The Physiology of Taste

Book excerpt: "Tell me what you eat and I will tell you what you are," declares French author Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin in one of the aphorisms that introduces this 1825 masterpiece on the subject of cooking as an art and eating as a pleasure. Humorous, satirical, and convivial, this extended paean to the joys of food and drink has earned an enduring place in the world's literature. Brillat-Savarin found his true passion in gastronomy, asserting that "the discovery of a new dish does more for the happiness of mankind than the discovery of a new star." In his sparkling anecdotal style, he offers witty meditations on the senses, the science of gastronomy, the erotic virtue of truffles, hunting wild turkeys in America, Parisian restaurants, the history of cooking, corpulence, diets, the best ways of making coffee and chocolate, and a hundred other engaging topics. He also shares some of his best recipes, including tunny omelette, pheasant, and Swiss fondue. No cook, chef, gourmet, or lover of fine food should miss this landmark in the gastronomic literature, a timeless work that has charmed and informed two centuries of epicures.