Whether it's a salted caramel or pizza topped with tomatoes and cheese, you know when food tastes good. Now, Barb Stuckey, a seasoned food developer to whom food companies turn for help in creating delicious new products, reveals the amazing story behind "why "you love some foods and not others.
Through fascinating stories, you'll learn how our five senses work together to form flavor perception and how the experience of food changes for people who have lost their sense of smell or taste. You'll learn why kids (and some adults) turn up their noses at Brussels sprouts, how salt makes grapefruit sweet, and why you drink your coffee black while your spouse loads it with cream and sugar. Eye-opening experiments allow you to discover your unique "taster type" and to learn why you react instinctively to certain foods. You'll improve your ability to discern flavors and devise taste combinations in your own kitchen for delectable results. What Harold McGee did for the science of cooking Barb Stuckey does for the science of eating in "Taste"--a calorie-free way to get more pleasure from every bite.

Many of the earliest books, particularly those dating back to the 1900's and before, are now extremely scarce and increasingly expensive. We are republishing these classic works in affordable, high quality, modern editions, using the original text and artwork.

"Fresh Food Nation" is at the intersection of a big need and a big trend. The need is for recipes, techniques, and inspiration for fresh produce, especially vegetables. The trend is the growing desire to eat local and connect with the source of our food--not just because locally grown food is fresher and tastier, but because it offers emotional, environmental, and food safety benefits.

CSAs (community-supported agriculture organizations)are the latest wave in the rising tide of eating local. Having a share in a CSA is a more intimate and committed way of cooking with super-fresh fruits, vegetables, and even dairy products, poultry, meat, and bread. Regardless of whether you are a CSA member, frequent your local farmer's market, or buy produce at the market, Fresh Food Nation offers simple, delicious, intriguing recipes for seasonal, fresh produce.

"Fresh Food Nation" at its heart is a great basic vegetable and fruit recipe book, but it is wrapped in a very timely and relevant concept--eating with the bounty of the season, family farming, coming together to distribute food to the community--making it, in essence, the new "community" cookbook.