Introduction

YOU MIGHT BE A GEEK AND NOT EVEN KNOW IT. Are you curious about how the world works and enjoy figuring out why something ticks? If so, you’re probably a geek, the type of person who would rather be handed a box full of tools, kitchen stuff, or bicycle parts and be let loose to play than be told what to do. Geeks can be found in all walks of life, from politics to sports and, yes, technology too. Even if you don’t identify with my definition of geek—smart and curious—taking those qualities into the kitchen will allow you to discover amazing new things.

The kitchen can be a fun, interesting, and sometimes challenging place. My first culinary memories are of my dad, a physicist, teaching me how to make pancakes. When I was growing up, my family used food as a way to connect, grilling burgers for Sunday Football and feasting on turkey during Thanksgiving. When I left for college, I discovered how little I knew. (I think I know even less now!) My parents had taken time to cook with me and we’d eat together, but I’d never learned to cook chicken or sauté vegetables.

My first real challenge in learning to cook was making a good home-cooked dinner like the ones I’d grown up with. I was a culinary novice geek, not sure where to start but curious and open-minded. I eventually succeeded and now consider myself a good home cook, but could have done with fewer strange dishes in my learning process. (Pasta tossed with salmon? Chicken breasts simmered in red wine?) Much of my learning was trial and error. I’ve never enjoyed following traditional recipes and at the time there weren’t any cookbooks that taught the intuition of cooking using science explanations. While writing this book, I thought of myself learning to cook—someone who wanted fun and interesting ideas to try in the kitchen but not a strict recipe that must be followed. What would I have wanted to read as I embarked on my first culinary adventures?

A few years after graduating from college and having become comfortable cooking dinner, I started cooking for friends, throwing parties and inviting folks to join me at the dinner table. Cooking brought community, and my community, being full of geeks studying science in grad school, brought questions like “Why?” and “How?” These are the sorts of questions that aren’t easily answered by trial and error, leading to conversations and online searches about frying pans and spices and nutrition and a thousand other topics. These were the deeper, geekier questions, revealing scientific insights into ingredients and techniques, inspiring off-recipe adventures in new directions.

Then something funny happened. After I gave a talk on sous vide cooking (see page 325), someone asked if I might be interested in writing a book on cooking. “Sure,” I said, “how hard can it possibly be?” (People who answer “no” to this know more than I did at the time—and as I said, I think I know even less now!) What you’re reading is the result of an unimaginable amount of time spent coming up with what I consider fun, useful, and interesting culinary knowledge, intended to inspire both culinary novices and professionals alike.

Regardless of what type of geek you are, as long as you approach the kitchen with curiosity, you’ll do wonderfully. Please don’t feel the need to start with the first chapter. Recipes and experiments are sprinkled throughout the text, along with interviews with scientists, researchers, and chefs. Flip through and start wherever you’re curious! Here’s a brief guide to get you started:

New to the kitchen?

Then curl up with a cup of your $favorite_beverage (programming joke; I promise to sneak in a few for the software geeks out there), start at the beginning of Chapter 1, and give yourself time to get your bearings.

Looking to learn about science?

Either jump right into Chapter 2, or if you want to get your hands wet, take a look at the list of activities on page viii for ideas. (After the first edition of this book came out, I was asked by many teachers and parents for activities to do with learners. I snuck a few of them into the second edition, taking care that they’re also engaging to read.) There’s also a list of interviews with researchers and scientists on page ix. Personally, these interviews are my favorite part of the book.

Wanting to just cook?

Peruse the recipe index on page v and jump straight to your chosen recipe’s page. All of the recipes in this book were selected to connect some science concept to a real-world application. Most of the recipes are delicious on their own. The portions generally serve two to four people, but you’ll need to adjust and plan accordingly. These recipes are meant to be building blocks, not self-contained traditional ones, and you’re expected to adapt and modify them.

Regardless of where you start, I strongly suggest that you scribble notes in the margins or on notepaper tucked into the pages. Jot reminders about what you’d do differently the next time you use a recipe. Circle things that you want to come back to. Write questions about topics that leave you perplexed or wondering. I learn the most and have the most fun when I tackle cooking with a scientist’s attitude, boldly exploring, coming up with ideas and testing them out. You should too. Experiment!

My first cookbook, circa 1984.