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The visionary food chemist surveys a vast new world of flavor.
List of contents
A Note on the TranslationTables, Figures, and Color PlatesIntroduction: Why the Need for Note-by-Note Cooking Should Be Obvious1. Shape Polyhedrons
Nonpolyhedral Solids
The Fable of the Man with the Golden Brain
2. Consistency A Woeful Misunderstanding
The Relation Between Consistency and Flavor
Not Everything Has to Be Soft
Thinking in Physical Terms
Additives
Contrasting Consistencies
3. Taste Misdirection and Misperception
The Impossible Description of Unknown Tastes
Sapid Compounds
Mineral Salts
Organic and Mineral Acids
Amino Acids and Their Derivatives
Sugars
Alcohols and Polyols
Intense Sweeteners
Flavoring Agents
Bitterants
Matrix Effects
A New Basic Taste
4. Odor Manipulating Odorant Compounds
Methods of Extraction and Processing
Natural, Same as Natural, Artificial
Volatility, Threshold Perception, Toxic Risk
A Lexicon of Basic Culinary Odors
Odorant Compounds
On the Properties of Odorigenic Extracts and Compositions
Trigeminal Sensations
5. Color The Eye Precedes the Palate
Legally Approved Coloring Agents
Natural Versus Artificial Redux
6. Artistic Choice and Culinary Nomenclature Substance and Form
The Construction of Flavors
Naming Dishes
The First Generation of Note-by-Note Menus
7. Nutrition, Toxicology, Market Dynamics, Public Interest The Mixed Blessings of Abundance
A World of Plenty, Filled with Danger
Selection and Supply of Compounds
Political Considerations
Appendix: A Few RecipesIndex
About the author
Hervé This is a physical chemist on the staff of the Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique in Paris and scientific director of the Fondation Science & Culture Alimentaire at the Académie des Sciences. His translated works include
The Science of the Oven;
Building a Meal: From Molecular Gastronomy to Culinary Constructivism;
Kitchen Mysteries: Revealing the Science of Cooking; and
Molecular Gastronomy: Exploring the Science of Flavor, all published by Columbia University Press.
M. B. DeBevoise has translated more than thirty works from French and Italian in every branch of scholarship.
