The Taste Culture Reader

For the Sensory Formations series, Korsmeyer has compiled a collection of previously published essays about the aesthetics of taste. She arranges the essays into eight segments, commencing with a scientific review of the biological and physical processes of taste, then moving on to environmental and cultural impacts on how human beings experience and describe the taste of what is consumed. Korsmeyer includes classic writing on taste from Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin, Jean-Francois Revel, David Hume, and Immanuel Kant, as well as works by contemporary food historians such as Sidney Mintz and Darra Goldstein, and food writers M. F. K. Fisher, Margaret Visser, and Amy B. Trubek Summing Up: Recommended. Lower-division undergraduates and above; faculty and general readers. * CHOICE * The Taste Culture Reader is a fantastic text for anyone interested in food and sensory experience. This new edition retains classic texts while broadening the already interdisciplinary scope of this excellent reader. An excellent tool for the classroom. * Rachel Black, Connecticut College, USA * This collection is destined to become a classic in the field of food studies, as it reflects the original editions key strengths and includes new material that adds coherence and depth. This multidisciplinary exploration expands our understanding of taste, and should be of interest to anyone who eats. * Rachel Ankeny, University of Adelaide, Australia * A marvelous interdisciplinary collection that ranges from biology through the social sciences to philosophy and literature has just gotten better. If you have ever thought about food, you will find much intellectual nourishment here; if you have never thought about it, this is the place to begin. * Larry Shiner, University of Illinois Springfield, USA * The Taste Culture Reader provides splendid material to introduce a variety of themes. * Peter Scholliers, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Belgium * because Korsmeyer recruited authors to write new original material, this second edition is more than simply an updated survey of relevant literature about taste, food, drink, and culture. On the whole, her strategy proves to be a very successful one. * FoodAnthropology *

Carolyn Korsmeyer is Professor of Philosophy at the University at Buffalo, State University of New York, USA

Acknowledgements Introduction: Perspectives on Taste Part I: Taste: Physiology and Circumstance Part II: Taste Cultures: Gustation in History Part III: Eloquent Flavors Part IV: Body and Soul Part V: Taste and Aesthetic Discrimination Part VI: Fine Discernments and the Cultivation of Taste Part VII: Taste, Emotion, and Memory Part VIII: Artifice, Authenticity, and Artistry Bibliography Notes on Contributors Permissions Index