Book Report
What Einstein Told his Cook Two
By: Robert K. Wolke
Published by: W.W. Norton and Company
April 18, 2005

In my foundations one class I chose to do my book report on the predecessor to this book What Einstein Told his Cook. I was looking for something that would entertain me and perhaps educate me as to the actual scientific processes to cook. Actual explanations that go beyond the simple answers of what works well together or not just learning that oil and water can emulsify by using eggs but why on the molecular level that these things happen. I was pleasantly surprised by the method and technique employed by the author in teaching me a multitude of culinary answers to simple everyday questions people have from “Why are champagne corks shaped the way they are” or “why are sweet onions sweet” to even the mundane “why do beans give us gas?”. In the second installment of his Einstein books the main premise is too answer these questions and many more with technical and scientific fact to demystify these culinary quandaries while also employing humor to make what can be a pretty dry subject more palatable.

The author wants us to grasp the subjects in question during the various chapters which revolve around answering questions regarding vegetables or desserts to the best kitchen cleaning products by giving practical reasons for why chefs do things the way they do from taste results to financial benefit and recipes that allow us to actually do the methods explained and experiment for ourselves so we can see with our eyes and touch and not just read it on the pages. This allowed me personally to learn a few culinary secrets that frankly I never knew I was even curious about. In all What Einstein Told his Cook II isn’t truly a story on the sense of the word but a collection of questions and answers that can be read from page one to page five hundred but is also used just as well as a reference work to answer questions that can pop up while in the culinary field. It’s literal conclusion is a recipe for Ganache and Chocolate sandwiches however this is just a taste of the whole story. I highly recommend this book for night table reading or occasional references but not for a sit down cover to cover read.