Comments about O'Reilly Media Cooking for Geeks:

I'm totally a geek, and nowhere near a cook. All of my life I concentrate on what the author called "survival food" - something that keeps me well-fed and healthy but doesn't require a lot of time and effort (including mental, which is the hardest of efforts). When I enter the kitchen, I prefer to grab something and exit it as soon as possible, or at least think about something different while I'm in - not exactly the mindset for cooking. And yet I've found "Cooking for Geeks" a good reading, even if not immediately useful in the kitchen.

This book is not a book of recipes, though there are some scattered over the pages; this is a book about cooking as seen by the geek and explained to other geeks. Intriguing? Certainly.

A lot of things in this book are not applicable to my daily life - like salad bars in grocery stores (don't think I've ever seen one), or setting the temperature in the oven (only my microwave can do this), or throwing away a failed dish and ordering a pizza. Must be something about cultural difference between USA and Ukraine, I think. Some of the hardware setup like dishwasher and oven or three distinct work surfaces are very understandable and I wish I could have them, but my kitchen had simply no room for them. "Initializing the Kitchen" chapter sent me to check unknown foods and tools in Wikipedia more than once, and parts of it still left me puzzled - 3 frying pans? Thermometers? Spatulas and whisks? Are you serious? Well, maybe one day I'll get to this, but certainly not right now.

Other things, like cooking and eating from the same dish for the sake of laziness, I've invented myself ages ago and use on a regular basis. And I must confess I haven't tried a single recipe from this book yet (though there are a few very promising ones).

But I read books not to derive immediate use from them (well, unless they are professional), I read for pleasure. And in this aspect Cooking for Geeks is all I could desire from a book about food and cooking. It has interesting facts and stories, like that of "miracle berries", and interviews which introduce the reader to the life of people who work with food (a bit different from my day). Some scientific facts as well, but I'm not much into science, so I can't really appreciate this part. And the most important - plenty of images and descriptions which make my mouth water at the mere thought of them - I stopped reading and went to the kitchen to forage for some food more than once while reading the most inspiring chapters.

Conclusion? This book certainly gives the reader more value than the time spent reading it, even if you spend a year reading it, like I did :-)

Comments about O'Reilly Media Cooking for Geeks:

You know those outstanding programming books? The ones where writer's style is clear, informative, and engaging? Where the scope of coverage is neither too narrow nor too broad? Where you can just sense that the author is a talented and enthusiastic expert in his/her field? Where you just get caught up in the learning process, and hate to put the book down?

I never thought I'd have a similar experience reading a cooking book. Happily, Jeff Potter's "Cooking for Geeks" gave me the exact same experience.

The whole "geek" approach has made cooking accessible and interesting to me in a way that other books just haven't been able to do. I particulalrly enjoyed the "Initializing the Kitchen" section, in particular; in the past, I've felt overwhelmed by the sheer variety and unfamiliarity of the seemingly-infinite number of kicthen tools and utensils available. The book provides a systematic, logical examination of the tools you'll need, what their benefits/uses are, and recommendations on solid, relaible brands.

As the reader progresses to actual cooking, Potter does an excellent job of presenting the "why" along with the "how". How do taste and smell work, and how does that influence recipes and cooking techniques? What are the chemical reactions involved in cooking, and how do we harness them to create yummy concoctions?

Now, my brain is "geek-wired", and Potter's approach neatly meshes with my information processing style, but I'm confident in predicting that *anyone* interested in learning their way around the kitchen will find this book extremely enjoyable and useful.

Note: O' Reilly was kind enough to provide a review copy of this title as part of their blogger review program.

Comments about O'Reilly Media Cooking for Geeks:

Disclaimer: I am not a cook or chef. Nor do I aspire to be one. I love to eat and have been intrigued by the Food Network but I'd rather stop in at Iron Chef Michael Symon's Lola for lunch than try and recreate his menu.

That said, I am a Geek and there is a significant amount of science and tech in the world of cooking. The author mixes in a lot of science with the recipes and cooking techniques. Foodies may skip the science and techies may skip the recipes but that would be a mistake. Both parts are important.

I like the numerous interviews that are strewn throughout the book. For example, Potter interviews Cornell prof Brian Wansink about why and what we eat. Did you know that, according to Wansink, the "nutritional gatekeeper" (the person in the home who buys and makes the food) controls about 72% of the food their family eats? Or that people tend to pour 32% more into a short wide glass than a tall skinny glass? There are a lot of interesting tidbits like that throughout the book.

Even former Microsoft CTO Nathan Myhrvold shares his cooking philosophy and techniques.

The book covers all the basics which is important for non-foodie geeks like me. Potter treats the kitchen and its tools as any other laboratory with instruments. You want the best, most accurate, most precise instruments in your lab – and in your kitchen.

He then covers the ingredients with sections on taste (what the heck is savory?) and how Flavor = Smell + Taste (Geeks like equations!)
Some parts are like Chemistry lessons with detailed info on heat transfer methods and times for various foods and the reactions of salt, sugar, acids and bases and alcohol.

Every techie book has to include something on gadgets and this book has a Fun with Hardware section. Of course the hardware is not microprocessors and hard drives but some of the tools and gadgets available for your cooking. I don't think I will ever use his Cooking in a Dishwasher technique but I might give the Bake a Brownie in an Orange method a try.

As a mathematician, I liked Meg Hourihan's (the co-founder of Blogger.com) attempt at the perfect chocolate chip cookie. She took about 40 chocolate cookie recipes and averaged the ingredients and instructions. Some results were weird – 2.04 cups of flour, 0.79 teaspoons of salt and so on. Her "Mean Chocolate Cookie" (pun intended) turned out "pretty good" she said.

Another fun part for me was the algorithm to cut a cake for N people. Those of us with siblings faced this situation often while growing up.

The book is 400 pages that will interest foodies and techies alike. And if you happen to be both – this book is really for you.

As for me…Will I make my own Mozzarella Cheese? Probably not. But it was interesting to read how I could if I wanted to. I think I need a snack.

Comments about O'Reilly Media Cooking for Geeks:

When's the last time you did a chemistry experiment? Truth is, most of us do chemistry experiments more often than we imagine. Every time you try tweaking a recipe or try to cook something new, you're doing a chemistry experiment. Best thing is, you can use the basic properties of food to make new dishes and recreate your favorite foods.

This can be difficult to do on your own, though, and most cookbooks are designed to just help you make individual recipes and don't overly teach you how to design new ones. Cooking for Geeks is a great book that does exactly that. Author Jeff Potter guides you through the basic ways foods work so you'll understand how everything from eggs to high temperature cooking works. It includes tons of recipes, but best of all, it'll leave you with an understanding of what made that recipe tick and how you can use the ideas from it on your own. You'll even learn better ways to make boiled eggs, of all things!

Whether you're cooking on your own or using it with a school group to teach, Cooking for Geeks empowers you to take your cooking to the next level. Sure, cooking is not a technology centric thing, but this book makes cooking appeal to those of us who enjoy hacking and tweaking. Plus, when's the last time you saw the Mac vs. PC debate mentioned in a cookbook? My family and I have found this book very educational and enjoyable, and if you find cooking any bit interesting, I believe you'll be fascinated by this book, too.

Comments about O'Reilly Media Cooking for Geeks:

Cooking for Geeks is the cooking book for the rest of us. It is the book that was written for those of us who do not naturally feel comfortable in the kitchen. It is the book that was written for those of us who want to know; Why does that happen? and Why do I need to do that in a certain order?

Jeff takes the reader through the science of cooking, through theory and plenty of examples in the forms of recipes, ranging from simple to complex. While the book focuses on the scientific reasoning behind what happens in the kitchen, Jeff does in an amusing and non-threatening manner.

Each chapter is organized in straightforward manner. Jeff starts off the book by talking about what equipment you should have in your kitchen, then about taste and smell, what happens when food is cooked, baking and gluten to ending talking about commercial and modern cooking methods. In each case, he does it in a manner that exposes the reader to new concepts in an easy to understand method with examples and the science behind the concept.

Along with the science behind kitchen concepts, Jeff provides enough recipes for the reader to utilize in their everyday life, ranging in complexity from simple cooking of eggs to a more complex example of Seared Mussels. This to me is one of the selling points to the book. Too many times, cooking books focus on either the simple or complex and do not make it seem as though a kitchen novice would not be able to handle something more complex than making cereal and toast. This is not the case here, with each recipe explained in a straightforward manner that would allow even the kitchen novice to feel comfortable doing something more complex in the kitchen.

Along with a multitude of recipes and scientific explanations, Jeff interviews famous people about their experiences in the kitchen. These experts range from Adam Savage of Mythbusters fame to pastry chef Dave Lebovitz from Berkley. This adds to the rich content of the book by giving an outside perspective on cooking and kitchen science/cooking.

Overall, I recommend this book to novice and experienced home cooks. Jeff has tips and tricks that can be utilized by all level of home cooks without insulting or frustrating either group.

Comments about O'Reilly Media Cooking for Geeks:

I agree with the other reviewers on the content. But the eBook is painful to use (particularly for a tech-savvy publisher like O'Reilly). Some links don't work, the layout is awkward, and the organization is odd. In my case, I'm using the ePub on the iPhone; your results might differ.

Comments about O'Reilly Media Cooking for Geeks:

Jerry Pournelle has already given this a "book of the month" award in his "Chaos Manor Reviews," which is always a good recommendation. I'm going to be embarrassed if I find that he actually finished reading the whole book that much sooner than I did, as there are more words in the book than I expected. Some of those words refer to an earlier publication (among many references) by Hervé This, Molecular Gastronomy, Exploring the Science of Flavor, that I have also read. Potter's explanations are much easier to follow and his text flows better; plus there are some random bits of humor thrown in, all the better for being unexpected.

Once you get the concepts under your belt Potter encourages experimentation and provides a scattering of examples to try. A few of the suggestions seemed enough of a stretch that I began to question my level of geekness, but I will survive. He includes a wide variety of sources for additional information including a number of internet references. I like references a lot, although I'm a bit concerned whether the links provided will remain viable for the length of time that I now intend to keep this book on my shelf.

I enjoyed the book quite a lot, but it was on page 367 that I found some really pertinent information about mushrooms that, for me, is nearly worth the price of the book - you'll have to see for yourself what that is.

Comments about O'Reilly Media Cooking for Geeks:

Cooking for Geeks is the book for you if you want to learn:
How and why cooking works
How to cook and did not grow up in the kitchen.
How to prepare food so you and your guests will not get sick.

Among many other things you will learn about tastes, a difference between copper and glass bowls, and about how to pour stuff into a plastic bag. You will learn the relationship between time and temperature and foods. You will learn how you can learn to judge what difference a change in a recipe will make.

Cooking for Geeks is written with a sense of humor. There is interesting information from other great chefs. The index is excellent so you can find everything easily.

Cooking for Geeks is not another recipe book. There are recipes, but they are intended to teach you about cooking, not just how to make one dish.

Yes, you will learn what a Geek is, and why people can be proud to be Geeks even
in the kitchen.

My wife is a cook. She recommends Cooking for Geeks as "an interesting book which would appeal to people who would like something good to eat, who have not cooked much, and who read computer books." I am neither a cook nor a real Geek, but I enjoyed reading Cooking for Geeks and learned a lot about cooking.

Comments about O'Reilly Media Cooking for Geeks:

When my friend first told me about the book "Cooking For Geeks" I didn't think I would like it, because I do not consider myself a geek.
In fact, I can barely navigate the internet and technical jargon sends me into a deep sleep. But, I love this cookbook! I love the science aspect of the book and feel that it could have just as easily been called Cooking For Science Buffs, and attracted an entirely different audience. But there is also plenty to enjoy even if you are not a geek or scientist.
There are several chapters that should be mandatory reading for every home cook, for example, the Initializing the kitchen section in which the author goes through the tools that every cook should have and gives the reasons why.

I have picked up numerous helpful hints, such as the proper way to crack a egg (I have been doing it wrong for years,) and that adding salt to chocolate chip cookies enhances the flavor. I can not wait to try all of the taste tests and the recipes, which makes this cook book more of an activity book, than a resource book!

Cooking for Geeks is defiantly on my holiday gift list to buy for many of my friends and family.