Cooking for Geeks: Real Science, Great Hacks, and Good Food Read online

  Cooking for Geeks: Real Science, Great Hacks, and Good Food

  Jeff Potter

  Editor

  Laurel Ruma

  Editor

  Brian Sawyer

  Copyright © 2010 Jeff Potter

  Cooking for Geeks

  by Jeff Potter

  All rights reserved.

  Published by O’Reilly Media, Inc., 1005 Gravenstein Highway North, Sebastopol, CA 95472.

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  Editors: Brian Sawyer and Laurel R.T. Ruma

  Production Editor: Rachel Monaghan

  Copyeditor: Rachel Head

  Proofreader: Rachel Monaghan

  Indexer: Lucie Haskins

  Cover Designer: Mark Paglietti

  Interior Designer: Edie Freedman

  Illustrator: Aaron Double

  Printing History:

  July 2010: First Edition.

  The O’Reilly logo is a registered trademark of O’Reilly Media, Inc. The Cooking for Geeks cover image and related trade dress are trademarks of O’Reilly Media, Inc. The phrase "Cooking for Geeks" is a trademark of Atof Inc.

  Many of the designations used by manufacturers and sellers to distinguish their products are claimed as trademarks. Where those designations appear in this book, and O’Reilly Media, Inc. was aware of a trademark claim, the designations have been printed in caps or initial caps.

  While every precaution has been taken in the preparation of this book, the publisher and author assume no responsibility for errors or omissions, or for damages resulting from the use of the information contained herein.

  Back cover photograph by Matthew Hrudka.

  [TG]

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  Recipe Index

  Breakfast

  The 30-Minute Scrambled Egg

  The 60-Minute Slow-Cooked Egg

  Hard-Cooked Eggs, Shock and Awe Method

  Oven-Poached Eggs

  Buttermilk Pancakes

  Eigen Pancakes: The Hello, World! of Recipes

  Whipped Cream

  Tim O’Reilly’s Scone Recipe

  Yeast Waffles

  Drinks

  The Easier, Cheaper Version of "The $10,000 Gin and Tonic"

  Ginger Lemon Soda

  Hot Chocolate

  Fat-Washing Alcohols: Butter-Infused Rum, Bacon-Infused Bourbon

  Oaxacan Drinking Chocolate

  Regan’s Orange Bitters No. 5

  Sage Rush: Gin, Sage, and Grapefruit Juice

  Breads

  Bread—Traditional Method

  Bread—No-Knead Method

  Pizza Dough—No-Knead Method

  Pizza Dough—Yeast-Free Method

  Appetizers and Sides

  158°F / 70°C: Vegetable Starches Break Down

  158°F / 70°C: Vegetable Starches Break Down

  Reading Between the Lines

  Quick-Steamed Asparagus

  Seasonal Method

  Rosemary Mashed Potatoes

  Salmon Gravlax

  Sautéed Carrots

  Sautéed Greens

  Scallop Ceviche

  Salty

  310°F / 154°C: Maillard Reactions Become Noticeable

  Squid Bruschetta

  Salads

  Seasonal Method

  Tomato Basil Mozzarella Salad

  Watermelon and Feta Cheese Salad

  Soups

  Simple Beef Stew

  Butternut Squash Soup (Fall)

  Butternut Squash, Apple, and Vadouvan Soup

  Drip-Filtered Consommé

  Reading Between the Lines

  Gazpacho (Summer)

  Reading Between the Lines

  Aki Kamozawa and Alex Talbot’s Sweet Corn and Miso Soup

  White Bean and Garlic Soup (Winter)

  Reading Between the Lines

  Sauces and Marinades

  Béchamel Sauce (White Sauce)

  Foamed Scrambled Eggs

  Gravy

  Simple Greek-Style Marinade

  Simple Japanese-Style Marinade

  Soy Ginger Marinade

  Velouté Sauce

  Simple White Wine and Cheese Sauce

  Mains

  48-Hour Brisket

  Beef Steak Tips

  Butterflied Chicken, Broiled and Roasted

  Simple Cheeseburger

  Duck Confit Sugo

  Duck Confit

  Lemony Quinoa and Asparagus with Shrimp Scampi

  Mac ’n Cheese

  Oven-Cooked Barbeque Ribs

  Pork Chops Stuffed with Cheddar Cheese and Poblano Peppers

  Rice Congee

  Salmon Poached in Olive Oil

  Salt-Roasted Fish

  Seared Scallops

  Simple Seared Steak

  Seared Tuna with Cumin and Salt

  Slow-Cooked Short Ribs

  Desserts

  30-Second Chocolate Cake

  Chocolate Port Cake

  One-Bowl Chocolate Cake

  Pumpkin Cake

  Candied Orange Rind

  Caramelized White Chocolate

  Caramel Sauce

  Chocolate Almond Bars

  Baking Soda

  Chocolate Mousse

  Chocolate Panna Cotta

  A Mean Chocolate Chip Cookie

  Gingerbread Cookies

  Meringue Cookies

  Reading Between the Lines

  Quinn’s Crème Brûlée

  The Best Tool in the Kitchen?

  French and Italian Meringue

  Simple Ginger Syrup

  356°F / 180°C: Sugar Begins to Caramelize Visibly

  Cocoa-Goldschläger Ice Cream

  S’mores Ice Cream

  French and Italian Meringue

  Lemon Meringue Pie

  Pear Sorbet

  Simple Pie Dough

  Poached Pears in Red Wine

  Strawberry or Raspberry Soufflé

  Michael Chu’s Tiramisu

  Zabaglione (Sabayon))

  Components & Ingredients

  Green Olives

  Simple Lime Marmalade

  Mozzarella Cheese

  Mozzarella spheres

  Preserved Lemons

  Seitan

  Sugar Swizzle Sticks

  Vanilla Extract

  Basic White Stock

  Yogurt

  List of Interviews

  Brian Wansink on Cooking Styles

  Lydia Walshin on Learning to Cook

  Adam Savage on Scientific Testing

  Buck Raper on Knives

  Adam Ried on Equipment and Recipes

  Jim Clarke on Beverage Pairings

  Gail Vance Civille on Taste and Smell

  Virginia Utermohlen on Taste Sensitivity

  Xeni Jardin on Local Food

  Harold McGee on Solving Food Mysteries

  Doug Powell on Food Safety

  Michael Laiskonis on Pastry Chefs

  Martin Lersch on Chemistry in the Kitchen

  Jeff Varasano on Pizza

  David Lebovitz on American Cooking

  Hervé This on Molecular Gastronomy

  Linda Anctil on Inspiration

  Ann Barrett on Texture

  Douglas Baldwin on Sous Vide

  Dave Arnold on Industrial Hardware

  Nathan Myhrvold on Modernist Cuisine


  Preface

  Hackers, makers, programmers, engineers, nerds, techies—what we’ll call "geeks" for the rest of the book (deal with it)—we’re a creative lot who don’t like to be told what to do. We’d rather be handed a box full of toys or random electronic components, or yarn, or whatever, and let loose to play.

  But something happens to some geeks when handed a box full of spatulas, whisks, and sugar. Lockup. Fear. Foreign feelings associated with public speaking, or worse, coulrophobia. If you’re this type, this book is for you.

  Then there’s another type of geek: the über-nerd, who’s unafraid to try anything...maybe a bit too unafraid, but hasn’t had that Darwin Award moment (yet). The type of geek who is either "all on or all off," who addresses every aspect of the perfect cup of coffee, down to measuring the pressure with which the grinds are tamped into the espresso machine’s portafilter. This kind of geek is always on the search for the next bit of knowledge. If you’re this type, this book will inspire you.

  And then there’s everyone else: the everyday geek, normal, inquisitive, and looking to have more fun in the kitchen. Maybe you’re comfortable in the kitchen and would like new ideas, or perhaps you’re not quite sure where to start but are ready to give it a go. This book will show you easy ways of trying new things.

  Regardless of which type of geek you are, as long as you have "the courage of your convictions" to pick up the spatula and try, you’ll do fine. The goal of this book is to point out new ways of thinking about the tools in that box full of kitchen gear.

  Of course, I have plenty of tips and secrets to share ("spill the beans," as they say), so I hope you’ll buy this book and take it home with you. Scribble notes in the margins about bits that you like (or just star—upvote?—those paragraphs). Write in questions on things that leave you perplexed or wondering. Learning to cook is about curiosity, learning to ask questions, and figuring out how to answer those questions.

  When you’re done with the book, pass it along to a friend (although my publisher would rather you buy that friend a new copy!). If you’ve received this book from a friend, I hope it’s because they think you’ll enjoy it and not because your cooking is lousy. Cooking is about community, and sharing knowledge and food is one of the best ways to build community.

  If you’re the (N+1)th person to have received this book—if it’s dog-eared, worn, and beat up, and by the time you’re done with it there aren’t any more spots left to write comments in the margins—then I have a favor to ask of you: send me the marked-up book when you’re done. In return, I’ll send you back something random (possibly only pseudorandom). See the book’s companion website for information on how to do this:

  http://www.cookingforgeeks.com/book/feedback/

  How to Use This Book

  This book is designed for use in a couple of different ways.

  If you want to "just cook," flip to the recipe index, pick a recipe, and skip straight to that page. The surrounding text will explain some aspects of the science behind the recipe. While the recipes in this book are chosen to complement and provide examples of the science, they’re also recipes that are fantastic in and of themselves. Most of the recipes are for single components—say, beef short ribs—without accompanying sides. This allows the various components of a meal to be covered in appropriate science sections, and also keeps each recipe short and easy.

  If you’re more interested in curling up with a cup of $favoriteBeverage, pick a chapter based on your interests and tuck in.

  The first portion of this book covers topics you should think about before turning on the oven: how to approach the kitchen and how to think about taste and smell. The middle portion covers key variables in cooking (time and temperature) and baking (air), as well as some secondary variables. The final two chapters address some of the more creative things you can do in the kitchen, either with "software" (chemicals) or "hardware" (blowtorches!). Recipes and experiments are sprinkled throughout the book, along with interviews of scientists, researchers, chefs, and food bloggers. Here’s a taste of what you’ll find in this book:

  Chapter 1

  What does success in the kitchen mean? How do you pick a recipe, and then how do you interpret it correctly? This chapter considers these questions and also touches briefly on nutrition (really, the all-pizza diet has got to go).

  Chapter 2

  This chapter covers the basic must-haves, but it is ultimately up to you to experiment, adapt, and modify these suggestions to fit your needs and tastes. Use common sense. In addition to the essentials, this chapter also touches on storage tips, kitchen organization tricks, and things to keep in mind if you’re new to cooking.

  Chapter 3

  This chapter explains the physiology of taste and smell and shows how to improve your understanding of flavor combinations, giving ideas on how to stir up new ideas.

  Chapter 4

  This chapter explains the chemical reactions that occur when heating foods, so that you’ll know what to look for when cooking. We start with a discussion of heat, looking at the differences between various ways of cooking, how the temperature choice impacts the outcome, and what chemical reactions are taking place. The rest of the chapter then examines a range of temperatures, starting with the coldest and ending with the hottest, discussing the importance of each temperature point and giving example recipes.

  Chapter 5

  This chapter takes a brief look at gluten and then examines baking’s key variable, air. It covers the three primary methods of generating air—mechanical, chemical, and biological—giving common techniques for creating air and notes on how to work with the associated ingredients.

  Chapter 6

  This chapter takes a look at cooking techniques that use food additives, both traditional and modern. Some recent culinary techniques, falling under the genre termed molecular gastronomy or modernist cuisine, rely on chemicals. Some of these chemical-based techniques are covered in the second portion of this chapter. Even if you’re not the type who wants to use food additives, understanding the chemistry and purposes of various food additives makes recovering from kitchen errors quicker and decoding ingredient lists at the grocery store easier.

  Chapter 7

  Here we cover some of the commercial and industrial tools used in preparing foods, such as sous vide, and throw in a few, uh, "crazy" (and fun!) things that one can do in the kitchen as well. Modern commercial kitchens, most likely including the high-end ones in your area, use a variety of tools that consumers rarely encounter but that can help create some absolutely stellar meals.

  As is so often the case with science, what we don’t know about cooking seems to be increasing at a faster rate than what we do know. And then there’s the difference between theory and practice (in theory, they should be the same; in practice, hahaha). One research paper will find that myosin (a protein in muscle) denatures in fish at 104°F / 40°C, while another reports 107°F / 41.7°C, and yet another at an entirely different temperature. Maybe it’s the type of fish that matters (lean versus fatty does make a difference), or maybe it’s just that fish. Biology does not confine itself to simple models, so when you’re trying to combine the various pieces of information into a uniform picture, some discrepancy is unavoidable.

  On the Web

  So much of cooking is about sharing, community, and discussion. Beyond this book, here are a few places to share your creations, comments, and questions.

  For videos, more recipes, and additional interviews, see this book’s companion website, at http://www.cookingforgeeks.com/.

  If you use Facebook, see http://facebook.com/cookingforgeeks.