Book Notes: What Einstein Told His Cook

Robert l. Wolke writes a food column for The Washington Post in which he explains the science behind food, cooking methods, and so on. I read a collection of his columns, "What Einstein Told His Cook", and really enjoyed it. Here is a handful of the interesting parts, paraphrased:

* Caramelization is the heat-induced browning of a food that contains sugar, but no amino acids (which make up proteins). Onions contain amino acids, so technically one can't "caramelize" an onion. When a food with amino acids in addition to sugar is heated to induce browning, such as onions, a set of chemical reactions take place called Maillard reactions. (pg 23)

* White chocolate has no chocolate in it. It is the fat from the cacao bean mixed with milk solids and sugar. (pg 34)

* Salt expose: Salt Sense is real salt, but it can claim to have "33 percent less sodium per teaspoon" because the salt crystals are flaky and fluffy, taking more room in a teaspoon than regular salt. (pg 46).

* His general point about salt is that all types of salt--table salt, sea salt, popcorn salt, kosher salt--are either identical or virtually identical chemically. The only significant difference is the size of the salt grain. (pg 42, others)

* Most European butters have a higher minimum milk fat content, which give them a richer flavor than American butters. (pg 78)

* The point of pasteurization is to heat a liquid to a temperature that will kill or deactivate dangerous microorganisms. Traditional pasteurization, not used much anymore, heats milk to 145-150 degrees F for 30 minutes. Flash pasteurization heats milk at 162 degrees F for 15 seconds. Ultra-pasteurization heats it to 280 degrees F for only 2 seconds.

The ultra-pasteurization equipment heats the milk under a high gas pressure to raise the boiling point of milk and prevent it from evaporation during the process. The process also increases the milk's shelf life by 4-5 weeks compared to flash pasteurization. (pg 91)

* Potato chips bags have opaque windows to keep out ultraviolet light, which speeds up the oxidation process of the fat in chips, turning them rancid. As a general rule, keep all fats and oils out of strong light. (pg 118)

* Green skin and sprouting eyes on a potato are sources of solanine, a toxic alkaloid. The solanine doesn't lie deep, so you can cut these parts of the potato
off and use the rest. (p 119)

* Salt (mixed with a bit of water) preserves food because it kills or deactivates bacteria by osmosis. Osmosis is the passing of water through a membrane to balance out the concentration of water in a 2nd solution. The salty solution sucks out the less-salty water in the bacterium, making it shrivel up and become inactive. (pg 138) I wonder if water could bring a dried-out bacterium to life.

* If you aren't defrosting a home-frozen food in the microwave, put it in a metal pan. Metals are great heat conductors, better than air or water, and will transfer the room's heat to the food faster than those methods. A bowl of warm water changed every half-hour is better for bulky foods, like a whole chicken. (pg 201)

* You can sterilize a sponge by placing it in a microwave and running it for 1 minute. The sponge has to be wet or it could smoke or catch fire. (pg 255) This article, from the original study, recommends two minutes so I would go with that.

* Most microwaves can only operate at full power. When you select "50% power", the microwave is cycling on and off so it is only on 50% of the time. An exception is a microwave with "inverter technology", which can deliver a lower level of power. (pg 256)

* Microwaves can penetrate glass and not metal. The reason the metal grate on a microwave door blocks microwaves is because microwaves are 4 3/4 long, too long to fit through the tiny gaps in the grate. (pg 260)

* The most important quality of a frying pan is heat conductivity. The best heat conductor is silver. (I couldn't find a silver frying pan for sale online though). The next best is copper, which conducts heat 91% as well as silver. Too much copper can be toxic, so the pan will need to be lined with a less toxic metal, such as stainless steel or nickel.

Next is aluminum, which conducts heat 55% as well as copper. The aluminum will need some type of coating to protect it from damage from food acids. The worst conductor among common skillet materials is solid stainless steel, only 4 percent as good as silver.

* He tested how much water button mushrooms absorb when you wash them, and found that it's next to nothing. I've found this to be my experience too, in spite of the warnings against washing mushrooms. (pg 286)

* The reason for different measuring cups from liquids and solids (usually with wider mouths than liquid measuring cups) is to account for how the two substances settle in a container. One cup of a liquids will fill all available space in the container. One cup of a solid like sugar or flour will settle unevenly and leave small caps among the granules. Most measuring cups for solids have wide mouths to let the solids spread out more and fill the spaces between them (more like a liquid).

He mentions a product called a Perfect Beaker that does a good job measuring both dry and liquid substances. (pg 293)

Another Haircut

There is a hereditary rule for predicting baldness. I forget the specifics. If your Uncle on your Mom's side is bald, you'll be bald? Or is it your mother's father, or your father's mother? It doesn't matter. In my family, they're all bald.

My hairline has rapidly receded for several years now. I'm reminded of this on occasion. I'll have a moment of consternation and self-pity, and then adjust to the new setback in the War on Forehead until the next reminder.

The latest one was yesterday, staring at myself in the mirror at The Hair Cuttery. The stylist had just finished cutting my hair, and I was completely lost in thought, feeling depressed at the vast expanse of forehead facing me, sparely dotted with small wisps of hair huddling together like refugees from a still ongoing battle.

"It's okay," the stylist said.

I broke out of my thoughts. The worry on my face must have been obvious for her to say that.

She put her hand on my shoulder. "It's okay."

That made me smile. You know what? It is okay. Balding sucks, but it's not the end of the world. It's part of life, and I'll just have to live with it. I gave her a knowing nod. You're right. It is okay.

It wasn't until the third time that she asked "It's okay?" that I realized we weren't having an unspoken connection where a familiar combination of male baldness and angst made my inner thoughts clear and my need for comfort obvious, but rather she just wanted to know if I liked my haircut, and for the past 30 seconds I was just responding to her by winking and nodding.

"Yeah, yeah, it's okay!" I jumped out of the chair. As I left, I realized I still felt a little better, even if the compassion was accidental.

Rubber Thug

How did I miss this bit of marketing genius for so long?

I have had an old Rubbermaid "Roughneck" laundry basket for many years now. The label copyright is 1983. I just noticed two things about it today.

1. The original product sticker is still on the bottom.

2. The Rubbermaid mascot is a thug.




The image quality is poor, but the message is clear: this guy is mad about laundry. His arms are crossed, his dockworker hat is pulled to the ridge of his forehead, and whatever is strapped to his wrist is either an unusual watch or portable garroting wire.

"Five Year Warranty"? Yeah, like I'm going to call Rubbermaid customer service and give my phone number and address to a company with Sir Thug-A-Lot on the payroll. "You got a problem with your basket? Yeah, I'll come right over and fix it. I'll fix it real good."

I'm afraid to put laundry in this thing anymore. I was blissfully unaware of this relic of the tough-guy marketing trend for over a decade, and now I can't fall asleep without a pullover and a pair of socks covering his face.

I understand the manly man marketing philosophy, but even accounting for today's slightly increased sensibilities, what was Rubbermaid thinking?

AD MAN 1: "Hey, let's put a picture of a man who looks like he beats his wife when the booze runs out on all our products aimed at women, many of whom who stay at home alone or with defenseless kids."
AD MAN 2: "I like it! Mr. Clean, you going down."

Best Album of 2007?

I could easily find 100 good candidates for Song of the Year, but Album of the Year is much different. I tend to listen to singles or will just download 2-3 songs from an artist rather than the whole album, so I don't have many candidates to choose from.

My favorite album, which I'm surprised isn't even on most people's Top 10 lists, is All Hour Cymbals by Yeasayer. "2080" is crazy good and the rest of the album is repeat-worthy as well. I've listened to the entire album a few dozen times and am still enjoying it.

The rest of my list will be unsurprising to people who likes indie pop \ rock. I was hesitant to make a "Best of the Year" list at all because there's not much here that's interesting if you keep up with this type of music.

All Hour Cymbals / Yeasayer
The Flying Club Cup / Beirut
Andorra / Caribou
Night Falls Over Kortedala / Jens Lekman
Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga / Spoon
Ghettoblaster / Socalled
Mice Parade / Mice Parade

From the “Wish I Heard About in 2006″ club:
Night Ripper / Girl Talk
The Dusty Foot Philosopher / K’Naan

Other stuff: I like a lot of songs on Arcade Fire's "Neon Bible", but I haven't listened to the entire album enough to stand by it. I just downloaded "In Rainbows" by Radiohead and am enjoying it so far, which is something because I'm not a big Radiohead fan (sacrilege!)

I also finally listened to M.I.A.'s "Kala", an alum that seems to appear on every Top 10 list out there. It's good, especially "Jimmy" and "Paper Planes", but at the same time I don't quite get why so many people are in love with it.

Okay, your turn. Jim, Meghan, other fans of music: what are your Best Albums of 2007?