The Physiology of Taste: Or Meditations on Transcendental Gastronomy

Brillat-Savarin, Jean Anthelme

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1887178090 ISBN 13: 9781887178099

Publisher: Counterpoint, 1995

Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin (1755–1826) was a French lawyer and politician who gained unlikely fame as a master of the art and science of good eating and fine cuisine. He effectively started the whole genre of books on gastronomy and cooking with this great work THE PHYSIOLOGY OF TASTE, which has since become famous, first published in 1825, two months before his death. The book has not been out of print since it first appeared.

Review:

You can't properly call yourself a gourmand (or even a minor foodie) until you've digested Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin's delectable 1825 treatise, The Physiology of Taste: Or Meditations on Transcendental Gastronomy. Brilliantly and lovingly translated in 1949 by M. F. K. Fisher (herself the doyenne of 20th-century food writing), the book offers the Professor's meditations not just on matters of cooking and eating, but extends to sleep, dreams, exhaustion and even death (which he defines as the "complete interruption of sensual relations"). But as he proclaims in the initial Aphorisms: "The discovery of a new dish does more for human happiness than the discovery of a star," and Brillat-Savarin's genius is in the examination and discussion of food, cooking and eating. Chocoholics will be satisfied to know that "carefully prepared chocolate is as healthful a food as it is pleasant ... that it is, above all, helpful to people who must do a great deal of mental work ..." He examines the erotic properties of the truffle ("the truffle is not a positive aphrodisiac; but it can, in certain situations, make women tenderer and men more agreeable"), the financial influence of the turkey (apparently quite a prize in 19th- century Paris) and the level of gourmandise among the various professions (bankers, doctors, writers and men of faith are all predestined to love food). Just as engrossing as the text itself are M. F. K. Fisher's lively, personal glosses at the end of every chapter, which make up almost a quarter of the book. They are soulmates separated by centuries and Fisher's fondness for the Professor comes through on every page. As she notes at the end: "I have yet to be bored or offended, which is more than most women can say of any relationship, either ghostly or corporeal." --Rebecca A. Staffel, Amazon.com

Review:

Still the most civilized cookbook ever written.
"The New Yorker""

"Still the most civilized cookbook ever written."
--The New Yorker