Taste Matters: Why we like the foods we do

Description

Why do we like the foods that we do? What happens when we eat not for nutrient intake but for sensory pleasure? How far are our food preferences determined by genetic inheritance, by maternal diet, by cultural practice? These are some of the questions that sit at the heart of John Prescott's Taste Matters, a book that provides scientific explanations for why we eat in the way that we do.

John Prescott is Associate Professor of Psychology, University of Newcastle, Australia, as well as Editor of Food Quality & Preference and Executive Editor of Chemosensory Perception. He co-edited, with Beverly Tepper, Genetic Variation in Taste Sensitivity (2004).

'Our food likes and dislikes are the result of a labyrinth of influences. John Prescott is our perfect guide through this labyrinth. Taste Matters is of huge interest to the cook because it offers valuable insights into what is actually going on as we eat. But it's not just for cooks: these pages will be of interest to everyone, whether you're a parent looking for ways to get your children to eat more widely or a reader just trying to work out what makes us humans tick.' -- Heston Blumenthal