later chapters build on basic scientific principles discussed
in earlier chapters. On the other hand, if you like skipping
around—say, potato salad doesn’t interest you but roast beef
sure does—well, you won’t have much trouble either. I’ve
done my best to make each lesson self-contained, cross-
referencing earlier chapters when necessary.
One thing I want to make clear here: This book is
nowhere near comprehensive. Why would I put myself
down like that? Well, it’s because the whole point of science
is that it’s a never-ending quest for knowledge. No matter
how much we know about the world around us, the world
inside a block of cheese, or the world contained in an
eggshell, the amount that we don’t know will always be
much greater than what we do. The moment we think we
know all the answers is the moment we stop learning, and I
truly hope that time never comes for me. In the words of
Socrates Johnson: “All we know is that we know nothing.”
If there are three rules that I think would make the world a
better place if everyone followed them, it’d be these:
challenge everything all the time, taste everything at least
once, and relax, it’s only pizza.
SO WHY TRUST ME?
When I chime in on online message boards, when I write
blog posts that make some pretty bold claims (like, say, that
frying in hotter oil actually makes food absorb more grease,
not less—see here), I often get the same questions shot back
at me: Says who? Why should I trust you? I’ve been
cooking my food [X] way since before you were born, who