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The Physiology of Taste
The Physiology of Taste
173 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1825
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5122 people want to read
About the author
Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin
82 books47 followersPeople note French politician and gourmet Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin, for his
Physiologie du Goût
(1825), a witty dissertation on the art of dining.
This lawyer gained fame as an epicure and gastronome. The Rhone River then separated France from Savoy at his hometown in a family of lawyers. He studied law, chemistry and medicine in Dijon in his early years and thereafter practiced in his hometown. In 1789, at the opening of the revolution, people sent him as a deputy to the Estates-General, quickly the national constituent assembly, and he acquired some limited fame, particularly for a public speech in defense of capital punishment. He adopted his second surname upon the death of an aunt, who, named Savarin, left him her entire fortune on the condition that he adopt her name.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean_An...
This lawyer gained fame as an epicure and gastronome. The Rhone River then separated France from Savoy at his hometown in a family of lawyers. He studied law, chemistry and medicine in Dijon in his early years and thereafter practiced in his hometown. In 1789, at the opening of the revolution, people sent him as a deputy to the Estates-General, quickly the national constituent assembly, and he acquired some limited fame, particularly for a public speech in defense of capital punishment. He adopted his second surname upon the death of an aunt, who, named Savarin, left him her entire fortune on the condition that he adopt her name.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean_An...
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 158 reviews
May 24, 2017
I began the book wary of Fisher's very heavy hand - she is an obtrusive editor, needing to insert herself and her personal recollections often. (Nearly every brief section of the book ends with her footnotes, which are called "The Translator's Glosses.") So when Brillat-Savarin mentions black pudding, she adds in an early gloss: "In Paris spicy boudin used to be served on Christmas Eve...in the larger cafes of Burgundy...the prostitutes would snatch at it, daintily of course but with avidity, as if it could give them some magic strength." Now that is someone who would rather be writing her own book than adding footnotes to someone else's. And after Brillat-Savarin describes a turkey hunt in Connecticut she needs to tell her own turkey story, not leaving out details not only sartorial and osteological but also Sinological: "The only living human being I have known who could speak casually of hunting, cleaning, and then roasting a wild turkey, and all that in the state of Arkansas, told me that in general the birds are stuffed lightly with cold cornbread and plenty of butter. In general, this woman said to me, histing [sic] blue denim pants over her flat hip-bones and looking Chinese-like over her straight lower lids, in general wild turkeys isn't thought highly of and people who cook them at all slice off the two breast-meat pieces and fry them in good hog fat...and they sure enough taste damn near as good as steak, she said."
In a gloss on digestion: "An endocrinologist once told me that the best procedure when business must be combined with eating is to watch your victim's ear lobes and feed him rare beef. When his lobes turn ruddy, make your proposition ....and quickly!" C'mon. Even she doesn't believe that.
Brillat-Savarin was a lawyer, politician, and judge. But Fisher feels that "If he were alive today, he might well be an anesthesiologist."
But ironically enough, Brillat-Savarin's own writing got so tedious at times that I began not to mind Fisher's glosses, the same way that audience coughing ceases to bother you after seven minutes of Bolero.
July 4, 2022
Gastronomy, as seen through the eyes of a early 19th c. French gourmand with the day job as a judge; his thoughts, knowledge, opinions, limitations, and prejudices (nothing too bad). This book came out in 1825, and it's a collection of reflections, stories, and anecdoctes - with parts taken from his own life - not always on the subject of food and drink (fe. on the end of the world). He likes to sometimes use 'foreign' words (he traveled much, including those years in exile in America, where he went turkey hunting), not always spelled right. Balzac was a fan of this book (but not Baudelaire).
This is a 1949 translation reprint (MFK Fisher), and the translator sometimes puts in notes at the end of the chapter - you get to know her sassiness through them, and some of the situation of gastronomy around that time. At the start is a long chronology of author's life, French literature, and French history of certain time (1746-1894).
The first part is the main part on gastronomy, starting with some aphorisms and introductions, before movign on the main part, starting with facts on senses, and ending after many pages in his imagination of a temple in Paris dedicated to the goddess of gastronomy, done Greek-style, and the feasts experieced within it. You get a view on things that were new at the time, things that had become extinct recently, and what the meals were like generally. Of course, the author's tastes dictate what is seen as right, and what is seen as odd or wrong.
The second part is a collections of tales and recipes. Recipes for things like egg dishes, eel, asparagus, fowls, fondue, and drinks. Tales include ones on drinking competitions, the trap of a table with too many rounds of food, cooking a really big turbot, the right moment when a pheasant is ripe enough to cook, the food skills of exiles, how to eat fondue, useful food knowledge when trying to get the right papers, drinking poems.
The book's appearance was a surprise to many of his friends, but a positive one mostly. Fans and not-fans I've mentioned above. But it says something that this book still exists as a classic, and is easy to find. My parents have a Finnish translation, so I've known about the book for a while. It is a worthy reading, especially a good view into one point of time (and place)'s food views, and quite entertaining. And it made me hungry....
This is a 1949 translation reprint (MFK Fisher), and the translator sometimes puts in notes at the end of the chapter - you get to know her sassiness through them, and some of the situation of gastronomy around that time. At the start is a long chronology of author's life, French literature, and French history of certain time (1746-1894).
The first part is the main part on gastronomy, starting with some aphorisms and introductions, before movign on the main part, starting with facts on senses, and ending after many pages in his imagination of a temple in Paris dedicated to the goddess of gastronomy, done Greek-style, and the feasts experieced within it. You get a view on things that were new at the time, things that had become extinct recently, and what the meals were like generally. Of course, the author's tastes dictate what is seen as right, and what is seen as odd or wrong.
The second part is a collections of tales and recipes. Recipes for things like egg dishes, eel, asparagus, fowls, fondue, and drinks. Tales include ones on drinking competitions, the trap of a table with too many rounds of food, cooking a really big turbot, the right moment when a pheasant is ripe enough to cook, the food skills of exiles, how to eat fondue, useful food knowledge when trying to get the right papers, drinking poems.
The book's appearance was a surprise to many of his friends, but a positive one mostly. Fans and not-fans I've mentioned above. But it says something that this book still exists as a classic, and is easy to find. My parents have a Finnish translation, so I've known about the book for a while. It is a worthy reading, especially a good view into one point of time (and place)'s food views, and quite entertaining. And it made me hungry....
June 21, 2013
Cooking, the French believe, can lead to diplomatic success. The gourmet, it is said, merges the aesthetic w the pragmatic, and is usually a humanist. To the French, the sequence of dishes (w wines) is as important as the notes that follow on a music sheet. Only in recent years have some Americans & Brits felt the same (Puritanism). And only in France would a chef kill himself over a culinary failure : Vatel in 1671 and the #1 at Relais de Porquerolles, in 1967, after losing stars in the Michelin Guide. How civilized can you get?
We are fascinated by trivia, especially celebrity nunsense, but do consider the preferred wine for oysters : Sauterne. ~~ What abt Louis XVIII who, history tells, liked to cook 3 stacked chops and then only eat the middle one for its oozing juices fr the 2 others. Now we come to Brillat-Savarin, a codifier of gastronomic laws, who believed that the fate of nations and people rested w digestion. I like a legendary (unrelated) story of the dining guest who was horrified to learn that tongue was being served. "How can I eat that?" she squirmed, fluttering a nappy, "knowing where it has been--." The host asked, "Would you prefer an egg?"
We are fascinated by trivia, especially celebrity nunsense, but do consider the preferred wine for oysters : Sauterne. ~~ What abt Louis XVIII who, history tells, liked to cook 3 stacked chops and then only eat the middle one for its oozing juices fr the 2 others. Now we come to Brillat-Savarin, a codifier of gastronomic laws, who believed that the fate of nations and people rested w digestion. I like a legendary (unrelated) story of the dining guest who was horrified to learn that tongue was being served. "How can I eat that?" she squirmed, fluttering a nappy, "knowing where it has been--." The host asked, "Would you prefer an egg?"
October 29, 2015
La Physiologie du goût est un ouvrage écrit en entier pour le plaisir du lecteur. Ce livre Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin, paru au début du XIXème siècle, fourmille de d'anecdotes piquantes, de bons mots, de plaisanteries savoureuses, d'allusions savantes et autres éclats pétillants propre à mettre le lecteur en appétit au propre comme au figuré. Pour l'auteur, la gastronomie est une science morale qui se tient non loin de la politique.
C'est la gastronomie qui inspecte les hommes et les choses, pour transporter d'un pays à l'autre tout ce qui mérite d'être connu, et qui fait qu'un festin savamment ordonné est comme un abrégé du monde, où chaque partie figure par ses représentants
March 14, 2012
A classic treatment of gastronomic pleasure in an elevated, yet fluid style that delights and demonstrates with equal power. The Everyman's edition is well-bound, elegantly typeset and a joy to read. I recommend this book to anyone who believes that eating is more than just a source of sustenance and enjoys plumbing the depths of philosophy to redeem even what might otherwise seem mundane and plumbless.
April 10, 2013
This book changed my relationship to food and pleasure and sensual pleasure. Each chapter was a joyful new world of unheard-of creativity and adventure. I grew up in a home with good food, but standard American dishes were the staple. I love ribs and grilled cheese, but this is another world entirely.
I will never forget the night when I read the chapter on chocolate ... it was wonderful. Brillat-Savarin can, with just his words, evoke the pleasure of tasting a nicely roast bird, or the complex satisfactions of butter, or the awed disgust at some of history's most violent and eager over-eaters.
This wonderful book is about the love of food and I am so thankful for all it has done for us.
I will never forget the night when I read the chapter on chocolate ... it was wonderful. Brillat-Savarin can, with just his words, evoke the pleasure of tasting a nicely roast bird, or the complex satisfactions of butter, or the awed disgust at some of history's most violent and eager over-eaters.
This wonderful book is about the love of food and I am so thankful for all it has done for us.
August 4, 2014
There really is no way someone in this day and age can review this book. It's a classic, and so ingrained in our culture that it would be silly to do so, almost like critiquing "Hamlet" by Billy S.
In brief, it's the collected writings of the man who came to define gourmandism, and did so while weathering the excesses and disappointments of the French Revolution as an exile. The first seven-eighths are interesting more as a history study, and with the little gems hidden throughout that bring a period to life. The last eighth is, I feel, the real core of the book, where Brillat-Savarin assembles a series of little stories from his life that act almost like parables of gourmandism.
This edition, though, is wonderful. M. F. K. fisher did the translation in 1949, and every twist of the translation is glossed with her personal discussion of the matter, and perhaps a personal anecdote, and eventually, the glosses really become more about her relationship with this man who had been dead two hundred years.
I found myself reading the glosses with greater interest than the body of the work, which, whatever you might think of its author, is a product of its age and subject matter. It's a rambling piecing-together of ideas, and essays, 19th-century science and pseudoscience, and anecdotes, and moral lessons in the guise of conversation. All through it, Fisher helps to translate into mid-twentieth-century terms the material within, and draws on her own experiences, sometimes in pursuit of her understanding of Brillat-Savarin, to give us a more full picture of the man.
It's more like Abelard and Heloise at this point, or a romance written in epistolary form. I feel like I'm rummaging through a private trove of letters between Brillat-Savarin and Fisher, and learning to see a complete man through the love of this woman for him. And in the end, I think I do. As she ends her final gloss:
"That is perhaps the greatest difference between him and us: by the time we have slugged our way as courageously as possible past the onslaughts of modern engines and bacteria and ideals, we are drained and exhausted, and any one of us who reaches the age of seventy-one with serenity and a clear conscience is felt to be an unfair freak. Something must be wrong, we say resentfully; he must have cheated somewhere, taken some secret elixir.
Perhaps we can sip that potion, even vicariously, in the slow reading of a few books like this one, and can feel ourselves encouraged and renewed by the knowledge that if Brillat-Savarin could outride the wild storms of revolution and intrigue and not let them trouble his digestion, as Balzac wrote of him, so in our way can we."
In brief, it's the collected writings of the man who came to define gourmandism, and did so while weathering the excesses and disappointments of the French Revolution as an exile. The first seven-eighths are interesting more as a history study, and with the little gems hidden throughout that bring a period to life. The last eighth is, I feel, the real core of the book, where Brillat-Savarin assembles a series of little stories from his life that act almost like parables of gourmandism.
This edition, though, is wonderful. M. F. K. fisher did the translation in 1949, and every twist of the translation is glossed with her personal discussion of the matter, and perhaps a personal anecdote, and eventually, the glosses really become more about her relationship with this man who had been dead two hundred years.
I found myself reading the glosses with greater interest than the body of the work, which, whatever you might think of its author, is a product of its age and subject matter. It's a rambling piecing-together of ideas, and essays, 19th-century science and pseudoscience, and anecdotes, and moral lessons in the guise of conversation. All through it, Fisher helps to translate into mid-twentieth-century terms the material within, and draws on her own experiences, sometimes in pursuit of her understanding of Brillat-Savarin, to give us a more full picture of the man.
It's more like Abelard and Heloise at this point, or a romance written in epistolary form. I feel like I'm rummaging through a private trove of letters between Brillat-Savarin and Fisher, and learning to see a complete man through the love of this woman for him. And in the end, I think I do. As she ends her final gloss:
"That is perhaps the greatest difference between him and us: by the time we have slugged our way as courageously as possible past the onslaughts of modern engines and bacteria and ideals, we are drained and exhausted, and any one of us who reaches the age of seventy-one with serenity and a clear conscience is felt to be an unfair freak. Something must be wrong, we say resentfully; he must have cheated somewhere, taken some secret elixir.
Perhaps we can sip that potion, even vicariously, in the slow reading of a few books like this one, and can feel ourselves encouraged and renewed by the knowledge that if Brillat-Savarin could outride the wild storms of revolution and intrigue and not let them trouble his digestion, as Balzac wrote of him, so in our way can we."
July 17, 2011
I'm either too hungry or not hungry enough to write a proper review. For now, two things are certain: 1) this is THE gourmand's bible; and 2), it is impossible not to fall a little in love with both the author and his translator.
March 11, 2007
lots of interesting shit...
September 12, 2025
I’ll be frank and admit when this book first was read to me, I was skeptical that the whole “solid food” thing could really be worth that many pages and that many footnotes. My first forays seemed to confirm my worst suspicions. However, continued exploration has given me a cautious optimism that the hours of my life spent listening to butchered French pronunciations mixed in with some truly admirable prose were not spent in pursuit of a vain idol. Some curries I have tasted recently give me particular hope.
March 7, 2020
It's impossible to read any book about French food culture without encountering the name Brillat-Savarin along with a myriad of quotes. ("A dessert without cheese is like a beautiful woman who has lost an eye" is oft repeated.) He published what could be the first foodie treatise in the early 19th century, praising the joys of fine food in orgasmic terms while also espousing on how food impacts sleep (as understood by his own observations) and overall day-to-day existence.
This book must obviously be looked at within the context of the time period. He's a man born in the 1700s, a survivor of the Revolution, and inspired--and limited--by the science of his time. Some of his observations made me roll my eyes, like his rants on obesity: "Obesity produced a distaste for dancing, walking, riding, and an inaptitude for those amusements which require skill or agility." However, after he describes his own recommended diet to reduce fatness, he goes to tell of how he lost an early love to a terrible eating disorder after she took drastic measures as a result of being bullied over her weight. His grief, and his counsel for moderation, rang as quite profound.
Most of the book is about the joy of food, though--and French food at that, still very much worthy of praise. He talks of regional cuisines, and of course things like cheese, truffles, salads, and how the senses are involved with the experience of the gourmandise. It's a shame that he died right as the book was published, as he could have done even more to boost French food in that era. As it is, his influence is still felt today. The man has a cheese named after him. In my judgment, that's one of the best forms of immortality available.
This book must obviously be looked at within the context of the time period. He's a man born in the 1700s, a survivor of the Revolution, and inspired--and limited--by the science of his time. Some of his observations made me roll my eyes, like his rants on obesity: "Obesity produced a distaste for dancing, walking, riding, and an inaptitude for those amusements which require skill or agility." However, after he describes his own recommended diet to reduce fatness, he goes to tell of how he lost an early love to a terrible eating disorder after she took drastic measures as a result of being bullied over her weight. His grief, and his counsel for moderation, rang as quite profound.
Most of the book is about the joy of food, though--and French food at that, still very much worthy of praise. He talks of regional cuisines, and of course things like cheese, truffles, salads, and how the senses are involved with the experience of the gourmandise. It's a shame that he died right as the book was published, as he could have done even more to boost French food in that era. As it is, his influence is still felt today. The man has a cheese named after him. In my judgment, that's one of the best forms of immortality available.
Read
August 24, 2015Here, you might think, is a book about food, but to say that is to miss the point entirely. While it's mostly about food-- and how nice it is to drink a cup of coffee as Brillat-Savarin pontificates about coffee, or to enjoy a plate of pasta with truffles as he extols their virtues-- it's really something much deeper.
Brillat-Savarin, as a man of the Enlightenment, was interested in formulating a theory of gastronomy that also allowed for ramblings and musings about sleep, dreams, death, medicine, etc., all of which he believed were fundamentally interrelated. And while some of his theories seem absurd now-- a universal conveyance of flavor called osmazone, the skull structure of the probable glutton-- they absolutely reflect the spirit of the era, and its passion for categorization and classification.
Like Burton with his Anatomy of Melancholy, Brillat-Savarin says a lot of things that we say now in different ways. And likewise, it's a totally idiosyncratic book, filled with moments of genius, and which preserves a bygone way of reaching "knowledge," whatever that may be.
Brillat-Savarin, as a man of the Enlightenment, was interested in formulating a theory of gastronomy that also allowed for ramblings and musings about sleep, dreams, death, medicine, etc., all of which he believed were fundamentally interrelated. And while some of his theories seem absurd now-- a universal conveyance of flavor called osmazone, the skull structure of the probable glutton-- they absolutely reflect the spirit of the era, and its passion for categorization and classification.
Like Burton with his Anatomy of Melancholy, Brillat-Savarin says a lot of things that we say now in different ways. And likewise, it's a totally idiosyncratic book, filled with moments of genius, and which preserves a bygone way of reaching "knowledge," whatever that may be.
March 10, 2020
Delightful !
November 28, 2021
Aizveriet acis, klausieties un miniet!!
Mocarts?!
Un nekā! -Grétry!!
Jo neviens nevar tapt brīvs no "Homēra!"
Jo neviens nevar tapt brīvs no ģēnija pirms sevis.
Pat Mocarts.
Tā, nu, lasot Brijā-Savarēnu, nevar nedomāt par François Rabelais. Un nevar nedomāt par to, cik pilna pasaule ir to, kuri cīnās tapt brīvi no Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin. Iespējams, ikviens, kurš kaut ko raksta par ēdienu, ēšanu, dzērienu un baudām.
Garšas fizioloģija jeb meditācijas par transcendento gastronomiju - klasikas bauda prātam un norādes ķermeniskiem piedzīvojumiem.
Mocarts?!
Un nekā! -Grétry!!
Jo neviens nevar tapt brīvs no "Homēra!"
Jo neviens nevar tapt brīvs no ģēnija pirms sevis.
Pat Mocarts.
Tā, nu, lasot Brijā-Savarēnu, nevar nedomāt par François Rabelais. Un nevar nedomāt par to, cik pilna pasaule ir to, kuri cīnās tapt brīvi no Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin. Iespējams, ikviens, kurš kaut ko raksta par ēdienu, ēšanu, dzērienu un baudām.
Garšas fizioloģija jeb meditācijas par transcendento gastronomiju - klasikas bauda prātam un norādes ķermeniskiem piedzīvojumiem.
"Es gribu dzīvot tā, kā protu:
Lai manī kopā sadzīvotu
Ar balto vīnu rozīgais,
Kad vienu es ar otru mīšu.
Ja nebūs miers man cerētais,
Es abus ārā izsviedīšu."
- Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin
"Garšas fizioloģija", 341.lpp
August 11, 2015
Belongs on every cooks bookshelf.
Probably on every chefs bookshelf as far as I understand.
Probably on every chefs bookshelf as far as I understand.
Read
September 1, 2023I just saw the brilliant writer MK Fisher does a translation of this so now I feel I missed out by going with the penguin. I miss her -
FOOD this is the business & historically the moment, the birth of the restaurant, the "beginning" of cocktails as an establishment. JABS is smooth and opinionated and I enjoy his moments with oysters and truffles, so forth. BUt you get the sense the book is designed to do something else, to define & evangelise GOURMANDISM, what it means to be a gourmand, and in a way to de-stigmatise it. He's keen also to offer his slightly armchairy philosophy on what it means to eat and so on
It's monumental if you're into restaurant history, culinary evolution, the french in general. I'm pleased it's survived as a document, a time. & o my (rich) people ate so much
FOOD this is the business & historically the moment, the birth of the restaurant, the "beginning" of cocktails as an establishment. JABS is smooth and opinionated and I enjoy his moments with oysters and truffles, so forth. BUt you get the sense the book is designed to do something else, to define & evangelise GOURMANDISM, what it means to be a gourmand, and in a way to de-stigmatise it. He's keen also to offer his slightly armchairy philosophy on what it means to eat and so on
It's monumental if you're into restaurant history, culinary evolution, the french in general. I'm pleased it's survived as a document, a time. & o my (rich) people ate so much
October 28, 2023
O autor viveu entre 1755 e 1826.
Um epicurista.
Um tratado sobre o prazer de bem comer, que redigiu dois meses antes de morrer
"O que é que se poderia rejeitar nesta ciência que nos sustenta do nascimento atá ao túmulo, que aumenta as delícias do amor e a confiança na amizade, que desarma o ódio, facilita os negócios, e nos oferece, no curto trajecto da vida, o único deleite que, não provocando cansaço, aina nos retempera de todos os outros."
“Ofereceram a um homem apreciador de vinho um prato com uvas, para sobremesa, ao fim de um jantar. ‘Muito obrigado’, disse o homem, afastando o prato. ‘Não estou habituado a tomar o meu vinho em pílulas.’”
Um epicurista.
Um tratado sobre o prazer de bem comer, que redigiu dois meses antes de morrer
"O que é que se poderia rejeitar nesta ciência que nos sustenta do nascimento atá ao túmulo, que aumenta as delícias do amor e a confiança na amizade, que desarma o ódio, facilita os negócios, e nos oferece, no curto trajecto da vida, o único deleite que, não provocando cansaço, aina nos retempera de todos os outros."
“Ofereceram a um homem apreciador de vinho um prato com uvas, para sobremesa, ao fim de um jantar. ‘Muito obrigado’, disse o homem, afastando o prato. ‘Não estou habituado a tomar o meu vinho em pílulas.’”
January 6, 2025
En veldig rar bok (reklame for kalkun med trøffel, blodpølse med trøffel etc.)
November 3, 2017
Let a man rest or sleep or dream:he still remains subject to the laws of nourishment, and does not leave the empire of gastronomy.
August 22, 2013
this review covers the 2009 edition published by the Everyman's Library division of Knopf. I ordered a copy of it only because the one I had used previously was somehow mislaid or lent to someone who failed to return it. I can't remember exactly when I last referred to the book (it can't have been that long ago), but rather than wait for the old worn paperback to turn up, I thought it might be nice to see what an updated hardcover could provide. I wasn't disappointed. This edition was published in 2009 and the main thing that sold me on it was that they had the sense to use the familiar front cover that has become an integral part of my associations with the book. When it arrived, i had more to enjoy. There is a new introduction by Bill Buford, which brilliantly prepares readers for both the penetrating analysis and quirky diversions that make the book such a delicious feast each time it is read (and you are sure to read it more than once).
I always feel certain that I'm being deprived of the full value of the original when I read classics in translation, but Buford confirms the comfort I gained in the superiority of M.F.K. Fisher's translation after a frustrating attempt to read the book in the original French (which was rather futile for me due to both the extraordinary range of subjects and the stylistic conventions of the day). Buford's comments on Fisher's footnotes gave me a new perspective on the book. Indeed, I began my re-reading with some footnotes, then went back to the text and once again fell under the spell, this time with a better appreciation of my debt to Fisher for her commentaries. Brillat-Savarin simply defies our expectations with his all encompassing examination of taste. He the archetypal French philosophe: detailed in his minute empirical observations, yet sweeping in the logical connections and underpinnings he finds behind what he observes. His meditations encompass everything from how best to restore the appetite after it passes during an abnormally long wait for dinner to how the Romans could possibly have drunk wine from the large cups they used while lying on their sides.
Brillat-Savarin is famous for his aphorism: "Show me what you eat, and I shall tell you what you are." In this book, he shows that his notions of taste extended far beyond food and drink and extended to anything that interfered with his appealing vision of how a good life ought to be lived. It is a vision many have found inspiring.
I always feel certain that I'm being deprived of the full value of the original when I read classics in translation, but Buford confirms the comfort I gained in the superiority of M.F.K. Fisher's translation after a frustrating attempt to read the book in the original French (which was rather futile for me due to both the extraordinary range of subjects and the stylistic conventions of the day). Buford's comments on Fisher's footnotes gave me a new perspective on the book. Indeed, I began my re-reading with some footnotes, then went back to the text and once again fell under the spell, this time with a better appreciation of my debt to Fisher for her commentaries. Brillat-Savarin simply defies our expectations with his all encompassing examination of taste. He the archetypal French philosophe: detailed in his minute empirical observations, yet sweeping in the logical connections and underpinnings he finds behind what he observes. His meditations encompass everything from how best to restore the appetite after it passes during an abnormally long wait for dinner to how the Romans could possibly have drunk wine from the large cups they used while lying on their sides.
Brillat-Savarin is famous for his aphorism: "Show me what you eat, and I shall tell you what you are." In this book, he shows that his notions of taste extended far beyond food and drink and extended to anything that interfered with his appealing vision of how a good life ought to be lived. It is a vision many have found inspiring.
August 19, 2013
i've been reading jean-anthelme brillat-savarin's physiology of taste (or transcendental gastronomy). just his name should give you a bit of a taste of what a stuck-up, pretentious prat he is. and tho' i am largely skimming (what else can one do via an eReader? i can't take reading seriously unless i can scribble in the margins), i went back and forth between eye-rolling and being provoked to ponderous deep thoughts to the occasional actual (and thus no kittens killed) laugh out loud. because tho' he's full of himself, he is witty in a kind of 18th century aristocratic, truffle-scoffing sort of way.
just his quasi-scientific method alone is worth the read...listing and categorizing and hierarchizing what is essentially an exploration of the pleasures of eating and drinking. and oddly, much of it still rings true today.
he opens with a self-congratulatory mini biography, extolling his own virtues as a truly excellent man of taste and cultivation. i somehow picture him as a cross between ben franklin and george washington in appearance, which is odd, since he's french, but there you have it. he says that he was satisfied with the simplest meal one could set before him, if it was just prepared artistically (emphasis mine). that's actually quite pretentious, but i like it. and i subscribe to the notion that care should be taken with the food we eat on a daily basis (tho' it may not always resemble art (see recent attempt to make homemade pita bread)). and frankly, often the simplest food is the most artistic (think japanese). tho' i imagine that he would think the simplest meal should contain truffles (he waxes lyrical about them for nearly 7 pages). and really, truffles are delicious.
but my favorite bit is the section about thirst. because inevitably, he gets around to talking about alcohol. and as you know, i am practically a daily inventor of new cocktails (what? you didn't know? you should really come around more often.). so, without reading the whole thing, i hereby declare my favorite passage to be:
"alcohol is the monarch of liquids, and takes possession of the extreme tastes of the palate. its various preparations offer us countless new flavors, and to certain medicinal remedies, it gives an energy they could not do well without."
alcohol as royalty with medicinal properties? let's drink to that.
just his quasi-scientific method alone is worth the read...listing and categorizing and hierarchizing what is essentially an exploration of the pleasures of eating and drinking. and oddly, much of it still rings true today.
he opens with a self-congratulatory mini biography, extolling his own virtues as a truly excellent man of taste and cultivation. i somehow picture him as a cross between ben franklin and george washington in appearance, which is odd, since he's french, but there you have it. he says that he was satisfied with the simplest meal one could set before him, if it was just prepared artistically (emphasis mine). that's actually quite pretentious, but i like it. and i subscribe to the notion that care should be taken with the food we eat on a daily basis (tho' it may not always resemble art (see recent attempt to make homemade pita bread)). and frankly, often the simplest food is the most artistic (think japanese). tho' i imagine that he would think the simplest meal should contain truffles (he waxes lyrical about them for nearly 7 pages). and really, truffles are delicious.
but my favorite bit is the section about thirst. because inevitably, he gets around to talking about alcohol. and as you know, i am practically a daily inventor of new cocktails (what? you didn't know? you should really come around more often.). so, without reading the whole thing, i hereby declare my favorite passage to be:
"alcohol is the monarch of liquids, and takes possession of the extreme tastes of the palate. its various preparations offer us countless new flavors, and to certain medicinal remedies, it gives an energy they could not do well without."
alcohol as royalty with medicinal properties? let's drink to that.
April 15, 2018
Trattato sul cibo o meglio sul cibo visto non come qualsiasi cosa per placare la fame, ma come soddisfazione di diversi piaceri. Gusto ed olfatto in primis ma anche vista e tatto e, per essere completo, la convivialità.
Soddisfazione per il buon cuoco, compiacimento per il padrone di casa, gioia per i convitati.
Bevande e cibi correttamente legati a tempi e luoghi, presentati in una successione tale da far sì che il piacere aumenti, fermandosi quando inizia l’abuso. Saggia regola, vero? Ancora oggi spesso ignorata.
Certo che l’abbondanza delle carni citate oggi è superata dalle analisi e/o dalla bilancia, così come quella del caffè o del cioccolato. Che già allora si sapeva far bene e migliorare l’umore (anche se la teobromina forse non si conosceva ancora). Certo magari non a fine pasto, come digestivo.
Ci dice anche qualche castronata, tipo quella della riconoscibilità di un buongustaio dalle caratteristiche fisiche.
E, nonostante l’epoca, i problemi di obesità o quelli di mantenere il peso o di contenere la pancia o, questa sì decisamente datata, la necessità di ingrassare per le signore troppo magre.
Decisamente divertente da leggere, specie a partire dalla seconda meditazione. Non c’è sempre organicità nella stesura: considerazioni sociali, un po’ di rigore, citazioni letterarie, qualche aneddoto, consigli culinari, ma diversi brani mancano in questo libro (sono solo riassunti brevemente) rendendolo più agevole anche se non conforme all’originale. .
Alla fine scopriamo che Brillat-Savarin amava mangiare bene, aveva un po’ di pancia ed era un creazionista. Anche un po’ stronzo: c’è un aneddoto su un amico che stava male per eccesso di prestazioni sessuali alla propria moglie e si vergognava di confessarlo al proprio dottore. Lui, è vero che lo cura, ma ne scrive il nome.
Mo’ abbiamo Benedetta Parodi che mette lo zucchero a velo su tutto ciò che è dolce. Che non sa che frutta non ha plurale in frutte (forse nell’ottocento), che scalcare la carne con un coltello di ceramica può lasciare schegge infinitesimali qua e là, che l’acquetta all’interno delle buste sottovuoto di pesce misto surgelato deve essere buttata non nel tegame ma nel lavandino.
12.12.2012
NB con quattro stelle ho un po' abbondato .......
Soddisfazione per il buon cuoco, compiacimento per il padrone di casa, gioia per i convitati.
Bevande e cibi correttamente legati a tempi e luoghi, presentati in una successione tale da far sì che il piacere aumenti, fermandosi quando inizia l’abuso. Saggia regola, vero? Ancora oggi spesso ignorata.
Certo che l’abbondanza delle carni citate oggi è superata dalle analisi e/o dalla bilancia, così come quella del caffè o del cioccolato. Che già allora si sapeva far bene e migliorare l’umore (anche se la teobromina forse non si conosceva ancora). Certo magari non a fine pasto, come digestivo.
Ci dice anche qualche castronata, tipo quella della riconoscibilità di un buongustaio dalle caratteristiche fisiche.
E, nonostante l’epoca, i problemi di obesità o quelli di mantenere il peso o di contenere la pancia o, questa sì decisamente datata, la necessità di ingrassare per le signore troppo magre.
Decisamente divertente da leggere, specie a partire dalla seconda meditazione. Non c’è sempre organicità nella stesura: considerazioni sociali, un po’ di rigore, citazioni letterarie, qualche aneddoto, consigli culinari, ma diversi brani mancano in questo libro (sono solo riassunti brevemente) rendendolo più agevole anche se non conforme all’originale. .
Alla fine scopriamo che Brillat-Savarin amava mangiare bene, aveva un po’ di pancia ed era un creazionista. Anche un po’ stronzo: c’è un aneddoto su un amico che stava male per eccesso di prestazioni sessuali alla propria moglie e si vergognava di confessarlo al proprio dottore. Lui, è vero che lo cura, ma ne scrive il nome.
Mo’ abbiamo Benedetta Parodi che mette lo zucchero a velo su tutto ciò che è dolce. Che non sa che frutta non ha plurale in frutte (forse nell’ottocento), che scalcare la carne con un coltello di ceramica può lasciare schegge infinitesimali qua e là, che l’acquetta all’interno delle buste sottovuoto di pesce misto surgelato deve essere buttata non nel tegame ma nel lavandino.
12.12.2012
NB con quattro stelle ho un po' abbondato .......
June 5, 2012
So far it's brilliant. Not only Brillat-Savarin's antic prose style, but also the occasional interventions from the translator. The relationship between the two recalls the relationship between the narrator and the protagonist in Don Quijote Part II. Sample quote:
"Among small birds, beyond all doubt the best is "beccafico".
it becomes at least as fat as the red-throat or the ortolan, and nature has besides given it a slight bitterness, and a peculiar and exquisite perfume, which enables it to fill and delight all the gustatory organs. Were the beccafico as large as a pheasant, an acre of land would be paid for it.
It is a pity this bird is so rare, that few others than those who live in the southern departments of France, know what it is.
[Footnote: I am inclined to think the bird is utterly unknown in America. -TRANSLATOR.]"
Another representative quote from this excellent book:
"I have looked through various dictionaries for the word gourmandise and have found no translation that suited me. It is described as a sort of confusion of gluttony and voracity. Whence I have concluded that lexicographers, though very pleasant people in other respects, are not the sort of men to swallow a partridge wing gracefully with one hand with a glass of Lafitte or clos de Vougeot in the other."
In conclusion, a great book which adds some much needed context around the enjoyment of food for modern readers, written by an excellent raconteur with a pleasing wry tone.
"Of all the corporeal operations, digestion is the one which has the closest connection with the moral conditions of man.
This assertion should amaze no one, things cannot be otherwise."
"Among small birds, beyond all doubt the best is "beccafico".
it becomes at least as fat as the red-throat or the ortolan, and nature has besides given it a slight bitterness, and a peculiar and exquisite perfume, which enables it to fill and delight all the gustatory organs. Were the beccafico as large as a pheasant, an acre of land would be paid for it.
It is a pity this bird is so rare, that few others than those who live in the southern departments of France, know what it is.
[Footnote: I am inclined to think the bird is utterly unknown in America. -TRANSLATOR.]"
Another representative quote from this excellent book:
"I have looked through various dictionaries for the word gourmandise and have found no translation that suited me. It is described as a sort of confusion of gluttony and voracity. Whence I have concluded that lexicographers, though very pleasant people in other respects, are not the sort of men to swallow a partridge wing gracefully with one hand with a glass of Lafitte or clos de Vougeot in the other."
In conclusion, a great book which adds some much needed context around the enjoyment of food for modern readers, written by an excellent raconteur with a pleasing wry tone.
"Of all the corporeal operations, digestion is the one which has the closest connection with the moral conditions of man.
This assertion should amaze no one, things cannot be otherwise."
December 22, 2020
A wandering series of essays/meditations on food and related topics.
I thought this was a bit too meandering and disjointed, with essays going off the rails suddenly, wandering into tangents and never coming back, and no real organization. It would have been charming if there had been, say, more anecdotes that sounded even remotely believable, but not only were the anecdotes not fully developed, but people kept swooning and dying of non-fatal causes, like drinking too much vinegar. (Seriously.)
This might be the book that "started it all" for food writers, but I'd read it more as a document of the times rather than as a set of essays on food.
I thought this was a bit too meandering and disjointed, with essays going off the rails suddenly, wandering into tangents and never coming back, and no real organization. It would have been charming if there had been, say, more anecdotes that sounded even remotely believable, but not only were the anecdotes not fully developed, but people kept swooning and dying of non-fatal causes, like drinking too much vinegar. (Seriously.)
This might be the book that "started it all" for food writers, but I'd read it more as a document of the times rather than as a set of essays on food.
May 30, 2010
So far, this book has been witty in that way that words themselves used to have wit. translated by MFK Fisher, it also avoids any overly ornate grammar that usually plagues European stuff prior to (and including) the 20th century.
In short, this book is an early look at western cookery and ingredients that were relatively new to the scene - coffee, chocolate, sugar, New World birds, etc. It's very timely in its publishing as to run parallel to the founding of the USA. Feels simulataneously like a subtle cultural relic, and a state of the industry wrt food prep.
In short, this book is an early look at western cookery and ingredients that were relatively new to the scene - coffee, chocolate, sugar, New World birds, etc. It's very timely in its publishing as to run parallel to the founding of the USA. Feels simulataneously like a subtle cultural relic, and a state of the industry wrt food prep.
August 15, 2008
This is an incredibly engaging and humorous book that introduced the concept of the gourmand to the world. There were many times that I laughed out loud at some of Brillat-Savarin's characterizations, but there are also some cautionary tales (like the young girl on the vinegar diet)that are disturbing and educational. This book is fascinating in that it gives quite a bit of insight into socializing and eating in 18th century France. I highly recommend if you are a gourmand yourself, and even if you are mildly interested in food.
March 7, 2012
There should be a tried-to-read option. Promptly placed a permanent book mark after succession of yawns and finishing the section on "Hunting Luncheons".
Trudging through the chapters was similar to a tortuous dinner date. What sparked off as a promising evening with a piquant companion and much lauded fare-for-thought, turns out to be bland and inducing mild indigestion.
Brillat-Savarin would have probably made a better dinner companion than author. Maundering while masticating obstructs the physiology of taste.
Trudging through the chapters was similar to a tortuous dinner date. What sparked off as a promising evening with a piquant companion and much lauded fare-for-thought, turns out to be bland and inducing mild indigestion.
Brillat-Savarin would have probably made a better dinner companion than author. Maundering while masticating obstructs the physiology of taste.
June 15, 2009
This is a very entertaining book. Important things I've learnt so far: Be a punctual cook. Never let your guests become hungry. Also, be a punctual guest! Use the best ingredients you can always, and especially when you have guests over. Also, love Brillat-Savarin's quote: Tell me what you eat and I'll tell you what you are. Beware that this book contains many unsubstantiated assumptions about people. Otherwise, his perfectionism when it comes to food is very inspiring.
January 9, 2013
An enjoyable book full of timeless ideas and bonmots to which one can relate even in the 21st century, e.g. the chapter about the end of the world. Not being a believer in "Armageddon according to Mayans" I found great joy in his witty remarks on this phenomenon, especially because three days before the 21.12.2012 I had just about enough of it.
All the talk about food made me constantly hungry but since I have started this book I somewhat enjoy and appreciate more what I eat.
All the talk about food made me constantly hungry but since I have started this book I somewhat enjoy and appreciate more what I eat.
February 3, 2014
I read this book because of two simple chapters about Obesity and Thinness. It is amazing that this long time ago they already knew that carbohydrates were bad for you. Many time people will refer to "The Letter of Corpulence" as the first low-carb diet but that would be a mistake in my mind as that is exactly what is advocated in this book. The way this book is written gave me many chuckles and to see how ideals of bodies have changed over time. Strongly recommend this book.
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