The Origins of Taste: How the Love of Food Made Us Human

Nature, they say, invites us to the table using appetite and rewards us with flavor. But what exactly are flavors? Why are some of them pleasant to us, while others aren’t? “The Origin of Tastes” is an exceptionally engaging plunge into the thick, rich substance of these questions. Punctuated generously with spoonfuls of sincerity and wit, Rob Dunn and Monica Sanchez offer an innovative look at why food gives people pleasure—and how the search for pleasant tastes turned out to be a secret ingredient in all of human history.

They tell about the role that the chef—their taste preferences—played in the creation of the first tools, the extinction of giant mammals, the evolution of the world’s tastiest and most nourishing fruits, the invention of beer, and the formation of our own sociality. As a side dish, you’ll learn about the existence of completely unimaginable taste receptors, the best way to ferment a mastodon, the connection between cheese and Paleolithic art—and much more.

Drawing on the latest scientific data, the authors of “The Origin of Tastes” serve the listener a deep story of our sensory relationship with food.