Neurogastronomy: How the Brain Creates Flavor and Why It Matters

First of all, I should say that I am a chemist. However, my interest in the book was driven mainly by my lifelong passion for understanding how the sense of smell works. The book is not too technical for a layreader if your interested in the topic. It is filled with wonderful anecdotal stories from historical sources that link the technical concepts to simple understandings.

I'm a molecular gastronomy geared chef and read this book to get new insights into ways to manipulate my diners' experiences. I was not disappointed. Shepherd does an excellent job of walking you through each step and train of thought that ultimately gets us to flavor, and yes, it is repetitive as Shepherd writes as I can only assume he teaches classes (start off with a summary, give new material, end with summary), but that repetition was useful for me as a practitioner trying to chew my way through very dense matter. Even some of the most basic knowledge has changed the way I now cook - for example, I questioned the role of oil based flavors v. water based flavors in extending flavor in my customers as they exhale after each bite.It is not a light read, and certainly not a read for someone with just a passing interest, but for people who want a deep understanding of the interaction between brain, body and food, this certainly will satiate your thirst for the subject.

After the decent introduction this book plummets into the black hole of bad science writing. Nothing can save it because Shepherd doesn't really have anything new or cohesive to say about psychology and flavor. Lots of big names are tossed around (McGee, Beauchamp, Wrangham, Sclafani, etc.), but this just makes him and his research feel shallow. A quick look at the puny bibliography shows how little effort Shepherd put into the book.Strangely, reviewers haven't commented on the bad writing, but they have said the book is "a dense read." This didn't turn me off from the book because I don't mind dense reads if the material is necessarily dense. But this book is needlessly dense. Here's a quick example of a sentence:"Just as the muscles of the nostril manipulate the inhalation of air, so are they coordinated to direct the air streams into the snout." (23)What? Why is this written as a parallel sentence? Instead of nostril muscles "manipulating the inhalation of air," can they just breathe in or sniff instead? Are they "coordinated to direct the air streams," or do they just direct the air streams? The book is made up of these sentences, and together with the name dropping, the result is a rambling 200-page lecture given by a pretentious Yale professor. Even more pretentious than Herve This, because although both authors baptize a new field, at least This was French and poorly translated.

This is a pretty interesting look at how your brain perceives and remembers flavor, a deeper understand of how flavor works and how to achieve certain feelings and flavors. I recommend this book to anybody in the food industry looking to understand the science of flavor a bit further to develop their craft. Definitely not a stand alone book but a good way to start!

Lots of information in here. I bought it for a sensory purpose and it has surpassed my needs. I will continue reading it and might need a re read because some of the stuff i was skipping to get to things i was after. Great book.

Very scientific. Very thorough. Might be a bit too nerdy for most people. Definitely written for the neuroscience freak who likes food. For people that curious to know why things work. What is a flavor image. It won't prepare you to cook any differently. It won't help you to win any culinary awards. What it will do, is provide a solid appreciation for the profound miracle that occurs when the perfect bite hits your tongue.

This book explores our relationship with food in a different way than most. It takes a very scientific look at how our body processes things like scent from a detailed clinical perspective. While it is likely more technical than the average reader might be looking for, it is a terrific read and I'd recommend it to anyone looking for a deeper understanding if humans and our relationship with food.

Detailed discussion and background science behind the taste and smell senses, how they relate to cooking food which are thought to taste good, and why perhaps the food industry has manipulated these senses to increase consumption but at the same time contributing to the obesity epidemic.

My interest in this subject comes from a culinary rather than scientific background. While not a science duffer, I'm definately no boff either. Bareing this in mind, the subject matter did fascinate and illuminate some understanding, but some chapters that delved deeper into the science and the nomenclature of science, I did struggle with, making for a halting read.So while would reccomend, would add the proviso, it reads slightly heavier than most "popular science" writing. Not unpenertratable, but requiring some work.

wonderful read.

Very interesting subject, but the book was poorly organized. The author didn't have a clear audience in mind, so it included details that even a bachelor student in biology, psychology, or chemistry would know all to well, and then other details that a layman wouldn't be interested in. I found myself skipping ahead at times, and others rereading trying to understand. It had only a few key points that could either have been explained in a little booklet, or more diverse information should have been included rather than fluff (like a description of mastication, which anyone should know about). Still, it covers a subject that is rarely taught and rarely researched, so makes for a good comprehensive look in the study of smell and flavor.

Extremamente interessante e esclarecedor. Explicita o envolvimento dos três sentidos para a construção do Prazer Sensorial do SABOR.O Aroma captado pelo Olfato, somado ao Gosto captado pelo Paladar e validado pela Textura captada pelo Tato, que então juntos explodem na SATISFAÇÃO PLENA DOS SENTIDOS.

Very helpful and interesting.