DATE: Sunday, October 5, 1997               TAG: 9710020076

SECTION: FLAVOR                  PAGE: F1   EDITION: FINAL 

COLUMN: MORSELS

SOURCE: RUTH FANTASIA

                                            LENGTH:   81 lines

DETAILED COOKBOOK OFFERS MORE THAN RECIPES

SHIRLEY CORRIHER KNOWS how long it takes the cell walls to break in a spinach leaf when you heat it. She also knows that overbeaten egg whites become dry and brittle. And that when you boil potatoes, the starch granules in those potatoes swell up like balloons.

Who cares?

You do.

For the past four years, questions that readers have that I couldn't answer have been forwarded to Corriher. She's answered them all. From why you have trouble making tender biscuits to how to pasteurize raw eggs so you can use them safely, Corriher has come up with the answers.

Corriher, you see, is a biochemist. And while other scientists are out there finding cures for disease, she's content to be solving our kitchen problems.

Such as, why are my pie crusts tough?

Now, the answers are all in her new book, ``Cookwise'' (William Morrow, $28.50).

This 524-page, 3 3/4-pound tome includes everything from the hows and whys of risen bread to sugar crystallization in foods. In between you'll find tricks for making sauces that won't break, find out how proteins affect the toughness of meats and some sound advice on food safety.

Sound boring? It's not.

Shirley is not your average scientist. She has a gift for explaining the most complex processes in a way that everyone who flunked chemistry can understand. As a result, ``Cookwise'' is chock full of information you need to know in order to cook successfully.

The book is also full of little bits you don't have to know but are interested in anyway.

For instance, did you know that many fruit pits contain cyanide? And that 15 apricot pits can kill a child?

I'm willing to go out on a limb and say ``Cookwise'' is the most useful volume to grace the shelves since the first Betty Crocker cookbook.

But there's a down side to this story. The book is so popular - they've already sold more than 10,000 copies - - that it can be hard to find. The Rizzoli bookstore in Williamsburg has copies because Corriher was there recently for a book signing. If you can't find it, ask a store to order it for you. The publisher has already started a second printing, says Shirley.

``No more failed recipes'' proclaims the cover and if you've ever had a problem with a recipe, I'll bet you can find the answer here.

If not, call me. I'll call Shirley.

Now, about that spinach . . .

``When a fruit or vegetable is heated, regardless of the method - boiling, steaming, broiling, baking, frying or grilling - the living cells die, lose water, soften and fall apart,'' Shirley writes.

So, to keep your greens green use the following techniques:

Cook in a large quantity of salted water like you were cooking pasta so you dilute the acids that are released by the vegetables.

Add salt to water for flavor and slightly faster cooking.

Bring the salted water to a rolling boil before adding the vegetables to prevent vitamin C loss.

Cook vegetables uncovered to allow acids to evaporate from water.

Regardless of method, time cooking carefully. Chlorophyll loses its bright green color after 7 minutes of cooking.

And potatoes. . .

``When potatoes are boiled, their starch granules swell. If you vigorously break those swollen granules, perhaps by processing cooked potatoes in a food processor with a steel knife, you liberate massive amounts of starch and essentially have wallpaper paste.''

Make nongluey mashed potatoes by precooking the potatoes at 140 to 160 degrees for 20 to 30 minutes and then cooling the potatoes under cold running water. This step swells and gelatinizes the starch in the potatoes (think of rice that's been cooked and then cooled), making it no longer soluble in water. Let potatoes stand for 30 minutes.

Proceed with the final cooking of the potatoes by steaming or simmering until tender, drain well and reheat to dry thoroughly. Push potatoes with a ricer while still hot (see recipe for Shallot Mashed Potatoes With Garlic). ILLUSTRATION: Photo

Shirley Corriher's book ``Cookwise'' promises no failed recipes if

you follow instructions and hints.

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