But a young historical gastronomist named Sarah Lohman discovered that American food is united by eight flavors: black pepper, vanilla, curry powder, chili powder, soy sauce, garlic, MSG, and Sriracha. Lohman sets out to explore how these influential ingredients made their way to the American table. Eight Flavors introduces the explorers, merchants, botanists, farmers, writers, and chefs whose choices came to define the American palate.

    From how grapes are grown, harvested and turned into wine, to judging the color, aroma, and taste of the world's most popular varietals (wine made from a particular grape), to understanding terroir and feeling confident ordering and serving wine at any occasion, this book explains it all in the simplest possible way. Every page, every piece of information, and every detail is illustrated in charming and informative four-color drawings that explain concepts at a glance.Includes detailed information on a vast array of varietals that will help transform a beginner into a connoisseur.

    Isabelle Legeron MW is leading the campaign for natural wine – wine made as nature intended. There is no official description of natural wine, but a rough definition is that it is made from grapes that are farmed organically or biodynamically and harvested manually, and that the wine should ideally be made without adding or removing anything during the vinification process. It is basically good old-fashioned grape juice fermented into wine, just as nature intended. Isabelle is a crusader for the natural wine movement: she has her own show on the Travel Channel, organizes a hugely successful annual natural wine festival (RAW), and acts as adviser to several leading restaurants. Just as the craft beer movement has taken off across the globe, the demand for natural wine is growing and will continue to do so.

    As a result, over 100 million of them experience some form of adverse health effect, ranging from minor rashes and high blood sugar to the unattractive stomach bulges that preventive cardiologist William Davis calls "wheat bellies." According to Davis, that excess fat has nothing to do with gluttony, sloth, or too much butter: It's due to the whole grain wraps we eat for lunch.After witnessing over 2,000 patients regain their health after giving up wheat, Davis reached the disturbing conclusion that wheat is the single largest contributor to the nationwide obesity epidemic—and its elimination is key to dramatic weight loss and optimal health. In Wheat Belly, Davis exposes the harmful effects of what is actually a product of genetic tinkering and agribusiness being sold to the American public as "wheat"—and provides readers with a user-friendly, step-by-step plan to navigate a new, wheat-free lifestyle.Informed by cutting-edge science and nutrition, along with case studies from men and women who have experienced life-changing transformations in their health after waving goodbye to wheat, WheatBelly is an illuminating look at what is truly making Americans sick and an action plan to clear our plates of this seemingly benign ingredient.

    With a chapter for each of ten cocktails--from the grog sailors drank on the high seas in the 1700s to the mojitos of modern club hoppers--Wayne Curtis reveals that the homely spirit once distilled from the industrial waste of the exploding sugar trade has managed to infiltrate every stratum of New World society. Curtis takes us from the taverns of the American colonies, where rum delivered both a cheap wallop and cash for the Revolution, to the plundering pirate ships off the coast of Central America, to the watering holes of pre-Castro Cuba, and to the kitsch-laden tiki bars of 1950s America. Here are sugar barons and their armies conquering the Caribbean, Paul Revere stopping for a nip during his famous ride, Prohibitionists marching against "demon rum," Hemingway fattening his liver with Havana daiquiris, and today's bartenders reviving old favorites like Planter's Punch. In an age of microbrewed beer and single-malt whiskeys, rum--once the swill of the common man--has found its way into the tasting rooms of the most discriminating drinkers. Awash with local color and wry humor, "And a Bottle of Rum" is an affectionate toast to this most American of liquors, a chameleon spirit that has been constantly reinvented over the centuries by tavern keepers, bootleggers, lounge lizards, and marketing gurus. Complete with cocktail recipes for would-be epicurean time-travelers, this is history at its most intoxicating.

    Unlike other food science books, we make a direct and practical connection between the science and the cooking. We divide the book into 50 core principles, support them through detailed yet friendly explanations, bring them alive with color illustrations and inventive experiments, and reinforce them through recipes that put the principle to work. At Cook's Illustrated, we've been asking why in the kitchen for over 20 years and often find our answers in science. We believe good science makes great food and that understanding basic science will make you a great cook.

    In EAT TO LIVE, Dr. Fuhrman offers his healthy, effective, and scientifically proven plan for shedding radical amounts of weight quickly, and keeping it off.Losing weight under Dr. Fuhrman's plan is not about willpower, it is about knowledge. The key to this revolutionary diet is the idea of nutrient density, as expressed by the simple formula Health=Nutrients/Calories. When the ratio of nutrients to calories is high, fat melts away and health is restored. Losing 20 pounds in two to three weeks is just the beginning. The more high-nutrient food Dr. Fuhrman's patients consume, the more they are satisfied with fewer calories, and the less they crave fat and high-calorie foods. Designed for people who must lose 50 pounds or more in a hurry, EAT TO LIVE works for every dieter, even those who want to lose as little as 10 pounds quickly. No willpower required-just knowledge

    What he discovers is a whole world of forgotten grapes, each with distinctive tastes and aromas, as well as the archaeologists, chemists, and botanists who are deciphering wine down to molecules of flavor. The characters in The World in a Glass of Wine include a young Swiss scientist who set out to decode the DNA of every single wine grape in the world; Middle Eastern researchers who seek to discover the wines that King David drank; and a University of Pennsylvania academic who has spent decades analyzing wine remains. The science illuminates wine in ways no critic can, and demolishes some of the most sacred dogmas of the industry: well-known French grapes aren’t especially noble.   This alternative history starts in the Caucasus Mountains, where wine was domesticated 8,000 years ago. Then we travel with Begos along the original wine routes—down to Israel and across the Mediterranean to Greece, Italy, France, and finally to America, where California and Vermont vineyards are creating new wines by letting native and European grapes breed together—it’s a literal melting pot of new tastes and possibilities. As he samples these wines, Begos offers readers tasting suggestions that go far beyond the endless bottles of Chardonnay and Merlot found in most stores and restaurants.   From this combination of journalism, history, science, and adventure travel, readers will learn the multicultural roots of wine while enjoying a full-bodied story with a rich, nutty bouquet and plenty of subtle nuances that will linger.

    Whiskey has profoundly influenced America’s political, economic, and cultural destiny, just as those same factors have inspired the evolution and unique flavor of the whiskey itself. Taking readers behind the curtain of an enchanting—and sometimes exasperating—industry, the work of writer Reid Mitenbuler crackles with attitude and commentary about taste, choice, and history. Few products better embody the United States, or American business, than bourbon. A tale of innovation, success, downfall, and resurrection, Bourbon Empire is an exploration of the spirit in all its unique forms, creating an indelible portrait of both bourbon and the people who make it.

    Such was the case for Ian Tattersall and Rob DeSalle, scientists who frequently collaborate on book and museum exhibition projects. When the conversation turned to wine one evening, it almost inevitably led the two—one a palaeoanthropologist, the other a molecular biologist—to begin exploring the many intersections between science and wine. This book presents their fascinating, freewheeling answers to the question What can science tell us about wine? And vice versa.   Conversational and accessible to everyone, this colorfully illustrated book embraces almost every imaginable area of the sciences, from microbiology and ecology (for an understanding what creates this complex beverage) to physiology and neurobiology (for insight into the effects of wine on the mind and body). The authors draw on physics, chemistry, biochemistry, evolution, and climatology, and they expand the discussion to include insights from anthropology, primatology, entomology, Neolithic archaeology, and even Classical history. The resulting volume is indispensible for anyone who wishes to appreciate wine to its fullest.

    Beautifully illustrated with more than 400 images and 100 brand-new National Geographic maps, this definitive guide is arranged geographically to highlight the regions and climates that produce the best vintages. From the countries of Southeast Europe to the Eastern Mediterranean, each page is packed with information on flavor notes, vineyard profiles, tasting room guides, grape know-how, and special information on unique varietals. The book also features top wines organized by maker and year; a troubleshooter's guide to potential wine faults; a taste chart to help identify flavors; up-and-coming producers; unusual wines, food pairings, and more. You'll find time lines depicting the chronology of wine from 500 million B.C., expert sommelier tips, and thousands of recommendations for the latest and greatest reds, whites, and rosés. The most up-to-date and comprehensive wine reference in the world, this stunning book is an oenophile's dream--and a must-have for anyone looking to become an expert in wine.

    . . and how she cooks for family and friends. . . . A breakthrough . . . with hundreds of appealing and accessible recipes."–Amanda Hesser, The New York Times"Nigella Lawson serves up irony and sensuality with her comforting recipes . . . the Queen of Come-On Cooking."–Los Angeles Times"A chatty, sometimes cheeky, celebration of home-cooked meals."–USA Today"Nigella Lawson is, whisks down, Britain’s funniest and sexiest food writer, a raconteur who is delicious whether detailing every step on the way towards a heavenly roast chicken and root vegetable couscous or explaining why ‘cooking is not just about joining the dots’."–Richard Story, Vogue magazine

    1 New York Times bestselling author of Grain Brain What does 'food freedom' mean to you? Maybe it's eating whatever you want without negative consequences to your health or waistline. (Good luck with that.) Maybe it's giving up your obsession with calorie counting, food restriction, and the scales. (Now we're getting somewhere.)Bestselling author and nutritionist Melissa Hartwig defines true food freedom as being in control of the food you eat, instead of food controlling you. It means indulging when you decide it's worth it, savouring the experience without guilt or shame, and the returning to your healthy habits. In Food Freedom Forever Melissa outlines a simple three-part plan that will help you to discover food freedom for yourself, no matter how out of control you feel. It will point you down a self-directed path that keeps you balanced, satisfied and healthy, without requiring that you obsess about food, count calories or starve yourself. By the last page, you'll have a detailed plan for creating the perfect diet for you, finding your own healthy balance, and maintaining the kind of control that brings you real food freedom every day.Welcome to food freedom.

    Modern wine exists as the product of multiple revolutions scientific, industrial, social, even ideological. Though the same basic chemical substance as its ancient forebear, it is in every other respect very different. Contemporary wines both taste unlike those from earlier eras and are valued in novel ways. For many thousands of years, wine was a basic need. Today it is a cultural choice, and the reasons why millions of people choose it tells us as much about them as about the contents of bottle or glass. In Inventing Wine, Paul Lukacs chronicles wine s transformation from a source of sustenance to a consciously pursued pleasure, in the process offering a new way to view the present as well as the past.

    No wine snobbery here. This book�1/2s style is relaxed and conversational, serving up information without intimidating its reader. Arranged alphabetically, nearly 4,000 entries include innumerable details on grape varieties; wine styles; wine-growing regions; wine label terms; winemaking techniques; how to buy, store, and serve wine; how to have a wine tasting; wine-testing terms; sizes and styles of glassware, wine bottles, and wine openers; ordering wine in a restaurant; opening and serving wine at home; temperatures for serving wine; and much more. This book is the only A-to-Z wine reference that offers phonetic pronunciations. It boasts a totally revised and expanded appendix enhanced with charts, line art, and sample labels. Praise for the previous edition came from many food and dining authorities: �1/2�1/2an invaluable, user-friendly reference. I learned something from the very first page I turned to, and keep learning as I keep turning.�1/2 �1/2William Rice, Food and Wine Columnist, Chicago Tribune . . . �1/2A great reference! . . . excellent and accurate source for both wine professionals and those involved with wine purely for the love of it.�1/2 �1/2Jacques Pepin, cookbook author and TV chef