Taste Buds and Molecules: The Art and Science of Food, Wine, and Flavor [Hardcover]

Francois Chartier (Author)

Book Description

Release date: February 28, 2012

"If Catalan superchef Ferran Adria is the leading missionary of molecular gastronomy, Mr. Chartier is his counterpart with a corkscrew."—Globe and Mail

This award-winning book, now available for the first time in English in the U.S., presents a cutting-edge approach to food and wine pairing. Sommelier Francois Chartier has spent the better part of two decades collaborating with top scientists and chefs to map out the aromatic molecules that give foods and wines their flavor. Armed with the results of his extensive research, Chartier has been able to identify why certain foods and wines work well together at a molecular level. In this book, he has gathered his findings into a simple set of principles that explain how to create ideal harmonies in food and wine pairings. This new approach to the art and science of food and wine pairing will be an invaluable resource for sommeliers, chefs, and wine enthusiasts, as well as a fascinating read for anyone who is interested in the principles of modernist or "molecular" cuisine. The Canadian edition of Taste Buds and Molecules was a 2011 IACP Award nominee, and the original French-language edition, Papilles et Molecules, was named the Best Cookbook in the World in the category of Innovation at the 2010 Paris World Cookbook Awards, and also won the 2010 Gourmand Award for Canada for Best Design. The book includes a foreword by Juli Soler and Ferran Adria of El Bulli, who worked closely with Chartier in planning the menus at their renowned restaurant.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

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Sample Pages from the Book (Click on images to enlarge)

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Review

"Anyone who cares about wine-and-food matching must study this book. It’s ingenious.”— Harvey Steiman, Wine Spectator

“Young, passionate, and a rare talent, Chartier is among the two or three most articulate and intellectual thinkers I have met. His breakthrough book has been translated from his native French, and is finally available in English. TASTE BUDS and MOLECULES is not your average wine book... Chartier essentially does what Ferran Adrià at elBulli did with food... deconstruct[s] it and challenge[s] his readers to open their minds and consider the possibilities of a journey through aromas, flavors, textures and the fascinating yin and yang of it all. This is a magical mystery tour through the human sense of taste and smell... highly recommended.”— Robert Parker, The Wine Advocate

"If Catalan superchef Ferran Adria is the leading missionary of molecular gastronomy, Mr. Chartier is his counterpart with a corkscrew."—The Globe and Mail

"The first step into a new world that is now open wide in all its splendour to those who love gastronomy."—Juli Soler and Ferran Adria, elBulli restaurant

“If there were a Nobel Prize for gastronomy, François Chartier would be a deserving recipient… This book will give both the neophyte cook and the most experienced chef the confidence necessary to transgress culinary traditions and forge new paths by trying out wine and food pairings that seem unlikely at first glance.”—Martin Loignon, PhD, molecular biologist, Montreal

"François Chartier is on the cutting edge of flavor exploration. If you're in the industry and you don't know his name yet, you will, and you likely won't forget it. An acclaimed sommelier, cook, flavor detective, and best-selling author, Chartier has instigated the new aromatic discipline 'molecular food harmonies and sommellerie.' And he's sharing it all, one incredible, palate-opening, mind-blowing explanation at a time."—StarChefs

"I’m reading a new book, Tastebuds and Molecules: The Art and Science of Food, Wine, and Flavor by François Chartier, an extraordinary high-wire wine-and-food pairing equivalent of molecular gastronomy. Not surprisingly, the book is endorsed by Ferran Adrià and Juli Soler of El Bulli, with whom Mr. Chartier, a French-Canadian wine and food writer, worked closely for several seasons at their restaurant. Without offering too much detail, Tastebuds and Molecules goes astoundingly deep into the science of flavors, offering advanced techniques for matching foods and wines."— Eric Asimov, the New York Times

"The most powerful, and even empowering, elements of the book are the charts that link a main flavor with all of the culinary components and wines with which it shares a common molecular makeup. Taste Buds and Molecules is a must-have for oenophiles-turned-cook or cooks looking to pair wines with more confidence."—Drink Me magazine

"The most powerful, and even empowering, elements of the book are the charts that link a main flavor with all of the culinary components and wines with which it shares a common molecular makeup. Taste Buds and Molecules is a must-have for oenophiles-turned-cook or cooks looking to pair wines with more confidence." —Drink Me magazine

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt; 1 edition (February 28, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1118141849
• ISBN-13: 978-1118141847
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 0.9 x 8.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (36 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #28,981 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #4 in Books > Cookbooks, Food & Wine > Drinks & Beverages > Wine > Food & Wine
  • #11 in Books > Professional & Technical > Professional Science > Biological Sciences > Biology > Molecular Biology
  • #28 in Books > Cookbooks, Food & Wine > Drinks & Beverages > Wine > Wine & Winemaking

More About the Author

François Chartier is the author of the popular French-language annual wine and food guide La Sélection Chartier, now in its sixteenth edition, as well as the bestselling à Table avec François Chartier. In 2009, Chartier's original French edition of Taste Buds and Molecules (Papilles et Molécules) made its grand entrance onto the world's cooking stage when it won the prestigious Gourmand World Cookbook Award for Best Innovative Cookbook in the World--all languages considered. Chartier is the only Canadian to have ever been named the best world sommelier in French wines and spirits at the prestigious Grand Prix Sopexa. Pioneering what he calls "aromatic food harmonies and sommellerie," he used his groundbreaking research to collaborate with Ferran Adrià and Juli Soler on the 2009-2010 menu at their legendary restaurant elBulli, which was voted the world's best restaurant five times over. He has been featured in such publications as Wine Spectator and in 2008 received l'Ordre National du Québec, the highest distinction bestowed on citizens by the Québec government. The Canadian newspaper The Globe and Mail named him one of the forty-five Canadians who have most influenced world change in 2010, recognizing his research work, scientific contributions, and role in the application of the theory of aromas in cooking. Chartier's new television show on Télé-Québec, Papilles, introduces unpretentious aromatic recipes, reinvented classics, and cleverly chosen and accessible food and beverage pairings.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Why it tastes the way it does (and what to drink with it) April 16, 2012

By Brian Connors VINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

Molecular sommelerie? Is there such a thing? Mmmmmmaybe...

François Chartier's work isn't really about food and wine pairings as such; that's just the medium Chartier is familiar with, and the one he chose to write what has got to be one of the best books I've seen describing flavor interactions. In that regard, it's pretty close to exhaustive, covering not just the foods themselves but common flavor molecules -- soloton, for example, which provides the mapley scent in fenugreek, or eugenol, the active flavor in cloves and a surprising number of other plants (including strawberries, Ceylon cinnamon, and pineapple), and many other things -- phenols, iodine compounds, terpenes, and the like. But it's not just bland academic discussions; although a quick brushup on organic chemistry wouldn't hurt, it also talks about individual foods and the flavors that develop as they're prepared, and just as importantly, how and where the same or complementary compounds show up in wines and cheeses. There's even a whole chapter on maple syrup -- while it's not very common for most people outside breakfast, I personally use it in cooking every once in a while so I'm glad to see Chartier putting in a good word for it.

I've seen a few complaints about the graphic design, and although it's pretty busy and a little hipsterish, I don't find it all that bad; the charts describing relations between foods and flavors are generally pretty clear, and the photography is generally quite good, at least if you're into food photos with very shallow depth of field (a technique I've seen used most effectively in the humor-oriented Mini-Mart A La Carte). I'm taking a star off for that, though -- I don't mind the overall presentation but as the other reviews show, not everyone likes it. However, overall I'd say this is one of the best books I've seen on understanding flavor on a molecular level, building on the work of Harold McGee, Hervé This, and Ferran Adria quite effectively.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Geeks ... get cooking! November 11, 2012

By Richard A. Luc

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

The design I find maddening.
The prose I find stilted.
The organization shows no internal cohesion.
But the guy's ideas are correct.
I've tried some wine/food pairings based on his observations and...they work.
All criitcism falls away before the realization that this is a book that gets to WHY wines and foods work together. It also shows that there are similarities with some wines and some foods that are not usually paired and when they are then paired...they work.
What the guy says works.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Not for the home cook July 4, 2012

By Jo Ann Graham VINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Vine™ Review (What's this?)

Much better suited to an advanced chef or wine connoisseur this book contains detailed and mind numbing analysis of wines and food and their pairings. I am sure that the author is a superb expert in his field but this was way, way too much information for even this advanced home cook with a good knowledge (but nothing compared to the author's) of food and wine pairing. The analysis of foods is literally down to the molecular level and this is not information that I would ever need or even want to have. For example -- "Capsaicin has the opposite effect of the sensation created by food that contain molecules such as anethole, estragole and menthol which activate taste receptors with cool temperatures between 46F and 82F, thus stimulating a cold taste." The reader is then referred to a whole chapter on the molecular analysis of cold taste.

The blackboard style charts on almost every page are dark, foreboding and somewhat confusing.

While a good reference tool for a food scientist this book is not for the home cook. It is not one you would pull off the shelf to refer to when planning a meal -- unless you are into analyzing your guests molecular receptors and the interaction of your food and wine molecules with those receptors and why!