Flavor Flimflammery: Flavor Perception in Humans, Teenagers, and Other Creatures (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9798822939752)

Given the fact that most people eat and drink several times per day, you'd think that scientists would be able to accurately explain flavor.

"But wait!" you say. "Isn't flavor a combination of taste and smell? Gourmet culinary arts and the wine, beer and coffee worlds are rife with this simplistic concept.

Sadly, it is not supported by science or even common sense.

Gerry Nicholls, exposes the hidden agendas at work behind science textbooks nationwide, bravely bringing you the truth: Flavor research has been watered down to make things more-erm-palatable for the average person.

Okay, maybe bringing in the hidden agendas is pushing it. But there are certainly suppressed truths, bad scientific rigor, inept methodology and financial influences involved in the grand story of how we understand human flavor perception.

The truth about gastronomy and flavor chemistry involves evolutionary theory, homeostasis research, and the history of human survival. Gerry uses his background in science (including work in hospital operating rooms on three continents) to craft a bigger, clearer picture of flavor that will have even the staunchest critics convinced.

For fans of Penn and Teller's Bullshit! TV series and authors like David Sedaris, Flavor Flimflammery is a zany, hilarious, and educational biology book that will be loved by science majors, educators, and anyone with a few taste buds in the game.