If you like learning about the science behind cooking, as I do, and you missed the “What Einstein Told His Cook” books by Robert Wolke, you’re in luck. The second book is now out in paperback, under the name “What Einstein Kept Under His Hat: Secrets of Science in the Kitchen” (WWNorton, $15.95).

This is one of those books that’s fun to browse through because it answers such burning questions as “Why does pea soup set up like cement in the refrigerator” and “Does a ripened, sweeter banana have more calories than an unripe one?”

You’ll learn that “raw cashews” aren’t really raw (sorry, raw foodists). And that the Dutch called pea soup “snert.” (Go ahead and giggle. You know you want to.) Ever wonder what that red spot is in your egg? Wolke, a syndicated Washnigton Post food columnist, will explain it to you.

This book also contains lots of recipes and sidebars that go deeper into the science behind the preparation of different foods.

Bottom line: If you like the detailed explanations in the America’s Test Kitchen books, you’ll like this one too.

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