The Inquisitive Cook: Discover the Unexpected Science of the Kitchen

by Anne Gardiner, The Exploratorium

In a light, anecdotal, but highly informative style, seasoned cooking writers reveal the unexpected and always practical science of the kitchen. Covered are such subjects as the amazing alchemy of granules and powders, the astonishing egg, the effects on food of different cooking methods, the biology and psychology of flavor, the remarkable chemistry of doughs, spices, and much, much more. Amusing anecdotes, sidebars and illustrations en-liven the text. Throughout, there are "cook's queries," quick tips, and even recipes that will delight anyone interested in becoming a more knowledgable cook.

Genres: Science, Nonfiction, Food, Cookbooks, Cooking

160 pages, Paperback

First published August 15, 1998

Reviews

[Jennifer Kent · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book for a chemistry class but I REALLY enjoyed this book. In fact I will not be selling it back to the bookstore. I will be keeping this one. I really like it and learned so much about the chemistry behind cooking and why certain ingredients react the way they do and even why meat toughens up when cooked.

[Annetta Brisby · Rating 5 out of 5]

Y'all this book is amazing, I feel like I've learned more about cooking in the last couple days from this book than I learned in the first 23 years of my life so far. I wish I could learn more about the science of everyday things the way it was taught in this book; I've never seen such a supreme example of teaching about complex chemical and physical reactions in a way that's intuitive to someone who has next to no education about chemistry and physics. This is how science AND basic life skills should be taught, much more often. Amazing.

[Liz De Coster · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn't learn anything from this book that I hadn't already found in other sources. Most of those other sources were more comprehensive and would serve better as reference books in the kitchen, so I'd only recommend this to somebody not familiar with 'kitchen science' or somebody looking for a very quick read.

[Carma Spence · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this book ... my first introduction to the chemistry and science of cooking. I remember wondering why I didn't learn all this stuff when I took cooking is High School! It totally explained why that torte I made for my Dad's birthday didn't rise ... I used small eggs instead of medium -- not enough egg whites to make it rise.

[Kitty · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved it. I learned a few things I didn't know, and some that were truly fun and entertaining educationally. I read the synopsis on the rear cover, so I wasn't expecting a scientific Culinary thesis. It's a great light read.

[Marjorie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I finally finished this thing. And now, it has to permanently reside on cookbook shelf, next to Joy of Cooking. It's very dense material, a textbook written by instructors. Lots of chemistry, science, and skills. For example anatomy of an egg or 'Opps! Which Eggs are hard cooked?'

[Lindsey · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fascinating book. I don't know slot about cooking but here's some of the technical and more scientific side of what I thought was intuitive chef stuff.