"A thoroughly enjoyable read. . . . Henle does a masterful job of connecting math and cooking, demonstrating that math does not always include numbers and that it can be fun!"--Laura Steward, NCTM
"[D]elightful. . . . [The Proof and the Pudding] can inspire any of us who have been stuck on a math problem not to see our struggle as failure. . . . Henle helps us have fun in those dead ends."-- Evelyn Lamb, Scientific American
"Although he does not mention it so explicitly, there is one thing Henle does extremely well: he transfers an attitude that is a proper one to become a good professional mathematician or a proper chef, or that is apt to any challenging profession for that matter."--Adhemar Bultheel, European Mathematical Society
"Henle had my mouth watering...and my brain neurons firing from the math puzzles that are reminiscent of Martin Gardner columns. Any fan of Gardner's recreational math...will enjoy the mathy excursions throughout this small volumeâ¦. [T]his book is a charmer."--Math Tango blog
"If you're a fan of Julia Child or Martin Gardner--who respectively proved that anyone can have fun preparing fancy food and doing real mathematics--you'll enjoy this playful yet passionate romp from Jim Henle. It's stuffed with tasty treats and ingenious ideas for further explorations, both in the kitchen and with pencil and paper, and draws many thought-providing parallels between two fields not often considered in the same mouthful."--Colm Mulcahy, author of Mathematical Card Magic: Fifty-Two New Effects
"The Proof and the Pudding challenges mathematicians to be chefs and chefs to be mathematicians. Using a pencil in his mathematical kitchen, Henle explores the natural connections between mathematics and cooking and reveals how both can be creative, fun, and memorable. So pull up a plate and enjoy helping after helping of insight into gastronomy, math, and problem solving."--Tim Chartier, author of Math Bytes: Google Bombs, Chocolate-Covered Pi, and Other Cool Bits in Computing
"Henle has written an enjoyable book that does an excellent job of relating mathematics to something we all do every day. Part cookbook and part popular-math book, The Proof and the Pudding is well written, insightful, and enlightening."--Oscar E. Fernandez, author of Everyday Calculus: Discovering the Hidden Math All around Us
"[The Proof and the Pudding] serves an excellent guide for a novice at both cooking and doing mathematicsâ¦. [Henle] appears to be having a lot of fun--cooking and doing mathematics; his enjoyment is contagious."--Alexander Bogomolny, Cut the Knot blog
"[D]elightful. . . . [T]he reader will want to grab a pencil and some mixing bowls and play along."--Joel Haack, MAA Reviews
Shortlisted for the 2016 Gourmand World Cookbook Awards, in Digital E-Books
Acknowledgments ix
1 The Mad Scientist 1
2 The Arrogant Chef 11
3 Simple Tastes 21
4 Complex Flavors 30
5 The Discriminating Eater 40
6 The Persistent Cook 44
7 Gluttony 54
8 Vanity, Sloth, Parsimony, and Lust 62
9 On the Edge, and Over 70
10 Thinking Globally 79
11 Eating Locally 87
12 The Humble Cook 92
13 The Clueless Geek 99
14 Elegant Dishes 103
15 Food for the Masses 110
16 Good Food for the Masses 111
17 Just for Fun 112
18 Just to Be Weird 117
19 Celebrity Chefs 124
20 Economy 128
21 Ethics 135
22 Fusion 138
23 It All Comes Together 149
24 It All Falls Apart 151
25 A Proof and a Pudding 161
Index 163