{"product_id":"tasty-the-art-and-science-of-what-we-eat-9781451685015","title":"Tasty: The Art and Science of What We Eat","description":"\u003cb\u003e\"A fascinating blend of culinary history and the science of taste\" (\u003ci\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/i\u003e, starred review), from the first bite taken by our ancestors to ongoing scientific advances in taste and today's \"foodie\" revolution.\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eCan't resist the creamy smoothness of butter? Blame Darwinian natural selection. Crave the immediate zing of sweets? They bathe your brain in a seductive high. Enjoy the savory flavors of grilled meat? So did your ancestor \u003ci\u003eHomo erectus\u003c\/i\u003e. Coffee? You had to overcome your hardwired aversion to its hint of bitterness and learn to like it. Taste is a whole-body experience, and breakthroughs in genetics and microbiology are casting light not only on the experience of french fries and foie gras, but on the mysterious interplay of body, brain, and mind. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eReporting from kitchens, supermarkets, farms, restaurants, huge food corporations, and science labs, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist John McQuaid tells the story of the still-emerging concept of flavor and how our sense of taste will evolve in the coming decades. \u003ci\u003eTasty\u003c\/i\u003e explains why children have bizarre and stubborn tastes, how the invention of cooking changed our brains and physiology, why artificial sweeteners never taste quite right, why name brands really do taste better, how a 100,000-year-old walkabout by early humans is responsible for George H.W. Bush's broccoli-hatred, why \"supertasters\" like salt, and why \"nontasters\" are more likely to be alcoholics. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"A fascinating story with a beginning some half a billion years ago...McQuaid's tale is about science, but also about culture, history and, one senses, our future\" (\u003ci\u003eScientific American\u003c\/i\u003e). \u003ci\u003eTasty\u003c\/i\u003e offers a delicious smorgasbord of where taste originated and where it's going--and why it changes by the day.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Scribner Book Company\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 01\/12\/2016\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN:\u003c\/b\u003e 9781451685015\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 304\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.50lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 8.40h x 5.50w x 0.70d","brand":"John McQuaid","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":42095617278133,"sku":"9781451685015","price":16.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0473\/0804\/6492\/products\/img_3a546885-b8cb-41c6-9325-8213bb98efc9.jpg?v=1651588260","url":"https:\/\/pastforward.org\/products\/tasty-the-art-and-science-of-what-we-eat-9781451685015","provider":"Past Forward","version":"1.0","type":"link"}