Errata

Cooking for Geeks

Errata for Cooking for Geeks

Submit your own errata for this product.

The errata list is a list of errors and their corrections that were found after the product was released. If the error was corrected in a later version or reprint the date of the correction will be displayed in the column titled "Date Corrected".

The following errata were submitted by our customers and approved as valid errors by the author or editor.

Color key: Serious technical mistake Minor technical mistake Language or formatting error Typo Question Note Update

Version Location Description Submitted By Date submitted Date corrected
Other Digital Version
Location 1481
Table beginning "Ripen in the presence of ethylene gas"

In the mobipocket format version of this book, the larger tables, such as this one, are inaccessible on the Kindle and in the Kindle app for Mac, at least. The top part of the table is shown -- one page's worth -- but you can't select the table or scroll through it, meaning that the bottom section of the table is unreadable.

I've tried all sorts of things, but I can't read these tables on the Kindle 3 or Kindle for Mac app. The PDF version shows the complete tables just fine.

Matt Gibson  Sep 27, 2010  Aug 03, 2012
Printed
Page see below
see below

I am Bun Mizuhara, and am translating your book "Cooking for Geeks" into Japanese, contracted with O'reilly Japan.
It is great experience for me to translate such an interesting book, but I have felt some difficulties in understanding what you meant, probably due to cultural differences across the Pacific Ocean.
If you could elaborate the following questions, I would appreciate it.

- Page 49, last paragraph: you wrote "(you know who you are)", which I could not catch. I guess you were telling some joke, but could you give me a hint?

- Page 59, left column, 3rd paragraph: you wrote "low thermal response time", but I think this should be slow or long thermal response time, because the word "low" would imply fast or short response time.

- Page 94, right column, line 22: the word "viney" is used here. I consulted some dictionaries but I could not find the word.

- Page 210, top of figure: you wrote "Extra-hard crack", which I guess to be very hard and difficult to bite. Am I right?

- Page 293, lines 5-6: you wrote "store ... for at least a few days." and then "Give the extract at least weeks to steep." I guess you mean the extract can be used a few days later, but it requires several weeks for the vanilla bean to be fully extracted. Is this correct?

- Page 295, lines 11-12: you wrote "Since they are subset of extracts, ..." but I am not sure what "they" are. I guess soda water and a slice of lime?

- Page 309, left column, last of 1st paragraph: you wrote "... comparison between soft and brittle gels", but I think this should be "comparison between flexible and firm gels" from what is written below.

And the following is a list of potential typos, which are not reported in the Errata section of this book.

page 13 3rd paragraph: palette -> palate
page 108, 8th line of the middle column: confirmation -> conformation
page 265, 2nd note: tort-like -> tart-like

Thank you for your time and for writing this very intriguing book!

Note from the Author or Editor:

- Page 59, left column, 3rd paragraph: "low thermal response time" should be "slow thermal response time"

- Page 293, lines 5-6: "Give the extract at least weeks to steep." -> "For better flavor, allow the extract to steep for a few weeks."

- Page 309, left column: "Flexible brittle version" should be "Soft gel version"; "Firm brittle version" should be "Brittle gel version".

- Additional errata:
page 13 3rd paragraph: palette -> palate
page 108, 8th line of the middle column: confirmation -> conformation
page 265, 2nd note: tort-like -> tart-like

Bun Mizuhara  Aug 08, 2011  Nov 04, 2011
Other Digital Version
1
Cover

Using epub.

Cover appears to be too small. Its not really a big deal, but it is inconsistent with all other O'reilly published books.

lgbrownjr  Aug 16, 2010  Aug 03, 2012
PDF
Page 1, 16, 20, and 398
pictures

The pictures and the text overlap.

This is present in the November 2011 "print", wasn't in the April "print".

Note from the Author or Editor:
I noticed a few other glitches as well... wonder what happened?

Aleksandar Popadić  Feb 20, 2012  Aug 03, 2012
Printed
Page 6
1st graf


A reader pointed out that this is wrong:

"(The English language doesn?t help. We eat beef, but it?s a cow. We eat pork, but it?s a pig. Chickens don?t seem to be smart enough to merit a clear separation.)"

Chicken flesh is poultry (US) and fowl (UK). (How did I miss this?!)

Revise to fish, please:

"... Fish don?t seem to be smart enough to merit a clear separation.)"

There's some interesting history of how the terms came to be differentiated, but not worth getting into here.

Credit to Derek L.

Jeff Potter
Jeff Potter
 
Aug 07, 2011  Nov 04, 2011
Printed
Page 25
2nd paragraph (first edition of the book)

In the parenthetical statement at the end of the second paragraph, a common error is made in regard to the difference between "more" and "more than." That is, "I was happy to learn that ducks themselves also weigh about 8 times more than quails." In the previous sentence, we learned that "quail eggs weigh about 9 grams on average, while duck eggs weigh around 70 grams."

Thus, duck eggs weigh about 8 times as much as those of quail, or, about 7 times more.

Trivial, but then, this is a book for geeks!

Note from the Author or Editor:
Change:
I was happy to learn that ducks themselves also weigh about 8 times more than quails.

To:
I was happy to learn that ducks themselves are also about 8 times heavier than quails.

Kerry Lee  Mar 10, 2013  Aug 16, 2013
Printed
Page 28
3rd graf ("Prepare the duck...")


Quantity doesn't match text in 1st graf. Change:

"off two legs of duck confit" -> "off four legs of duck confit"

Jeff Potter
Jeff Potter
 
Sep 22, 2010  Nov 01, 2010
Printed
Page 58
4th paragraph


The sentence:
"a few tablespoons of course salt and a spoonful or two of vinegar or lemon juice"
should be:
"a few tablespoons of course salt and a spoonful or two of oil such as canola oil"

Jeff Potter
Jeff Potter
 
Aug 18, 2010  Nov 01, 2010
Printed, PDF, , Other Digital Version
Page 58
paragraph 4

That should be "coarse salt," not "course salt."

Note from the Author or Editor:
Yup! Good catch; thank you!

Jan Werner  Nov 13, 2010  Apr 01, 2011
Printed
Page 59
right column, the text under the photos

FYI, friend pointed out the text getting cut off - p59 - right column, the text under the photos - this is on the 10th release.

Adam Zaremba  Dec 17, 2012  Jan 04, 2013
Printed, PDF
Page 69
Lower left


The table for suggested crepe fillings is completely botched; apologies for not catching this in pre-pub.

The list of ingredients are *combinations*, not just single items, and there are some out of place (like cheese in the dessert section? chocolate in the savory section?)

Savory:
Eggs, Cheese, & Ham
Lox, Cream Cheese, & Dill
Onions, Sausage, & Cheese

Sweet:
Powdered Sugar & Lemon Juice
Jam
Granulated Sugar & Grand Marnier (Orange Liqueur)
Bananas & Chocolate Ganache or Nutella

Formatting-wise, I'd say drop the two small photos; they don't contribute much at that size and are hard to see. (I included them to show a crepe either rolled or folded in quarters, but people will figure it out from the text.)

Note from the Author or Editor:

Please change as above. And while we're at it, might as well make a slight improvement: if there's room, instead of "Lox, Cream Cheese, & Dill", put "Lox, Cream Cheese, & Dill (try adding a splash of Pernod, an anise-flavored liqueur)"

Jeff Potter
Jeff Potter
 
Sep 05, 2011  Nov 04, 2011
Printed, PDF
Page 107
Note block that says

(for you bio geeks, via TRPM5)

should be:

(for you bio geeks, via TRPV1)


[Thanks to a reader for pointing this out; lost track of who for credit... -JP]

Jeff Potter
Jeff Potter
 
Feb 12, 2012  Aug 03, 2012
Printed, PDF,
Page 117
Right column in paragraph starting with "In a separate pot"

1/2 cup / 250g pasta - should be 2 cups / 250g pasta

Jeff Potter
Jeff Potter
 
Jan 29, 2011  Apr 01, 2011
Printed, PDF, , Other Digital Version
Page 133
top, 3rd line

You say "cannelloni beans". Cannelloni is pasta, you mean "cannellini beans".

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cannelloni
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cannellini

Note from the Author or Editor:
Yikes, you're right -- it should be cannellini beans.

Anonymous  Jan 05, 2011  Apr 01, 2011
Printed
Page 161
graph

Most recent printed edition cuts off the half the text in the label for the graph.

Jeff Potter
Jeff Potter
 
Feb 12, 2012  Aug 03, 2012
Printed
Page 161
Diagram


The graph is missing celsius degrees. Please move the F up one line and add a C entry below each entry (as is done on P178)

32?F
0?C

40?F
4.5?C

140?F
60?C

Jeff Potter
Jeff Potter
 
Aug 31, 2010  Nov 01, 2010
Printed, PDF, , Other Digital Version
Page 165
Figure

The image currently only shows degrees Celcius, and should be updated to show degrees Farenheit as well.

The corresponding measurements are:
-20 C = -4 F
0 C = 32 F
20 C = 68 F
40 C = 104 F
60 C = 140 F

Note from the Author or Editor:
Thanks for pointing this out! This is already filed with O'Reilly, but not opened as an errata, so am marking it as confirmed here.

Nellie McKesson
Nellie McKesson
 
Sep 09, 2011  Nov 04, 2011
Printed
Page 169
1st paragraph

lead to a juicer burger. -> lead to a juicier burger.

(Thanks, Sharon N, for pointing this out!)

Jeff Potter
Jeff Potter
 
Dec 26, 2010  Apr 01, 2011
Printed
Page 170
3rd paragraph

Change:
"The bacteria will die within 10 days"
To:
"The parasite will die within 10 days"

Thanks to an anonymous reader for pointing this out. (Since I don't know who found this one, you'll just have to imagine me giving an embarrassed look for obvious typo.)

Jeff Potter
Jeff Potter
 
Oct 23, 2010  Apr 01, 2011
Printed
Page 179
right column, 2nd note

leeches -> leaches

(Thanks, Sharon N, for pointing this out!)

Jeff Potter
Jeff Potter
 
Dec 26, 2010  Apr 01, 2011
Printed
Page 180
3rd graf

Typo: Malden should be Maldon (as in Maldon Sea Salt)

Credit to Mark B. for pointing this out.

Jeff Potter
Jeff Potter
 
Jul 29, 2011  Nov 04, 2011
Printed, PDF, , Other Digital Version
Page 189
Chart


The percentages given in the chart for collagen are off by a decimal point (error on my part when reading between notes that were mg/g and doing the chart with percentages).

Instead of 10%, it's 1.00%
9.4% -> 0.94%
~7.4% -> ~0.74%
~10.3% -> ~1.03%
~8.2% -> ~0.82%

Thanks to Michael Chu for catching this one!
-Jeff

Jeff Potter
Jeff Potter
 
Apr 12, 2011  Jun 21, 2011
Printed
Page 229
Second list of ingredients

In the recipe for Ginger Lemon Soda, calling for 1/2 teaspoon (1g) of yeast. A package of Lalvin's #1118 (suggested in the second column) is 5g and measures to 1 tsp. Based on that measurement, 1/2 tsp would be 2.5 (~3)g.

I used 1/4 tsp (~1g) to test

Note from the Author or Editor:
Indeed, looks like the weight here is wrong--but this being yeast, it's just going to multiply and still work fine, although take a bit longer.

Let's go with:
1/2 teaspoon (3g) yeast

Robyn Tompkins  Dec 29, 2012  Aug 16, 2013
Printed
Page 232
4th paragraph

I have the German edition (ISBN 978-3-86899-125-3) and I'm wondering about the comparison of two pie recipes. The Joy of Cooking version contains 60% vegetable fat and 11.25% butter (compared to the amount of flour). The Marta Stewart version contains 76% butter and no vegetable fat.

In the comparison the author wrote, that the 76% butter results in 62g of fat due to loss of water, which is correct. But he states the Joy of Cooking version has 60g fat on 100g flour, which can't be correct, because the fat alone has 60g and you have to add the 85% fat of the butter resulting in another 23g fat. So the Joy of Cooking version actually has 21g more fat compared to 100g flour.

Note from the Author or Editor:
Yikes, good catch -- however it's not 21g more fat, the actual math is only off by a few grams (need to use the normalized numbers, not the raw recipe weights).

"for about 62g of fat" -> "for about 64g of fat"

"shortening has 60g of fat per 100g of flour" -> "shortening has 69g of fat per 100g of flour"

Anonymous  Jan 23, 2012  Aug 03, 2012
Printed
Page 233
Left column 2nd grab


Revise as follows to clarify slight confusion on use of probe thermometers:

Change:

You can also check for doneness using an instant-read thermometer; the internal temperature should be above 205?F / 96?C and ideally around 210?F / 98.5?C, which is the temperature at which starches in flour break down (see...

To:

You can also check for doneness using a thermometer; the internal temperature should be around 210?F / 98.5?C, the temperature at which starches in flour break down (the bread needs to bake a bit longer to be done, though?see...

Jeff Potter
Jeff Potter
 
Aug 25, 2011  Nov 04, 2011
Printed, PDF
Page 234
recipe list

Should be 10g, not 15g, for a tablespoon of instant yeast:

1 tablespoon (15g) instant yeast -> 1 tablespoon (10g) instant yeast

Credit to Phoebe Chow for noticing this. Thanks!

Jeff Potter
Jeff Potter
 
May 29, 2012  Aug 03, 2012
Printed, PDF
Page 239
2nd paragraph

Page 239:

"Baking soda
A bicarbonate (HCO3?) that?s bound with another MOLECULE ?typically sodium, BUT SOMETIMES POTASSIUM OR AMMONIUM. When added to water, the bicarbonate dissolves and is able to react with acids to generate CO2.

Baking powder
A self-contained leavening system that generates carbon dioxide in the presence of water. Baking powders by definition contain a baking soda and acids for that baking soda to react with."

Description of error:

Baking soda is NaHCO3. The term is not used for potassium- or ammonium bicarbonate. By the way: sodium and potassium are ATOMS (or, more correctly, in the solid salt or in the aqueous solution: IONS), rather than MOLECULES.

Baking powder(s) are mixtures, that may contain baking soda and/or other chemicals (potassium bicarbonate, ammonium bicarbonat, acidifying agents, like creme of tartar, as well as drying agents, and others).

Note from the Author or Editor:
Change:
bound with another molecule?typically sodium, but sometimes potassium and ammonium.

To:
bound with a sodium atom (related compounds use potassium or ammonium to similar effect).

Josef Blach  Dec 19, 2011  Aug 03, 2012
Printed
Page 280
Credit line (end of 2nd column)


Credit should include original inspiration:

"Recipe used by permission of Carolyn Jung; originally inspired by Kitty Morse."

Jeff Potter
Jeff Potter
 
Aug 18, 2010  Nov 01, 2010
Printed, PDF,
Page 282
Left column, 2/3rds the way down

The explanation on HM and LM pectin types is botched. Both HM and LM pectins require sufficient solid mass to set; which is why adding sugar helps them set. So technically, adding sugar to LM pectins *will* help it gel, since it increases solid mass, but it misses the point. The main difference between HM and LM pectin is that HM requires a pH <3.5; so if it's not setting, add an acid; while LM gels with pH < 5 but needs calcium to form its matrix.

There's not enough room in the layout to adequately explain the above, so the best we can do for now is correct the sentence to be as below:

If you're using a high-methoxyl (HM) pectin, keep in mind that some amount of acid is needed for it to set; in contrast, low-methoxyl (LM) pectin requires a sufficient amount of calcium to set. If your marmalade or jams aren't setting, you'll need to either add something acidic for HM pectin (e.g., lemon juice) or calcium for LM pectin.

[Credit to Bel Campbell for noticing the inconsistency between P282 and 250. Thanks, Bel! -JP]

Jeff Potter
Jeff Potter
 
Feb 06, 2011  Apr 01, 2011
Printed
Page 300
4th graf (immediately below note)


"wd-50" should be "wd~50".

(My apologies to Che Dufresne.)

Jeff Potter
Jeff Potter
 
Aug 18, 2010  Nov 01, 2010
Printed
Page 324
2nd Paragraph

Second sentence: "Rather, the food industry uses it re-form scrap meats..."

Missing the 'to'.

Note from the Author or Editor:
Thanks! Yup, looks like 2nd sentence of the 2nd paragraph is missing the "to" ... good catch!

Andrew Ladouceur  Feb 21, 2011  Apr 01, 2011
Printed
Page 374
graphic

The temperature graph lists nitrogen's boiling point as -346?F/-210?C. It should be -320?F/-196?C. (The temperature is listed correctly in the text itself.)

Jeff Potter
Jeff Potter
 
Jul 19, 2010  Nov 01, 2010
Printed
Page 374
1st graf under "Dangers of liquid nitrogen"

Nitrogen is not a noble gas.

Change:
Nitrogen, one of the noble gases, is inert and in and of itself harmless.
To:
Nitrogen is mostly inert and in and of itself harmless, making up 78% of the air we breathe.

Jeff Potter
Jeff Potter
 
Aug 18, 2010  Nov 01, 2010