In Bad Taste?: The Science and Adventures Behind Food Delicacies (Hardcover)

by Massimo Francesco Marcone (Author), Jay Ingram (Foreword) "For months I pondered the questions that yet lay unanswered by the latest investigation into Kopi Luwak coffee..." (more)
Key Phrases: argan nuts, argan oil, morel hunters, Kopi Luwak, Casu Frazigu, Hong Kong (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Part travelogue, part scientific investigation, Dr. Marcone describes his journeys into remote regions of the world, often risking life and limb at the hands of rebel warlords, corrupt police, international smugglers, and hungry crocodiles. He does this all in the search for the hidden secrets and science behind the world's most expensive and bizarre foods. The stories and information in this eclectic collection of food delicacies will certainly satisfy the curiosity of food aficionados and adventure travelers alike but is also sure to whet the appetites of the just curious.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 192 pages
• Publisher: Key Porter Books (April 19, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1552638820
• ISBN-13: 978-1552638828
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.2 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #782,336 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Almost good, October 26, 2007

By	Margot Vigeant "Mom, engineer, and cook" (central PA, USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

First, the positives - this book documents the provenance and the science of some truly rare, truly weird, gourmet foods. You have to respect Marcone for actually going to see, for himself, the civet poop that is the source of kopi luwak. The book goes considerably deeper into both science and geography than Fierce Food: The Intrepid Diner's Guide to the Unusual, Exotic, and Downright Bizarre. The author shows quite a bit of the fascinating recklessness-in-the-service-of-taste that you see in Gastronaut: Adventures in Food for the Romantic, the Foolhardy, and the Brave BUT (and this is significant) is no where near the writer that either Weil or Gates is. The writing style is pedantic and wordy and somehow manages to make even the time the author was almost eaten by a lion seem dull. The stories are neat, the science is good, but as one plods through yet another diversion where Marcone heads off by himself to ponder why there is injustice in the world (ok, I get it, he has a conscience... but I didn't buy this for weak reflections on the meaning of the Boxing Day Tsunami.... I bought this to read about science and food!) one feels her time is being wasted. The contents of this book, properly edited, would have fit without significant omission into a New Yorker article. On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen is a better read on the same general topic, and it's an encyclopedia.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A palatably wonderful tour of culinary oddities , October 6, 2007

By	Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

Food science professor Dr. Massimo Francesco Marcone, popularly dubbed the "Indiana Jones" of the food world, presents In Bad Taste?: The Adventures and Science Behind Food Delicacies, a behind-the-scenes look at some of the rarest and most bizarre edible commodities. From a rare type of coffee brewed from beans that have been excreted through the digestive system of a catlike Indonesian creature, to edible Malaysian bird nests, In Bad Taste? examines the question: why do people eat these unusual foods, and exactly what is it that makes a food a delicacy - its rarity, the bizarreness of its origins, or simply that others are willing to pay a lot of money to eat it? Or is there some other, truly quantifiable difference? A palatably wonderful tour of culinary oddities enthusiastically recommended for armchair gourmets and anyone curious about the most unusual dishes celebrated as food worldwide.