Listen and read

Step into an infinite world of stories

  • Listen and read as much as you want
  • Over 400 000+ titles
  • Bestsellers in 10+ Indian languages
  • Exclusive titles + Storytel Originals
  • Easy to cancel anytime
Subscribe now
Details page - Device banner - 894x1036
Cover for Delicious: The Evolution of Flavor and How It Made Us Human

Delicious: The Evolution of Flavor and How It Made Us Human

10 Ratings

4.3

Duration
8H 3min
Language
English
Format
Category

Non-Fiction

This delightful audiobook narrated by Russell Bentley offers a savory account of how the pursuit of delicious foods shaped human evolution

Nature, it has been said, invites us to eat by appetite and rewards by flavor. But what exactly are flavors? Why are some so pleasing while others are not? Delicious is a supremely entertaining foray into the heart of such questions.

With generous helpings of warmth and wit, Rob Dunn and Monica Sanchez offer bold new perspectives on why food is enjoyable and how the pursuit of delicious flavors has guided the course of human history. They consider the role that flavor may have played in the invention of the first tools, the extinction of giant mammals, the evolution of the world's most delicious and fatty fruits, the creation of beer, and our own sociality. Along the way, you will learn about the taste receptors you didn't even know you had, the best way to ferment a mastodon, the relationship between Paleolithic art and cheese, and much more.

Blending irresistible storytelling with the latest science, Delicious is a deep history of flavor that will transform the way you think about human evolution and the gustatory pleasures of the foods we eat.

© 2021 Princeton University Press (Audiobook): 9780691225944
© 2021 Princeton University Press (Ebook): 9780691218342

Release date

Audiobook: 23 March 2021
Ebook: 23 March 2021

Others also enjoyed ...

  1. The Ecology of Everyday Things
    The Ecology of Everyday Things Mark Everard
  2. What's the Difference?: Recreational Culinary Reference for the Curious and Confused
    What's the Difference?: Recreational Culinary Reference for the Curious and Confused Brette Warshaw
  3. The Seed Detective: Uncovering the Secret Histories of Remarkable Vegetables
    The Seed Detective: Uncovering the Secret Histories of Remarkable Vegetables Adam Alexander
  4. The Great Indoors: The Surprising Science of How Buildings Shape Our Behavior, Health, and Happiness
    The Great Indoors: The Surprising Science of How Buildings Shape Our Behavior, Health, and Happiness Emily Anthes
  5. The Age of Addiction: How Bad Habits Became Big Business
    The Age of Addiction: How Bad Habits Became Big Business David T. Courtwright
  6. Cheese, Wine, and Bread: Discovering the Magic of Fermentation in England, Italy, and France
    Cheese, Wine, and Bread: Discovering the Magic of Fermentation in England, Italy, and France Katie Quinn
  7. The Forgotten Sense: The New Science of Smell—and the Extraordinary Power of the Nose
    The Forgotten Sense: The New Science of Smell—and the Extraordinary Power of the Nose Jonas Olofsson
  8. Elephants: Birth, Death and Family in the Lives of the Giants
    Elephants: Birth, Death and Family in the Lives of the Giants Hannah Mumby
  9. Good Blood: A Doctor, a Donor, and the Incredible Breakthrough That Saved Millions of Babies
    Good Blood: A Doctor, a Donor, and the Incredible Breakthrough That Saved Millions of Babies Julian Guthrie
  10. The Liars of Nature and the Nature of Liars: Cheating and Deception in the Living World
    The Liars of Nature and the Nature of Liars: Cheating and Deception in the Living World Lixing Sun
  11. Science Goes Viral: Captivating Accounts of Science in Everyday Life
    Science Goes Viral: Captivating Accounts of Science in Everyday Life Dr. Joe Schwarcz
  12. A Taste for the Beautiful: The Evolution of Attraction
    A Taste for the Beautiful: The Evolution of Attraction Michael J. Ryan
  13. Knowing What We Know: The Transmission of Knowledge: From Ancient Wisdom to Modern Magic
    Knowing What We Know: The Transmission of Knowledge: From Ancient Wisdom to Modern Magic Simon Winchester
  14. Endless Forms: The Secret World of Wasps
    Endless Forms: The Secret World of Wasps Seirian Sumner
  15. The Last Butterflies: A Scientist's Quest to Save a Rare and Vanishing Creature
    The Last Butterflies: A Scientist's Quest to Save a Rare and Vanishing Creature Nick Haddad
  16. Plagues upon the Earth: Disease and the Course of Human History
    Plagues upon the Earth: Disease and the Course of Human History Kyle Harper
  17. Natural Obsessions: Striving to Unlock the Deepest Secrets of the Cancer Cell
    Natural Obsessions: Striving to Unlock the Deepest Secrets of the Cancer Cell Natalie Angier
  18. Footprints
    Footprints David Farrier
  19. The Restaurant: A History of Eating Out
    The Restaurant: A History of Eating Out William Sitwell
  20. When Animals Dream: The Hidden World of Animal Consciousness
    When Animals Dream: The Hidden World of Animal Consciousness David M. Pena-Guzman
  21. Democracy May Not Exist, but We'll Miss It When It's Gone
    Democracy May Not Exist, but We'll Miss It When It's Gone Astra Taylor
  22. The Misinformation Age: How False Beliefs Spread
    The Misinformation Age: How False Beliefs Spread Cailin O’Connor
  23. Great Second Acts: In Praise of Older Women
    Great Second Acts: In Praise of Older Women Marlene Wagman-Geller
  24. First Steps: How Walking Upright Made Us Human
    First Steps: How Walking Upright Made Us Human Jeremy DeSilva
  25. A Dog's World: Imagining the Lives of Dogs in a World without Humans
    A Dog's World: Imagining the Lives of Dogs in a World without Humans Marc Bekoff
  26. Internet for the People: The Fight for Our Digital Future
    Internet for the People: The Fight for Our Digital Future Ben Tarnoff
  27. Of Human Kindness: What Shakespeare Teaches Us About Empathy
    Of Human Kindness: What Shakespeare Teaches Us About Empathy Paula Marantz Cohen
  28. A Season on the Wind: Inside the World of Spring Migration
    A Season on the Wind: Inside the World of Spring Migration Kenn Kaufman
  29. The Modern Myths: Adventures in the Machinery of the Popular Imagination
    The Modern Myths: Adventures in the Machinery of the Popular Imagination Philip Ball
  30. Timefulness: How Thinking Like a Geologist Can Help Save the World
    Timefulness: How Thinking Like a Geologist Can Help Save the World Marcia Bjornerud
  31. Once Upon a Time I Lived on Mars: Space, Exploration and Life on Earth
    Once Upon a Time I Lived on Mars: Space, Exploration and Life on Earth Kate Greene
  32. Evolution Gone Wrong: The Curious Reasons Why Our Bodies Work (Or Don’t)
    Evolution Gone Wrong: The Curious Reasons Why Our Bodies Work (Or Don’t) Alex Bezzerides
  33. Monarchs and Milkweed: A Migrating Butterfly, a Poisonous Plant, and Their Remarkable Story of Coevolution
    Monarchs and Milkweed: A Migrating Butterfly, a Poisonous Plant, and Their Remarkable Story of Coevolution Anurag Agrawal
  34. How to Educate a Citizen: The Power of Shared Knowledge to Unify a Nation
    How to Educate a Citizen: The Power of Shared Knowledge to Unify a Nation E. D. Hirsch
  35. Is That a Fact?: Frauds, Quacks, and the Real Science of Everyday Life
    Is That a Fact?: Frauds, Quacks, and the Real Science of Everyday Life Dr. Joe Schwarcz
  36. Breaking the Social Media Prism: How to Make Our Platforms Less Polarizing
    Breaking the Social Media Prism: How to Make Our Platforms Less Polarizing Chris Bail
  37. The Theory of Everything Else
    The Theory of Everything Else Dan Schreiber
  38. The Hidden World: How Insects Sustain Life on Earth Today and Will Shape Our Lives Tomorrow
    The Hidden World: How Insects Sustain Life on Earth Today and Will Shape Our Lives Tomorrow Dr George McGavin
  39. Memoirs of a Dutiful Daughter
    Memoirs of a Dutiful Daughter Simone de Beauvoir
  40. Poached: Inside the Dark World of Wildlife Trafficking
    Poached: Inside the Dark World of Wildlife Trafficking Rachel Love Nuwer
  41. The Nature of Tomorrow: A History of the Environmental Future
    The Nature of Tomorrow: A History of the Environmental Future Michael Rawson
  42. Visionary Women: How Rachel Carson, Jane Jacobs, Jane Goodall, and Alice Waters Changed Our World
    Visionary Women: How Rachel Carson, Jane Jacobs, Jane Goodall, and Alice Waters Changed Our World Andrea Barnet
  43. A Grain of Salt: The Science and Pseudoscience of What We Eat
    A Grain of Salt: The Science and Pseudoscience of What We Eat Dr. Joe Schwarcz
  44. Our Livable World: Creating the Clean Earth of Tomorrow
    Our Livable World: Creating the Clean Earth of Tomorrow Marc Schaus
  45. Future Histories: What Ada Lovelace, Tom Paine, and the Paris Commune Can Teach Us About Digital Technology
    Future Histories: What Ada Lovelace, Tom Paine, and the Paris Commune Can Teach Us About Digital Technology Lizzie O'Shea
  46. Early: An Intimate History of Premature Birth and What It Teaches Us About Being Human
    Early: An Intimate History of Premature Birth and What It Teaches Us About Being Human Sarah DiGregorio
  47. Some We Love, Some We Hate, Some We Eat: Why It's So Hard to Think Straight About Animals
    Some We Love, Some We Hate, Some We Eat: Why It's So Hard to Think Straight About Animals Hal Herzog