Flavor: The Science of Our Most Neglected Sense

by Bob Holmes

Overview

A journey into the surprising science behind our flavor senses.

Can you describe how the flavor of halibut differs from that of red snapper? How the taste of a Fuji apple differs from a Spartan? For most of us, this is a difficult task: flavor remains a vague, undeveloped concept that we don’t know enough about to describe—or appreciate—fully. In this delightful and compelling exploration of our most neglected sense, veteran science reporter Bob Holmes shows us just how much we’re missing.

Considering every angle of flavor from our neurobiology to the science and practice of modern food production, Holmes takes readers on a journey to uncover the broad range of factors that can affect our appreciation of a fine meal or an exceptional glass of wine. He peers over the shoulders of some of the most fascinating food professionals working today, from cutting-edge chefs to food engineers to mathematicians investigating the perfect combination of pizza toppings. He talks with flavor and olfactory scientists, who describe why two people can experience remarkably different sensations from the same morsel of food, and how something as seemingly unrelated as cultural heritage can actually impact our sense of smell.

Along the way, even more surprising facts are revealed: that cake tastes sweetest on white plates; that wine experts’ eyes can fool their noses; and even that language can affect our sense of taste. Flavor expands our curiosity and understanding of one of our most intimate sensations, while ultimately revealing how we can all sharpen our senses and our enjoyment of the things we taste.

Certain to fascinate everyone from gourmands and scientists to home cooks and their guests, Flavor will open your mind—and palette—to a vast, exciting sensory world.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780393244434
Publisher:	Norton, W. W. & Company, Inc.
Publication date:	04/25/2017
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	320
Sales rank:	613,025
File size:	1 MB

About the Author

Bob Holmes has been a New Scientist magazine correspondent for more than two decades. He has a PhD in evolutionary biology from the University of Arizona, is a passionate home cook, and is a member of Slow Food Canada.

Table of Contents

Introduction 1

Chapter 1 Broccoli and Tonic 13

Chapter 2 Beer from the Bottle 44

Chapter 3 The Pursuit of Pain 86

Chapter 4 This is Your Brain on Wine 105

Chapter 5 Feeding Your Hunger 132

Chapter 6 Why Not Iguana? 164

Chapter 7 The Killer Tomato 202

Chapter 8 The Cauliflower Bloody Mary and Other Chefly Inspirations 228

Epilogue: The Future of Flavor 260

Acknowledgments 273

Notes 277

Index 297

Editorial Reviews

★ 02/27/2017
In this mouthwatering work, New Scientist correspondent Holmes turns the kitchen into a laboratory, probing the nature of gustatorial delight to find better ways to think and talk about the foods we enjoy (or don’t). Holmes opens by carefully walking readers through what flavor actually is, which turns out to be much more than just the sense of taste. Taste is vital because it helps a person detect immediately what will supply carbohydrates (sweet), electrolytes (salt), and protein (umami) while avoiding poisons (bitter) and food that has gone bad (sour). Most people understand that scent is a component of flavor, but sight, sound, touch, and even mental states such as expectation play into the way we perceive our foods. Holmes also addresses the ways in which flavor potentially affects appetite, as scientists remain undecided on that question. He takes a fascinating and mildly disturbing foray into the industrial flavor industry and shares what gives certain foods their particular flavor. He concludes by taking a look at the way chefs and amateurs cooks combine flavors. He encourages gastronomic appreciation, since “almost anyone can get better at appreciating flavor.” As Holmes runs through terrific experiments and describes strange technologies, he makes food science fun and approachable. (Apr.)

Publishers Weekly

"Endlessly fascinating. A terrific book."

Bill Bryson

"I learned a lot while reading Flavor. Bob Holmes is a genial, well-informed guide to the rapidly evolving world of flavor and food design. From microbreweries to research labs, he captures all the key players: their personalities and passions come through clearly in this engaging tour of the field."

Avery Gilbert

"Fascinating…Flavor, as Bob Holmes demonstrates elegantly, exists nowhere but in the mind of the eater."

Wall Street Journal

"[A] mouthwatering work . . . As Holmes runs through terrific experiments and describes strange technologies, he makes food science fun and approachable." ---Publishers Weekly Starred Review

From the Publisher

03/15/2017
Is there anything objective about flavor? Why are we the only species to season our food? Science journalist Holmes interviews flavor chemists, neuroscientists, sommeliers, and chefs in an attempt to learn more about our sense of taste and how it links to our sense of smell. This journey takes him to such places as University of Pennsylvania's Smell and Taste Center and IBM's Thomas J. Watson Research Center, but most fascinating is a tour of flavor and fragrance manufacturer Givaudan, and the author's efforts to sample various peppers to understand "chili burn." In analyzing common flavors (salty, sweet, sour, bitter, and umami), Holmes discovers flavor lives in the mind; an attractive presentation causes a meal to be perceived as more flavorful. Relying on interviews and primary sources, Holmes addresses the stigma of processed foods and "artificial flavors," the resulting rise of misleading labels such as "natural," and how premature harvesting has affected the supermarket tomato among other fruits and vegetables. VERDICT Foodies who enjoyed Mark Schatzker's The Dorito Effect, Michael Pollan's Cooked, and Michael Moss's Salt Sugar Fat will gravitate toward this scientific yet accessible and humorous take on food and wine.—Stephanie Sendaula, Library Journal

Library Journal

Narrator Jonathan Yen brings an expressive reading to a scientific subject that remains an elusive concept, difficult for many of us to verbalize: flavor. Scientific works can sometimes prove difficult to follow in the audio format, but Yen's enthusiasm helps to keep the information fresh as he describes the intricacies of cutting-edge research into flavor, including such contributing factors as olfaction and the way individuals perceive flavor. Yen's use of accents for some of the scientists consulted throughout the book seems like a superfluous touch, occasionally distracting from the material at hand. Overall, however, listeners are sure to learn some fascinating facts and pick up some tips for how to enhance flavors in their everyday lives. S.E.G. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2017, Portland, Maine

MAY 2017 - AudioFile

2017-02-20
An introduction to what flavor is and how we experience it.In the early chapters, Holmes, a longtime correspondent for New Scientist and an avid cook, gets a bit bogged down in the biology of taste, resulting in a slow narrative pace during his discussions of odor receptors, retronasal olfaction, and genetic differences in taste perception. Matters pick up, however, in the third chapter, "The Pursuit of Pain," in which the author turns away from taste and smell and explores another aspect of flavor: burn. Holmes blends accounts of his interviews with researchers with his own experiences testing the fire levels of various chili peppers, a narrative pattern he follows in later chapters. In the next chapter, "This is Your Brain on Wine," he recounts experiments that reveal the importance of factors such as the color and weight of the crockery or the sound the food makes in the mouth. He also reports that researchers are finding that the brain binds together inputs from many sensory channels to create the sensation of flavor. In other chapters, Holmes takes up the problems of keeping flavor in certain crops, such as tomatoes and strawberries, the development of appealing ready-to-eat meals for the military, and how flavor affects food intake. The author chronicles his visit to the Culinary Institute of America to see students learning how to create flavor in the kitchen. He also spent time with scientists working in the modern flavor industry, chemists who take flavors apart and build them up again to enhance processed foods. Among the odder experiments conducted by the author, who often put himself front and center, was decanting wine into his kitchen blender to see how it affected the flavor; the results are intriguing. An uneven work, but some of the chapters could have lives of their own as entertaining magazine pieces.

Kirkus Reviews