Flavour

Flavour

A User's Guide to Our Most Neglected Sense

Summary

Why should you serve red wine with classical music and white wine with pop music?
What is it about a heavier bowl that makes your pudding taste better?
And how can you make your food taste saltier without adding more salt?

If any of these questions has sparked your appetite you need to read Flavour.

New Scientist correspondent Bob Holmes has tasted a lot of things in the name of flavour. He’s travelled all over the world, delved into cutting-edge scientific research, enlisted chefs, psychologists, molecular gastronomists, flavourists and farmers, attended the weirdest conventions, and even received very rare access to one of the world’s few highly secretive flavour houses.

For anyone who wants to be a better cook, get the best restaurant experience no matter where you go, or if you just want to make better decisions in the supermarket or about your diet. Flavour will help you discover a deeper appreciation of what’s on your plate and in your glass.

A fascinating and surprising exploration into a world of high-definition flavour.

Reviews

  • Endlessly fascinating. A terrific book.
    Bill Bryson

About the author

Bob Holmes

Bob Holmes has been a correspondent for New Scientist magazine for nearly two decades, and has written more than 800 articles for the magazine, mostly about genetics, environment, evolution, psychology, anthropology and agriculture. He has also contributed to many other publications, including US News & World Report, Science, Health, National Wildlife, Nature Conservancy magazine and the San Francisco Chronicle and made several radio and television appearances in Canada as well as in the US and the UK. As well as earning a PhD in evolutionary biology from the University of Arizona, he has taught for several years in the science writing programme at the University of California, Santa Cruz, and now teaches science journalism at Bamfield Marine Sciences Centre on Vancouver Island, Canada. A member of Slow Food Canada, he has worked with the taste education programme of his local chapter and is a passionate home cook. He lives with his wife and teenage son in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Flavour is his first book.
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