Nose dive : a field guide to the world's smells / Harold McGee.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

McGee, Harold, author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Odors.

Smell.

Chemical senses.

Odorants.

Olfactory Perception--physiology.

Medical Subjects:

Odorants.

Smell.

Olfactory Perception--physiology.

Physical Description:

xxxii, 654 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

New York : Penguin Press, 2020.

Summary:

"Smell is such a powerful and revealing sense because it detects actual little pieces of things in the world. It gives us direct evidence of what those things are made of-unlike the indirectness of vision or hearing, which register light waves and air movements. Those little pieces are volatile molecules, so little that they're able to break away from their source and fly invisibly through the air to reach our nose. To begin to understand a thing's smell, then, is to identify the many volatile molecules it emits. Its overall smell is a composite, created by the component smells or "notes" of its most prominent volatile molecules. When different things seem to echo each other with shared component smells, it's a sign that those things have some volatile molecules in common. And the chemical identities of the molecules are keys to why they're there. They're tokens of the processes that created them. Text and 200 tables cover this topic, in a book by an expert on the chemistry and history of food science and cooking"-- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

Preface: My first grouse

Introduction: A sense for the essential

Among the stars

Earth, early life, stinking sulfur

Starter set

Animal bodies

Animal signals

The human animal

Sweet smells of success

Plant volatile families : green, fruity, flowery, spicy

Moss, trees, grasses, weeds

Flowers

Edible greens and herbs

Edible roots and seeds : staples and spices

Fruits

The land : soil, fungi, stone

The waters : plankton, seaweeds, shellfish, fish

After-life : smoke, asphalt, industry

Fragrances

Cooked foods

Cured and fermented foods

Conclusion: My second grouse.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages [601]-634) and index.

Other Format:

Online version: McGee, Harold. Nose dive

ISBN:

9781594203954

1594203954

9780143110897

OCLC:

1144093964

Publisher Number:

40030288558