Brain Food: [large print edition]

by Richard Cornish

A Culinary Cornucopia of Questions. Is pork butt the new pork belly? Whose room temperature are we talking about? And can you freeze cheese? (Yes, but why would you want to?) These are some of the burning questions at the heart of every kitchen. Food science, etiquette, mythbusting, history and common sense-there is no subject too big or too small for Richard Cornish to answer in his weekly Brain Food columns, which have been must-reads for years. Brain Food is a collection of the best cooks' conundrums and their surprising answers.

Genres: Nonfiction, Science, Food

234 pages, Paperback

Published February 1, 2022

Reviews

[Girl · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received a free e-book copy of this title from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Brain Food is a book that collects questions and responses from Richard Cornish's column on cooking. Some are funny. Some are surprisingly specific. Most are very informative and super interesting. I learnt a few new things about baking (for example, the difference between using baking powder and bicarbonate of soda), and confirmed some of my suspicions with regard to cooking in general. It is a very fast read, punctuated by Cornish's opinionated, yet irreverent tone.

[Jo · Rating 4 out of 5]

#NetGalley #Melbourne

This is a collection best columns printed from 2010 to 2016 by the famous Richard Cornish. The book is divided by sections where the most debatable culinary questions are answered in a humorous and informative way. I liked the way that Richard shares the techniques and theories.

[MJ James · Rating 3 out of 5]

Brain Food is a collection of pieces from a newspaper column, of the same name, that ran (or still runs) in Australia. It is a food column that answers readers questions in a more direct and teasing tone then other food columns.

This book was not at all what I was expecting. From the title I thought that I was going to get a book heavy on science and not on cooking. Although, I was surprised how much science there is when creating recipes and cooking. It was not the type of science I expected, nor the format I was expecting.

I am not the target audience for this book. I only taught myself to cook as an adult, and that because of food allergies in myself and my children. Most of the information in this book was useless to me, specifically because of our food allergies. I was a bit blown away that the advice given to a young child headed off to college was to teach them how to cook a chicken. Have they never seen the kitchen in dorms? We were lucky to be able to boil water, let alone create an actual meal.

With that being said, it was a good tone and I read the book all the way through. While most of the information was not relevant, I was still intrigued by the passion behind cooking.

I received this book for free from Netgalley. All opinions are my own.

[Lili · Rating 3 out of 5]

From Netgalley for review:

This book was pretty ok, nothing really wowed me in it, but I also didn't hate reading it. I think, since I am an avid cook and student of kitchen things, none of the information was new, but I imagine that someone new to kitchen shenanigans might find it more useful. I think my biggest complaint would be the organization and utility of the book, the style of it being replies to an advice column means it was not organized really well and if you wanted the answer to a specific question you just had to hope you could find it. I did appreciate the snark and wit though!

[Felicity · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've given this and extra star because it was such a fun book to read. Okay it's a cook book of sorts, but it's written in the style of a novel, a fun style. I loved the tongue in cheek, conversational writing and it took nothing away from the informative detail of the topic. If you have questions about anything odd in the way of today's recipes have a look at this book. It won't answer all your questions but it'll go close.

[Alison · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved this book. A right giggle. The info was informative, scientific and interesting, but Richard's commentary was what made a book of facts into a real interesting read. I have to say I got his sense of humour, maybe because I'm part Aussie I got it, who knows, but I thoroughly recommend this book to anyone wanting to know about cooking, food and table manners in general.

[Alex · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a pretty lightweight but diverting read. Very keen cooks or eaters may not find too much new here but it's still interesting and the writing style is a little humorous and witty (but not in a laugh out loud way!)

[Laranda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyed this book. Laughed out loud a couple of times at some of the dry humour in here and learned some good tips along the way. It wasn't what I was expecting but it was really good. Learned a bit about weird Australian stuff too. So similar but so different. Read through netgalley.

[Cathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Having previously read Richard Cornish's 'My Year Without Meat' I was keen to read this book as well. I'm sorry that it took me so long to read it. I will be seeking out his column more often as I really do enjoy his writing style.

[Kat · Rating 4 out of 5]

Miss reading this in the Tuesday paper.

[The Joana Edit || JR · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a collection of questions and answers on the author’s column. Some of them funny and some very interesting. You can learn a lot about cooking and techniques. I advise tHe reading of the book to all of us who loves to cook and are just curious....!

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a compilation of columns that appear in an Australian food magazine. There are some interesting tidbits. The author writes with humor and answers questions from readers without being condescending. Some of the brand names, supermarkets, and types of food I didn't recognize but overall, still an enjoyable read.

Thanks to NetGalley, Richard Cornish, and Melbourne University Publishing for the opportunity to read this book for free, in exchange for an honest review.