The Flavor Equation

September 1, 2020

Food is all about taste and flavor. Sharma, following up on his best-selling cookbook Season, now focuses more on the science behind what makes specific flavors and dishes so delicious. The book begins with a substantial chapter on the interaction of our emotions and senses with how we perceive food. The recipes themselves, many of which are inspired by his childhood in Mumbai, are divided into seven categories: brightness, bitterness, saltiness, sweetness, savarins, fieriness, and richness. The science behind the taste is emphasized, with each section focusing on the specific ingredients and techniques that characterize those flavors. As with his previous book, recipes are easy to follow and the photographs are mouth-watering, which will help with re-creating dishes such as potato and roasted corn herbed raita or roast chicken thighs and vegetables. Helpful diagrams, charts, and illustrations are presented throughout. VERDICT This book will appeal both to those who want to expand their Indian cooking repertoire and those who want to know more about the scientific background behind cooking itself.--Susan Hurst, Miami Univ. Libs., Oxford, OH

Copyright 2020 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from October 1, 2020
Mumbai-born Sharma arrived on the American culinary scene with a column in the San Francisco Chronicle; his blog, A Brown Table; a New York Times profile; and a debut cookbook, Season (2018). Departing from the exciting mashup of tradition and innovation in Indian cuisine that he developed in Season, Sharma here focuses on flavor, which he defines as the sum of emotion, sight, sound, mouthfeel, aroma, and taste. More than just a skeleton of instructions, a recipe reflects a point of view and a glimpse into the past. As a trained molecular biologist, Sharma explains in scientific yet wholly readable fashion how those six elements combine to make delicious food. He details the workings of acids on texture, aroma, flavor, even shelf life in a variety of foods. He maps out flavor profiles for North American, Latin American, Southern European, Western European, and East Asian cuisines, showing how those profiles stand alone or even co-occur. And he explains the nuances of creating brightness in dishes. And the joys of bitterness. More than 100 recipes illustrate Sharma's concepts to a tee. Focused readers will come away from this extraordinary, handsomely illustrated book with an entirely unique and relatable understanding of the nature of delicious.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2020, American Library Association.)