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

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ That's rather an unusual book.
It's neither a cookbook nor a science one. Actually, it's more of an interesting mixture of both blended with some salt, pepper and a great amount of fun. I would recommend it to everyone that feels even a bit like a foodie.
There are many smart tips to remember and recall when you cook next time. It also consists of delicious recipes and a few interviews with chefs and scientists.

The book provides satisfying answers to "How" and "Why" to some cooking questions you might have. Moreover, it sparkles curiosity. I was marvelled to find exciting info about some of my favourite foods. For example, I understood that artichokes provoke what is called a "taste perversion", which means that it changes the taste of some foods that you eat afterwards. Water can taste sweeter and wine can be bitter. This made me google it and find more information. It turned out that in the wine world, artichokes are considered one of the greatest offenders. The important thing to remember here is to exclude artichokes from a meal where fine, aged or rare wines are going to be poured.

Did you know there is a fifth flavour - umami? Or did you suspect the magical features of Methylcellulose or how to thicken a warm jam and an interesting fact about it - they use it in Hollywood to make artificial slime.
There are also curious facts about pectin and enzymes explained in an understandable way (with graphics, of course).

Some of the recipes I knew and I have cooked already but I enjoyed the extra info about them - cumin and salt seared tuna, pizza dough (no-knead method), zabaglione, creme Brule, mayonnaise. It was funny to see a recipe for penne alla vodka. I may ask Eleanor Oliphant to lend me some of her vodka supplies. :D

I found a few recipes to put in my to-cook list: meringue cookies, coconut macaroons, white wine and cheese sauce, lemony quinoa and asparagus with shrimp scampi. There is a detailed explanation on how to make mozzarella cheese, Japanese style brine and marinade - things that I can't wait to try.

If my review made you interested in the book, you may download two of the chapters after subscribing to

Happy reading!