A fascinating and deeply researched investigation into the mysteries of flavor--from the first bite taken by our ancestors to scientific advances in taste and the current "foodie" revolution. Taste has long been considered the most basic of the five senses because its principal mission is a simple one: to discern food from everything else. Yet it's really the most complex and subtle. Taste is a whole-body experience, and breakthroughs in genetics and microbiology are casting light not just on the experience of french fries and foie gras, but the mysterious interplay of body and brain. With reporting from kitchens, supermarkets, farms, restaurants, huge food corporations, and science labs, "Tasty" tells the story of the still-emerging concept of flavor and how our sense of taste will evolve in the coming decades. "Tasty" explains the scientific research taking place on multiple fronts: how genes shape our tastes; how hidden taste perceptions weave their way into every organ and system in the body; how the mind assembles flavors from the five senses and signals from body's metabolic systems; the quest to understand why sweetness tastes "good" and its dangerous addictive properties; why something disgusts one person and delights another; and what today's obsessions with extreme tastes tell us about the brain. Brilliantly synthesizing science, ancient myth, philosophy, and literature, "Tasty" offers a delicious smorgasbord of where taste originated and where it's going--and why it changes by the day.

Product Description: Taste is the number one driving force in the decision to purchase a food product and food consumption is the most critical function for living organisms to obtain the energy and resources essential to their vitality. Flavor and aroma are therefore universally important concepts: intrinsic to human well-being and pleasure, and of huge significance for the multi-trillion dollar global food business...read more

Product Description: This book takes a very simple look at children's sense of taste. Leveled text with repeated use of high frequency words makes the book perfect for beginning readers, while bright, colorful photographs complement the text and maintain readers' interest.

Product Description: "In simple language, explains how the tongue works to help us taste. Describes how nerves in the tongue send messages to the brain to tell us what we taste"--

Product Description: Smell and taste are our most misunderstood senses. Given a choice between losing our sense of smell and taste, or our senses of sight and hearing, most people nominate the former, rather than the latter. Yet our sense of smell and taste has the power to stir up memories, alter our mood and even influence our behaviour...read more

Product Description: The human tongue has somewhere up to eight thousand taste buds to inform us when something is sweet, salty, sour, or bitter—or as we usually think of it—delicious or revolting. Tastes differ from one region to the next, and no two people’s seem to be the same...read more

Product Description: Explains what taste and digestion are and how they work; describes the scientific method; and includes experiments testing different taste and digestion concepts.

Describes the taste of various foods, such as birthday cake, lemons, and apples.