They say you eat with the eyes. But we now know that smell texture temperature colour and
even atmosphere - down to the background music - influence how we perceive flavour. As anyone
who has lost their sense of taste will know flavourless food is dull and monochrome - it is
flavour that brings food into full technicolour life. Yet it's not always easy to make
something tasty the secrets to flavour can baffle chefs and scientists alike. Food science
expert Dr Stuart Farrimond explores major flavour categories such as salt acid and heat (from
chillies) and how they interact and profiles all the major foods from individual fruit veg
herbs and spices to the building blocks such as rice and wheat that give us stapes like bread
pasta and noodles. With pairing notes for every ingredient you'll soon be inventing new
recipes.