How to Taste

Starred review from February 15, 2018
Every eater relies on a sense of taste to distinguish good food from bad, healthy from toxic, and to simply enjoy the pleasure of flavor. But how much do average consumers know about what it really is that excites their taste buds? Selengut explains the mysteries of human taste, not simply to offer scientific theory but to help both cooks and eaters to figure out how to improve their own discernment and appreciation of one of the most elusive and subjective of the five senses. Using science, she explains how salt, sour, sweet, bitter, and umami come together in the mouth to generate flavor. For the empirically minded, she offers some taste experiments that illustrate chemical and physical principles. For the cook, Selengut deftly lays out how to analyze a dish to determine which basic taste is either over- or underrepresented and offers paths to correct deficiencies and yield maximum flavor. A wealth of accessible, practical information marks this as a singular achievement.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2018, American Library Association.)