Taste
Surprising Stories and Science About Why Food Tastes Good
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- $29.99
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- $29.99
Publisher Description
Whether it’s a grilled cheese sandwich with tomato soup or a salted caramel coated in dark chocolate, you know when food tastes good—now here’s the amazing story behind why you love some foods and can’t tolerate others.
Through fascinating stories from Barb Stuckey—a seasoned food developer to whom food companies turn for help in creating delicious new products—you’ll learn how our five senses work together to form flavor perception and how the experience of food changes for people who have lost their sense of smell or taste. You’ll learn why kids (and some adults) turn up their noses at Brussels sprouts, how salt makes grapefruit sweet, and why you drink your coffee black while your spouse loads it with cream and sugar. Eye-opening experiments allow you to discover your unique “taster type” and to learn why you react instinctively to certain foods. You’ll improve your ability to discern flavors and devise taste combinations in your own kitchen for delectable results. What Harold McGee did for the science of cooking Barb Stuckey does for the science of eating in Taste—a calorie-free way to get more pleasure from every bite.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Stuckey's mouthwatering exploration of the science of taste addresses a wide assortment of topics, from the five tastes that humans can detect using their mouths (sweet, salt, sour, bitter, umami), to the ways that "Taste Affects Your Waist." Drawing on her experience as a professional food developer, Stuckey tantalizes readers with details about the intricacies of taste, observing, for example, that the anatomy of our tongues, medical history, and genes account for the differences in individual abilities to taste. She also suggests experiments and recipes that encourage the development and exploration of the art of taste, such as listening to The Who's "Won't Get Fooled Again" while drinking chardonnay, and a "Sensory Evaluation of Milk Chocolate Bars." She concludes by proposing "Fifteen Ways to Get More from Every Bite," including chewing well, tasting at the right temperature, quitting smoking, and, of course, being adventurous. Going far beyond Brillat-Savarin's famous 19th-century book on the subject, The Physiology of Taste, Stuckey not only connects readers with the sensory complexity of sundry fare, but also instructs them in the art of understanding and appreciating a multisensory approach to food in order to make more informed gustatory choices.
