buy It. If you love science, puzzles, and the concept of optimal cake-cutting algorithms turns you on, this book is for you. It’s also a great gift for the friend in your life who made Napalm at age 12 just to figure out if he could. Borrow it: If chem lab switched your brain into snooze-mode. Still some good stuff to learn though and worth a browse.
Cooking for Geeks: Real Science, Great Hacks, and Good Food
Jeff Potter
O’Rielly Media, Inc.
$34.99 (Paperback) $9.80 (Kindle Edition), 412 pages
