The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals

Book Description

The bestselling author of The Botany of Desire explores the ecology of eating to unveil why we consume what we consume in the twenty-first century

"What should we have for dinner?" To one degree or another this simple question assails any creature faced with a wide choice of things to eat. Anthropologists call it the omnivore's dilemma. Choosing from among the countless potential foods nature offers, humans have had to learn what is safe, and what isn't-which mushrooms should be avoided, for example, and which berries we can enjoy. Today, as America confronts what can only be described as a national eating disorder, the omnivore's dilemma has returned with an atavistic vengeance. The cornucopia of the modern American supermarket and fast-food outlet has thrown us back on a bewildering landscape where we once again have to worry about which of those tasty-looking morsels might kill us. At the same time we're realizing that our food choices also have profound implications for the health of our environment. The Omnivore's Dilemma is bestselling author Michael Pollan's brilliant and eye-opening exploration of these little-known but vitally important dimensions of eating in America.

Pollan has divided The Omnivore's Dilemma into three parts, one for each of the food chains that sustain us: industrialized food, alternative or "organic" food, and food people obtain by dint of their own hunting, gathering, or gardening. Pollan follows each food chain literally from the ground up to the table, emphasizing our dynamic coevolutionary relationship with the species we depend on. He concludes each section by sitting down to a meal--at McDonald's, at home with his family sharing a dinner from Whole Foods, and in a revolutionary "beyond organic" farm in Virginia. For each meal he traces the provenance of everything consumed, revealing the hidden components we unwittingly ingest and explaining how our taste for particular foods reflects our environmental and biological inheritance.

We are indeed what we eat-and what we eat remakes the world. A society of voracious and increasingly confused omnivores, we are just beginning to recognize the profound consequences of the simplest everyday food choices, both for ourselves and for the natural world. The Omnivore's Dilemma is a long-overdue book and one that will become known for bringing a completely fresh perspective to a question as ordinary and yet momentous as What shall we have for dinner?

Customer Reviews:

Compelling reading!.......2007-10-09

Not only did I find this book incredibly informative and insightful, I found Pollan's style of writing effortless to read.

This book should be either compulsory reading in public high schools in America, or the key principles contained in it should be taught as a class. I'm sure it would go a long way to reducing American obesity and Type 2 diabetes, both of which have reached epidemic proportions and do not bode well for this country's future.

Whilst I am neither pro carnivorism, nor pro vegetarianism (I believe this is a matter of personal choice), I do believe this book presents an eye-opening account of the price paid by this blue planet in order to feed Mankind.

I have read this book more than once, and each time through, something new makes an impression on me. If you are an inhabitant of Earth, you owe it to yourself and the ground you stand on, to read this book.

Another Author Induges Himself in Unsustainable Musing.......2007-10-06

This book, which repeats so much already published, basically follows through to its initial premise: that food in america is unsustainable. Along the way, the author indulges himself in great celebrity and ego stroking wit. The segment on the boar hunting is quite hypocritical. The main thrust of the author's theory is that all systems, including alternative, are unsustainable. The conclusion he avoids, is that the failure to find a solution will result in many deaths, if not the extinction of human culture as we know it. Perhaps, all that anyone can learn here is that it is hopeless, go back home, accept your fat and your fate, and try to die quietly. So many other books are better than this one. Unless you are a total newbie to these debates, you will find little that is refreshing here. The author basically finishes where he begins, with nothing but personal insights, and no insight into a broader solution for "sustainable" food sources.

Makes Americans understand food again........2007-10-05

I'd recommend that everyone go out and read this book. It will remind you that eating is a political and ethical act. It certainly reminded me of that.

Omnivore's Dilemma can be summarized very quickly: Michael Pollan eats four meals, and tracks down where they all come from. It is a brilliantly simple conceit, and could only be pulled off well by a writer as gregarious, warmhearted, easygoing and scientifically rigorous as Pollan. He wants to know where McDonald's comes from, so he goes into a cornfield, follows the corn through cows on its way to becoming beef, and visits the "Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations" (CAFOs) in which they're slaughtered. He interviews corn farmers. He explains the perverse incentives which have motivated corn growers to produce more and more of the stuff, even when it's not needed. (The government pays them the difference between some set price and the current market price. Hence farmers have an incentive to produce as cheaply as possible.) This is one of the reasons why we as a nation are growing fatter and fatter.

Pollan takes it a step further, though, making something explicit that had never occurred to me: the fact that our country is so nutritionally faddish, leaping from fruit diets to hourly enemas to high-carb diets to high-protein diets, is a sign of something deeply dysfunctional in our relationship to food. Pollan never really figures out why we might have this relationship. The lack of a distinctive national cuisine might have something to do with it, he says, but the end effect is clear: we don't eat well, and nowadays we're as likely as not to microwave something and eat it in the car. The family meal has been destroyed, and with it the sense of community that food fosters in healthy societies. Pollan's writing is meticulous and heartfelt, and it made me desperately want to change the way I eat.

After McDonald's Pollan paints the bright side of the American meal: places like Polyface Farms that are growing more-than-organic food: food that is completely sustainable and delicious. Cows, pigs, and chickens roam widely on a carefully maintained schedule that keeps the grass growing at the optimal rate. The farm produces almost no waste: every last bit of organic matter feeds the next step in the cycle. It's something of an agrarian utopia . . . and it's probably completely unrealistic for feeding a nation of 300 million people. Indeed, says Pollan, our nation certainly would have capped out at a much smaller population had we not had industrial farming. (It's a reasonable counterfactual, but it's debatable.)

After he visits a self-sustaining farm, Pollan tramps off into the wild to hunt and forage for his own food. Also not sustainable at large scale, but that's not the point: Pollan is trying to reorient us to what meals are about, and how they're philosophically and ethically larger than just what's on the plate.

Pollan's book has made me want to try being a vegetarian again. My girlfriend used to be a vegan, but has turned around 180 degrees and eats a high-protein meat diet. (Atkins vegans are, I imagine, hard to come by.) So the vegetarian thing might have to wait a bit. Being vegetarian isn't really the sine qua non in Pollan's book, though; if anything is, it's short food chains: knowing where your food came from, using food to support your community, and reducing the amount of petroleum necessary to get it to your door. (If peak oil ever comes, bananas may be history.) Joining a CSA is well within my power, and I intend to do so soon.

If I have any gripe about Omnivore's Dilemma, it's small: Pollan is a bit too self-satisfied. At one point he eats a meal in the car with wife and child, driving at 65 miles per hour down the highway in California. I don't actually believe that he wanted to do that. I can hear him saying to himself, "This would make an excellent story for my newspaper article." Likewise when he's reading Peter Singer in a steakhouse. If more of the book seemed like Pollan being Pollan, it'd be perfect.

As it is, it is just about perfect. I intend to buy a copy just to have around to shove into people's hands. It's a life-changing sort of book.

Important facts horribly misinterpretted and spun to sell books.......2007-10-05

Pollan frequently omits, denies or downplays important facts.

1) We will never determine the optimal diet is impossible but we can gain a better idea of what the optimal diet would be through science. (Yes this is inherently reductionist.)
2) That people make bad use of research is not the fault of the research.
3) Traditional food cultures are not optimal diets.
4) While the food industry does in some sense affect the food we eat, the food they produce is determined by individuals desire for inexpensive food that never goes stale and contains lots of sugar, fat and salt.
5) There is no evidence that many artificial foods are unhealthy.
6) Most people don't want to garden and there is no reason they should.
7) Pollan doesn't mention that animals are unnecessarily tortured in the production of our food.
8) Most, if not all, people could benefit from some kind of nutritional supplements.
9) The intelligent consumer now has the opportunity to eat healthier than people have ever eaten before
10) Ok, I admit it. If you don't know anything about nutrition Pollan's basic ideas will have you eating healthier than the typical American.

Corn!.......2007-09-29

I have never read the word "corn" so many times in my life! But corn is, in fact, a rather large part of our lives and we did not realize it. This is a very good book and is quite informative. Thank you.

Microbiology: Principles and Explorations

Average customer rating:

It's ok
Lots of typos and missing info.
Wonderfully Informative Book!!!
Great book for teachers and students
Micro Made Easy

Microbiology: Principles and Explorations
Jacquelyn G. Black
Manufacturer: Wiley
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Accessories:

Student Study Guide to accompany Microbiology: Principles and Explorations, 6th Edition
Microbiology, Take Note!: Principles and Explorations

ASIN: 0471420840

Book Description

This photo of Escherichia coli being attacked by bacteriophages highlights rapidly developing technologies for using phages to treat antibiotic resistant infections without destroying normal resident bacteria, and without side effects. Phages are also being used to detect and remove pathogens from our food supplies, both plant and animal. Also exciting is the use of phages as vehicles to delivery DNA vaccines, often directly to mammalian immune system cells. Recent work also suggests possible antitumor effects of phages. We stand on the edge of a whole new world of exploration and applications of microbiology.

For over 20 years, and through five editions, Black's Microbiology: Principles and Explorations has captured students' imaginations. Her enthusiasm, passion, and knack for memorable stories and anecdotes bring the study of microbiology to life in a way few other texts can match.

Now updated to reflect the latest topics in the field (e.g., SARS, bioterrorism, GMO's, geomicrobiology) and accompanied by state-of-the-art animations of key concepts, this new edition is sure to help inspire a new generation of enthusiasts for the dynamic science of microbiology.

Critical Acclaim
"I continue to find Black's text an excellent contribution to undergraduate Microbiology education." --Karen Messley, Rock Valley College

"I like the conversational and informal style Black adopts throughout the book. This is a book, which could very well engage even the most reluctant student. It is comprehensive, nicely detailed, and incorporates many aids to teaching and learning..."--Iris Cook, Westchester CC

"[The text] is a wonderful introduction into the world of microorganisms for students from a wide variety of backgrounds."--Jeff G. Leid, Northern Arizona University

"...I have found it [the book] accurate to a fault, brilliant at getting students motivated and interested in microbiology, and a great practical training book."--Gerard O'Donovan, University of North Texas

Also available
Laboratory Exercises in Microbiology, 2nd Edition
Robert A. Pollack, et al.
ISBN: 0-471-42082-4, 264 pages, paper, (c)2005

Written specifically for allied health students, this lab manual presents a variety of highly engaging activities and experiments that convey the basic concepts of microbiology.

Customer Reviews:

It's ok.......2006-02-19

It's an okay book. I needed it for a class. There are several mistakes on the diagrams (our professor noted which ones).

Lots of typos and missing info........2006-01-07

Good study guide when the answers were in the back. Sometimes the answers were off by one or non existent. If you can get past that, it does help, but jeez don't they employ a proofreader? For thirty bucks, I was kind of disappointed. The textbook is great.

Wonderfully Informative Book!!!.......2005-12-12

WOW! I love this book. Every time I read part of it I learn so much stuff that I never knew before. It is fairly advanced information but it is written in a very understandable way. I am in high school and I like it because it teaches in the same format as my school's biology text books. I use this book because I like to read about this stuff. It is so facinating. If you are in a high school biology class, read this and you will be light years ahead of every one else!

Great book for teachers and students.......2005-09-17

This text explains some very complex information in a very reader-friendly way. The photos, charts and practical examples of how microbiology impacts everyone's life make it very readable. I would recommend it for teachers and students!

Micro Made Easy.......2005-09-14

This is one of the best text books I have ever used. The information is clear, concise, and interesting. It gives examples throughout the book of how microbiology is being used now to help us.

FDA Regulatory Affairs: A Guide for Prescription Drugs, Medical Devices, and Biologics

Average customer rating:

Great resource
Best Available Book for Regulatory Affiars
Doesn't adequately cover medical device regulation

FDA Regulatory Affairs: A Guide for Prescription Drugs, Medical Devices, and Biologics

Manufacturer: Informa Healthcare
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1587160072

Book Description

This book covers the regulatory process for getting pharmaceuticals, biologics, and medical devices approved. It examines the pertinent aspects of the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act as it applies to human drug and device development, research, manufacturing, and marketing. Topics include: the drug approval process, Current Good Manufacturing Practices, Good Clinical Practices, Quality System Compliance and the corresponding documentation requirements, and FDA inspection processes and enforcement options. Although many references exist on this subject, this one is written in a general prose style that makes it useful to both students and professionals.

Customer Reviews:

Great resource.......2007-02-03

This book will not teach you RA, but it will provide you a great reference as an RA professional.

Best Available Book for Regulatory Affiars.......2006-11-23

Best Available Book for Regulatory Affiars, November 22, 2006
Reviewer: H. Burgoyne (Watertown, MA United States) - See all my reviews

I am currently completing a Masters in Regulatory Affairs and throughout all of my classes, this has been the best source (other than the FDA website, which is most current) pertaining to US reg. affairs. Forget any Parexel books...this one actually has an index, making it easy to find the information you need. Not sure about medical devices, as I do not specialize in them, but for pharmaceuticals and biologics this book is pretty comprehensive. You are not going to get a more "layman's level" interpretation of regulations than this book. Regulations are part of the law, which is never easy to "translate". It is hard to incorporate regulations into a book , as they are constantly being updated, but this book does a pretty good job. I have used the book to develop presentations, study for exams and write papers. If you are interested in US Regulatory Affairs, this book is definitely worth the investment. The price seems high, but is comparable to other books with the same subject matter.

Doesn't adequately cover medical device regulation.......2006-08-31

Mostly this book covers (perhaps adequately) FDA regulation of the development and approval process of new drugs. These new drugs are (by and large) developed by huge drug companies who doubtless employ teams of lawyers in connection with their FDA submissions and regulatory compliance, and it is quite likely that nearly all involved in that process with such companies would find this to be a "lite" description of FDA drug regulations, and will have little use for this book. (Imagine a beer having only 10 calories, not the 90 or so found in Miller Lite.)

Many medical devices, on the other hand, are developed by small companies (such as my employer) and a "layman's level" description (as opposed to a legal treatise) of FDA medical device regulation would be very useful. Since "medical device" is in the title, I figured when buying this book that there would be coverage relating to all FDA regulations pertaining to medical devices. Its why I (or thankfully, my company) bought the book.

Ther coverage of medical devices is grossly inadequate. Only a small portion of the book treats (again "litely") FDA medical device regulation, and then it largely covers only the premarket approval process for medical devices and barely mentions (or doesn't even mention--I forget) FDA regulation of the manner in which medical devices may be distributed in the US.

Given the relatively high cost of this book, I expected more and was quite disappointed.

Twinkie, Deconstructed: My Journey to Discover How the Ingredients Found in Processed Foods Are Grown, Mined (Yes, Mined), and Manipulated Into What America Eats

Average customer rating:

does your homework for you
You are what you eat
Would make better television.
Fun and Follies with Food Facts
Eat your Twinkies and be happy

Twinkie, Deconstructed: My Journey to Discover How the Ingredients Found in Processed Foods Are Grown, Mined (Yes, Mined), and Manipulated Into What America Eats
Steve Ettlinger
Manufacturer: Hudson Street Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 1594630186
Release Date: 2007-03-01

Book Description

A pop-science journey into the surprising ingredients found in dozens of common packaged foods, using the Twinkie label as a guide

Like most Americans, Steve Ettlinger eats processed foods. And, like most consumers, he often reads the ingredients label—without a clue as to what most of it means. So when his young daughter asked, “Daddy, what's polysorbate 60?” he was at a loss—and determined to find out.

From the phosphate mines in Idaho to the corn fields in Iowa, from gypsum mines in Oklahoma to the vanilla harvest in Madagascar, Twinkie, Deconstructed is a fascinating, thoroughly researched romp of a narrative that demystifies some of the most common processed food ingredients—where they come from, how they are made, how they are used—and why. Beginning at the source (hint: they're often more closely linked to rock and petroleum than any of the four food groups), we follow each Twinkie ingredient through the process of being crushed, baked, fermented, refined, and/or reacted into a totally unrecognizable goo or powder with a strange name—all for the sake of creating a simple snack cake.

An insightful exploration into the food industry, if you've ever wondered what you're eating when you consume foods containing mono- and diglycerides or calcium sulfate (the latter, a food-grade equivalent of Plaster of Paris) this book is for you.

Customer Reviews:

does your homework for you.......2007-10-08

"Twinkie, Deconstructed" has got the coolest idea for a book ever: find out where EVERy ingredient on the ingredients panel of a Twinkie sponge cake comes from, whether it's grown or made. It turns out a lot of ingredients are mined as well.

Steve Ettlinger does an exhaustingly thorough job of research. He visits wheat fields and salt mines and LOTs of chemical plants. He reverse engineers how a Twinkie is made, even though the manufacturer declined to help him. Ettlinger maintains good cheer despite additional obstacles such as having to change names or leave out certain details due to the Home Security act.

My favorite ingredient was sodium stearoyl lactylate, because my son is allergic to milk. I had to read ingredient lists for EVERything, including bread, and sodium stearoyl lactylate was everywhere. It sounds like it has milk but I was told it does not. Confusion! Ettinger explains all: lactic acid USED to be made from sour milk but now it is made from corn syrup.

The chapter on flavorings is wonderful, including a discussion of the 216 different flavor components of natural vanilla, and how artificial vanilla has even more. I learned more about flour than I ever cared to know, but passed the info on to my daughter who likes to cook (I found out why unbleached flour is better for pizza, and bleached flour for Twinkies, for example).

I read Twinkie, Deconstructed from cover to cover. If I read it again, I might instead look up different ingredients one by one, following my curiosity. (The book's chapters are organized by ingredients and the index is available as well.) By two-thirds of the way into the book, my fingers itched to make a huge flow chart, connecting all the raw components at one end to the ways they are used in a Twinkie cake at the other end.

Ettlinger does our homework for us, showing that all those strange ingredients DO have a purpose in modern food and ARE safe to eat. He uses the Twinkie as a stand in for almost any food we buy these days in a grocery. Good job!

You are what you eat.......2007-07-23

Especially in view of the tainted chemicals coming from China that are in our processed foods, this is a timely read.
Discover the fascinating story of what's in a Twinkie, and where it comes from.
Interesting for foodies, too.
I bought copies for a chemist friend, and for a curious friend.

Would make better television........2007-07-20

So much potential unrealized...I thought this was going to be much better. The concept of where all the ingredients that make up a Twinkie come from make disappointingly dull reading.

Mr. Ettlinger, I see your comment here, so may I suggest a TV series? I would love to have you examine an ingredient per week and actually see the places and things you wrote about as it was hard to visualize it all...now that would be great television!

Fun and Follies with Food Facts.......2007-07-13

Asked by his children what the ingredients in a Twinkie creme-filled cake really were, and where they came from, Steve traveled the world to find out, interviewing over a hundred people in the process. The book is well-written in the sense that it can be read very fast, and is entertaining until the number of technical errors and chemophobia intrude, which for me began on p8. I happen to enjoy processing plant and mine tours, even vicariously, and do not shy from hundreds of facts and factoids. It was fascinating to find where the biggest plants were that made the ingredients of a Twinkie, which are: wheat flour, bleach, iron(II) sulfate, vitamins B1, B2, B3, sugar, corn sweeteners, corn thickeners, water, partially hydrogenated soybean oil, lecithin and soy protein isolate, eggs, cellulose gum, whey, leavenings, baking soda, sodium acid pyrophosphate, monocalcium phosphate, salt, mono and diglycerides, polysorbate 60, natural and artificial flavors, sodium stearoyl lactylate, sodium and calcium caseinates, calcium sulfate, sorbic acid, FD&C Yellow No. 5 and Red. No. 40. All but 2 of the chapter headings follow this ingredient list. There is an inadequate index and no references, an ominous sign of what is to follow. There are no pictures or drawings, which this topic screams for. The concept was excellent, as were the metaphors. Between that and the potential entertainment value my rating would have been 5-star, even though the target audience was 12-14 years old, IMHO.

A fine appreciation of food chemistry was finally given on p258-260: "The fact that chemicals, especially those in foods, are part of nature..." Well and good, but Steve infiltrates all kinds of snide comments about "chemicals" almost everywhere else, such as one about the surprising purity of synthetic chemicals as opposed to natural (p208) -- the reverse of the truth -- that most natural chemicals are mixtures, and many synthetic ones are very pure. Part of the difficulty is that Steve does not define what a chemical is, or know the difference between an element, a compound, and a mixture, or between a rock and a mineral. Except on p173, where Steve appears to understand that the reactive and toxic elements, sodium and chlorine, react to form salt (sodium chloride), which has none of the properties of its precursors. Time after time he tries to scare the reader by implying that the toxicity of the precursors (called intermediates by chemists) somehow makes it into non-toxic products. On p261: "...try reflecting on the fact that one of the world's most lethal chemicals, chlorine, and one of the most reactive chemicals, sodium, have an exalted place...[in] the salt shaker." This, sadly, is more typical. Of course, there is no elemental sodium or chlorine in salt, and the properties of the elements do not persist in salt. And a rock should not be confused with a mineral.

So to repeat grade-school material, all substances are chemical. Dreams and electronic phenomena are not. Substances are either pure or mixtures. The smallest stable units of matter in substances are molecules. In an element, all the atoms in all the molecules are the same, except for isotopes, which still have the same chemical properties. In a compound, meaning that 2 or more elements are present in the molecule, all the molecules are alike. Sugar (sucrose) is a compound formed from a glucose and a fructose with loss of water; it is not a mixture of glucose and fructose as Steve claims (p71). A rock is a mixture of minerals. Granite is a mixture of the minerals quartz, mica and feldspar, and most minerals are well-defined compounds. Eating refined salt or calcium sulfate is not the same as eating rock. Steve wrote that the toxic and flammable element phosphorus is part of the Twinkies recipe (p154). This is nonsense. Steve never learned from a chemist to write: "phosphorus compounds, phosphates, are part of the Twinkies recipe"; no, he has to scare us and give chemicals in general a bad name on almost every page.

Steve wrote: "Ferrous sulfate is light gray with a bluish tinge, just as you'd expect an iron derivative to look" (p42). Pure iron(II) sulfate is actually pale green, just as I would expect it to look.

Steve wrote: "Despite being a mere mineral, calcium is really a so-called earth metal, like sodium...(p232). Calcium is not a mineral, because it is never found as the free element. Steve meant gypsum (calcium sulfate), I think. Calcium belongs to the family of elements called alkaline earths and sodium is in the family of alkali metals.

Whenever Steve has trouble with the chemistry of a food additive, his writing becomes very terse and flawed. From p250: "A reaction of benzene with nitric acid, itself a product of hydrogen (usually from natural gas) and nitrogen (usually from liquid air) that have been passed over over a thin platinum wire mesh, makes nitrobenzene and leads to the all-important aniline, a colorless oily liquid with a strong, pleasant odor that happens to be highly poisonous." When this is untangled, we find: (1) the reaction of hydrogen and nitrogen over a heated catalyst of iron oxide and potassium aluminate at 400 atm leads to ammonia, not nitric acid; (2) ammonia and air are heated to 650° and passed over a platinum/rhodium catalyst to make nitric acid, not nitrobenzene; (3) benzene and nitric acid with considerable sulfuric acid yields nitrobenzene; (4) nitrobenzene with iron powder or hydrogenation over nickel gives aniline; and (5) aniline does not have a pleasant odor in my nose. None of this makes much sense to a non-chemist without pictures of the molecules involved, which are sorely lacking. All the reactions are over 100 years old, so industrial secrecy should not have been an issue.

Steve fell for the myth that eating saturated fat causes hardening of the arteries (p181). See "The Cholesterol Myths" by Uffe Ravnskov, 2000; and "The Modern Nutritional Diseases" by Ottoboni.

A list of another 50 errors are available by e-mailing: kauffman@bee.net.

Eat your Twinkies and be happy.......2007-07-07

Author Ettlinger takes the reader on a fascinating saga through the world of how food ingredients are made and how many of the ingredients in our food are actually not food-based at all, such as benzene, petroleum and rocks. Ettlinger gives us the origin of every Twinkie ingredient in a offbeat, wink-of-the eye way that suggests mirth instead of mean-spiritedness.
If you enjoy learning about scraps of knowledge that will impress your friends, this book is for you.

Average customer rating:

A "MUST HAVE" for any Botanical Art Enthusiast or Artist

Complete Book Of Fruits & Vegetables
Francesco Bianchini , and Marilena Pistoia
Manufacturer: Crown Publishers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0517520338
Release Date: 1985-06-05

Customer Reviews:

A "MUST HAVE" for any Botanical Art Enthusiast or Artist.......2002-11-26

This book, illustrated by Marilena Pistoia, is an invaluable addition to the library of botanical artists or lovers of botanical art. There are 110 paintings depicting 400 plants, fruits, vegetables, herbs, and spices...all beautifully painted and reproduced. Some of the fruits are so realistic they almost make your mouth water.

The composition and combinations of the fruits and vegetables used in the individual paintings is very imaginative and complimentary in shape, form and colors.

Customer Reviews:

I liked it.......2006-05-09

I had to buy this book for my Quantity Foods course as a part of my Dietetics major. I actually liked the book, and I am going to keep it for later use. I thought the book was organized very well. Some of the charts in Chapter 2 and 5 that we used quite often were a little hard to find (because there are so many!).
It also presented a good overview of things you wouldn't think would be in the book, such as the school lunch program, etc.
I liked it!

Wow!!! A must have for all chefs.......2006-02-25

I had seen this book at a friends business and thought it was good. Since I have ordered and received it I have had the chance to really review the contents and find it one book that I can use daily. The CD rom is also fantastic in the number of recipes it contains. One nice feature is that you can size the recipes to what you need. Another great plus. Well worth the money. Tom Elliott, CEC

Food For Fifty.......2006-02-25

Very well written book, leaves nothing for the mind to question,I would highly recomend this book!

Love this book.......2005-07-23

This book is so helpful to me. I'm a new head cook at a Public school and plan to use many recipes from this book. Besides the great recipes it helps me with Nutritional planning, Variety menu planning with eye appeal, specific food information such as heating temps and storing food, and recipe adjustment. This book will be a tool I will use daily at work. I love that each recipe has the nutritional values per portion.

A vital MUST HAVE handbook for professionals!.......2003-06-09

Whether one is cooking in a restaurant or a school kitchen, this is the most valuable handbook. You'll want it at ready reference. I know, because never a week went by that I didn't consult it while running my bakery/deli in the Oregon Cascades.

I must confess that I didn't tell customers my recipe source. I preferred they think me a genius or as having come from a family steeped in cooking history. They knew I was no genius (hell, they knew I wasn't even very smart) but they did like the foods we provided. And, when I decided to produce a new, tasty meat pie, it was this book that I consulted to improve upon my concept.

Book Description

Nutrition for Foodservice and Culinary Professionals is the must-have reference for the most thorough, up-to-date information on nutrition and diet. New and expanded material in this Sixth Edition addresses important topics such as the 2005 Dietary Guidelines for Americans, MyPyramid, balanced menu options and recipe ideas for morning and afternoon breaks, basic principles of food presentation, meeting special dietary needs, weight management, and much more!

Customer Reviews:

Future for nutrition.......2007-04-15

The Food Service is each day an wide open door for nutritionists. This book in particular is very helpfull on understanding the basic and advanced qualities needed for a professional acting in this area.

Great Text for Culinary Nutrition Class.......2004-10-03

I was assigned this text in my nutrition class in culinary school. The book was a joy to read because it was fun and easy to read. I really liked the section on vitamins and food sources of each vitamin. However, if you really want to know the type of questions asked in nutrition class in culinary school get the following. "Nutrtion Study Guide for Food Service and Culinary Professionals: Key Review Questions and Answers by Melissa Heilman. The isbn of this book is 1933023058. This book is right on with the type of questions that I accounted on my tests. With the help of these two books getting an "A" was quite easy.

A great guide for nutrition........2003-09-03

Very knowledgable book on nutrition including information for children and older adults. As a culinary professional I wanted to read up on the latest nutrition especially on soy and to improve my diet. I am also considering taking some courses, one of them is Sanitation. The Study Guide for the National Servsafe Exam by Dr. Leonardi was a book I found also very knowledgable and I am certain that it will help me with my exam once I decide when to take it.

Exactly what I needed........2002-07-19

This book was exactly what I needed. It contains all the information I needed. A great learning tool. The part of the book I am most impressed with is the section of infant nutrition. It explains month by month what you can feed your infant. An example is the 4th month of life, you can start your child on iron enriched cereals.

Average customer rating:

Concepts in Wine Chemistry
Yair Margalit
Manufacturer: Wine Appreciation Guild
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Spirits | Drinks & Beverages | Cooking, Food & Wine | Subjects | Books

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Similar Items:

Concepts in Wine Technology
Winery Technology and Operations:A Handbook for Small Wineries
Wine Analysis & Production
Understanding Wine Technology: The Science of Wine Explained, New Edition
Principles and Practices of Winemaking

ASIN: 1891267744

Book Description

First published in 1997, CONCEPTS IN WINE CHEMISTRY was the first text and reference book in decades to explain the basic science behind the chemistry of wine. This new edition is now fully revised and updated to meet the field's most recent developments and give the chemistry backbone to the broader science of winemaking. The chapters are logically organized from the musts and juice composition through each step of the winemaking process: fermentation, phenolics, oxidation, oak products, sulfur dioxide, cellar process and wine defects. Also included is a chapter on the history of wine chemistry and ancient winemaking practices, and a thorough index and chapter outlines.

Management by Menu, Third Edition and NRAEF Workbook Package

Average customer rating:

Management by Menu, Third Edition and NRAEF Workbook Package
Lendal H. Kotschevar , and Marcel R. Escoffier
Manufacturer: John Wiley & Sons
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Management by Menu, Student Workbook
Supervision in the Hospitality Industry: Applied Human Resources
Nutrition for Foodservice and Culinary Professionals
Garde Manger, The Art and Craft of the Cold Kitchen
Practical Food and Beverage Cost Control

ASIN: 0471442372

Book Description

The menu is an essential part of any foodservice operation. Using the menu as a management tool in every area of operation--from planning the facility and purchasing food to promoting items to customers and providing exceptional service--can help ensure success. This book serves as a guide both to developing a menu and to using it as a control document.

Molecular Gastronomy: Exploring the Science of Flavor (Arts and Traditions of the Table: Perspectives on Culinary History)

Average customer rating:

Entertaining but not the best cooking reference
We're that much closer to Jetson style food pills
good, but
Disappointing
Trick in the kitchen

Molecular Gastronomy: Exploring the Science of Flavor (Arts and Traditions of the Table: Perspectives on Culinary History)
Hervé This
Manufacturer: Columbia University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Kitchen Chemistry
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ASIN: 023113312X

Book Description

Hervé This (pronounced "Teess") is an internationally renowned chemist, a popular French television personality, a bestselling cookbook author, a longtime collaborator with the famed French chef Pierre Gagnaire, and the only person to hold a doctorate in molecular gastronomy, a cutting-edge field he pioneered. Bringing the instruments and experimental techniques of the laboratory into the kitchen, This uses recent research in the chemistry, physics, and biology of food to challenge traditional ideas about cooking and eating. What he discovers will entertain, instruct, and intrigue cooks, gourmets, and scientists alike.

Molecular Gastronomy, This's first work to appear in English, is filled with practical tips, provocative suggestions, and penetrating insights. This begins by reexamining and debunking a variety of time-honored rules and dictums about cooking and presents new and improved ways of preparing a variety of dishes from quiches and quenelles to steak and hard-boiled eggs. He goes on to discuss the physiology of flavor and explores how the brain perceives tastes, how chewing affects food, and how the tongue reacts to various stimuli. Examining the molecular properties of bread, ham, foie gras, and champagne, the book analyzes what happens as they are baked, cured, cooked, and chilled.

Looking to the future, This imagines new cooking methods and proposes novel dishes. A chocolate mousse without eggs? A flourless chocolate cake baked in the microwave? Molecular Gastronomy explains how to make them. This also shows us how to cook perfect French fries, why a soufflé rises and falls, how long to cool champagne, when to season a steak, the right way to cook pasta, how the shape of a wine glass affects the taste of wine, why chocolate turns white, and how salt modifies tastes.

Customer Reviews:

Entertaining but not the best cooking reference.......2007-10-08

I was looking for something to use as a reference for how to prepare different types of food. This definitely is not it. It is an entertaining read but it does not really have the level of detail I was looking for when I got this book. The best I have gotten so far is On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen (or something like that) by Harold McGee.

We're that much closer to Jetson style food pills.......2007-06-19

Herve This is a genius and should be respected simply for the fact that he approaches cuisine with something other than blind awe of traditions that regarded as fact but are little more than a step up from superstitions and old wives' tales. Already a bit on the dry academic side and then translated from French to English, it can occassionally be a difficult read, but the unique nature of the subject makes sure it says a fascinating read. The book is broken up into sections each a few pages long asking if and why a preconceived notion regarding food is true (Does the juices of meat really contract to the center when you cook it?, Does it matter if you slowly heat your stock or use hot water from the beginning?), the nature of flavor (how salt affects sweet and bitter flavors), just what goes on with the food before we eat it (What causes cheeses to taste the way they do tracing it all the way back to the diet of the cow), and theoretical ideas to make the culinary field better (Developing new cooking techniques involving technology such as artificial vacuums and electrical fields). While the book uses specific examples, it's easy to take This's basic technique and apply it to anything food related, which you could imagine is his goal, having founded the field sharing its name with the book.

good, but.......2007-05-20

good, but, not very complete, inaccurate and simplistic. if you have read harold mcgee, it is a bit simplistic, un-scientific, and extremely biased. good for the beginner or home cook. short stories (and lack of scientific guidelines) are good for those without the patience for "on food and cooking"...

Disappointing.......2007-05-11

I was hoping to find something along the lines of Harold McGee's "On Food and Cooking". If this is what you are looking for, look elsewhere.

Trick in the kitchen.......2007-03-20

This hardcover is divided in small paragraphs which are dealing with the different topics in kitchen science. The first section is dedicated to the tricks in cooking and is the one I like better. Then the author goes through the new discoveries about how do we perceive taste and flavour.
Good start to get in the argument of molecular gastronomy;)

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