The Essence of Gastronomy: Understanding the Flavor of Foods and Beverages presents a new comprehensive and unifying theory on flavor, which answers ancient questions and offers new opportunities for solving food-related issues. It presents gastronomy as a holistic concept, focusing not only on the food and its composition but also on the human who eats it. This book defines gastronomy as the science of flavor and tasting, where flavor is a broadly interpreted objective characteristic that refers to product quality, and tasting is defined as the human perception of flavor registered by all the human senses. Understanding tasting and flavor and how humans react to it is not merely hedonistic. It relates to larger societal issues such as nourishing the elderly and the food children eat at school, and it offers a practical advantage to the hospitality industry of comprehending why customers enjoy their food and beverages. The book presents gastronomy as a discipline that combines natural sciences and human-related sciences.
Following an introduction that sets the stage for the authors groundbreaking research on gastronomy, the book describes flavor perception, the sensorial act of tasting, how it works, and what neural systems are involved. It then focuses on understanding flavor, discussing universal flavor factors and the new flavor theory. The book also examines food and beverages from a flavor standpoint, including the effects of ingredients and techniques that are used. It also explores liking, primarily at the flavor level, which includes practical guidelines for matching food and beverages. The final chapter looks at the interpretation of sensorial signals in the brain and addresses issues such as food choice, preferences, and palatability. Offering a new approach, this book provides readers with a roadmap for finding their way into the gastronomic world.
Introduction There is No Reason to Argue about Taste Struggling with Words Source of Pleasure Times Have Changed Setting the Stage Gastronomy, the Science of Flavor and Tasting Chemical Senses and Classification Universal Flavor Factors Gastronomy and Hotel Schools Structure of This Book Summary Notes Making Sense of Taste Tasting: An Intricate Process Tasting: What Happens in the Mouth? The Gustatory System The Olfactory System The Trigeminal System There is More than Meets the Mouth Intrinsic and Extrinsic Components of Flavor Are Professionals Able to Taste Better than Amateurs? Summary Notes Understanding Flavor Finding Words: Comparing Apples to Oranges Words do Not Come Easily Universal Flavor Factors Building the Theoretical Model Description of the Flavor Styles How to Generate a Flavor Profile The Role of the Basic Flavors The Role of the Big Four Basic Food Molecules Summary Appendix: How Low-Fat Foods Get Their Texture Notes Flavor in the Kitchen No Beast Is a Cook Practice or Purpose? Ingredients: Basic Qualities The Essence of Cooking Characteristics of the Principal Techniques Other Techniques to Get or Keep Flavor Making the Dish Complete: Sauces, Herbs and Spices Vegetables, Fruits, and Mushrooms Flavor Composition Culinary Success Factors Summary Appendix : Influence of Preparation Notes The Flavor of Beverages Aqueous Solutions Mineral Water or Spring Water Tea Coffee Beer Wine The Effects of Grapes and Grape Growing on the Flavor of Wine The Effects of Vinification on the Flavor of Wine After Vinification Beer and Wine Comparison Summary Notes Matching Foods and Beverages: The Fundamentals Taste! Old Guidelines New Guidelines Gustatory Effects in Matching Foods and Beverages Mouthfeel Effects in Matching Foods and Beverages Gastronomic Reflections Summary Notes Food Appreciation and Liking Introduction Tasting and the Brain Food Liking and Palatability Flavor Styles Revisited Is Food the Stimulus or the Response? Where It All Comes Together: The Behavioral Model of Food Choice Introducing: Guestronomy Summary Notes