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Why Does Asparagus Make Your Wee Smell?: And 57 other curious food and drink questions
Why does cooking bacon smell so good? Can cheese really give you bad dreams? Why do onions make you cry? Find out the answers in this illustrated compendium of amazing and easy-to-understand chemistry. Featuring 58 different questions, you will discover all sorts of wonderful science that affects us on daily basis. Andy Brunning opens up the chemical world behind the sensations we experience through food and drink - popping candy, hangovers, spicy chillies and many more. Exploring the aromas, flavours and bodily reactions with beautiful infographics and explanations, WHY DOES ASPARAGUS MAKE YOUR WEE SMELL? is guaranteed to satisfy curious minds. And did you know that nutmeg can make you hallucinate? Prepare to be astounded by chemical breakdown like never before.
152 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 8, 2015
7 people are currently reading
118 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
April 6, 2016
A good book to read to discover some of the chemistry that takes place in food and how it affects how we cook, eat, taste and digest the food and the effects the food has on us. Consisting on one page infographics and one page of explanation per topic, you will definitely learn some fascinating information about the chemistry of food. More than that, the book also demonstrates that chemistry and chemicals are a part of us and a part of the food we eat; there is no getting away from chemistry.
Divided into several sections, the books covers how chemistry can affect the way food will taste and smell and how it affects our bodies in good and bad ways. It also looks at how various actions like cooking, refrigeration, fermentation, pasteurisation, etc. affect the chemical makeup of the food.
The infographics that accompany each explanation provide the chemical makeup of the structure being explained while the write-up gives a good overview of what the chemical is and what it does.
Whether or not you have learned chemistry in school, this book will provide a good explanantion of the chemistry that goes on in food while providing solid science and a dose of good entertainment when throw out at gatherings. For those who want to know more, a list of references is provided at the end.
The author's website provides yet more chemical infographics and explanations for chemistry that goes on around us and, occasionally, that occurs in space and other environments.
Divided into several sections, the books covers how chemistry can affect the way food will taste and smell and how it affects our bodies in good and bad ways. It also looks at how various actions like cooking, refrigeration, fermentation, pasteurisation, etc. affect the chemical makeup of the food.
The infographics that accompany each explanation provide the chemical makeup of the structure being explained while the write-up gives a good overview of what the chemical is and what it does.
Whether or not you have learned chemistry in school, this book will provide a good explanantion of the chemistry that goes on in food while providing solid science and a dose of good entertainment when throw out at gatherings. For those who want to know more, a list of references is provided at the end.
The author's website provides yet more chemical infographics and explanations for chemistry that goes on around us and, occasionally, that occurs in space and other environments.
January 20, 2018
Книжка прикольная - красивая инфографика. Супер-информативной ее не назвала бы. И действительно интересной она будет лишь тем, кто интересуется химией или готов вовлечено гуглить в процессе чтения. Интересная, но покупать не стоит. А вот я поторопилась. Думаю, полчасика беглого знакомства в кофейне Гудвайна (где я ее купила) меня бы вполне удовлетворило.
February 13, 2017
Firstly, yes, this book does explain why asparagus makes your urine stink.
However, a few of the other "questions" in the book are not really answered.
Examples:
1) Why do some people hate brussels sprouts? (Bottomline: We still don't know.)
2) Why do beets turn urine red? (They actually shouldn't - at least, not in "normal" or "healthy" people.)
And some other questions just weren't relevant or interesting enough for me to bother. Like all those alcohol-related ones for instance, since I don't take any alcohol whatsoever. (E.g. Can mixing drinks make your hangover worse? How do bubbles enhance the taste of champagne? Does drinking Absinthe cause hallucinations? What causes the bitterness and taste of beer?)
Annoyingly, there were quite a few of these, which I skipped since I have no interest in alcoholic drinks as they all smell like petroleum to me.
I did find some questions interesting though, like: why some mushrooms are poisonous while others are not; why potatoes turn green; what causes that "fishy smell" in fish; how miracle berries alter our sense of taste; if apple seeds really contain cyanide and so on.
The book does an average job of explaining the answers to these.
If there had been more interesting and practical questions related to foods an average individual normally would (or should) consume, then this would have made for much better reading.
However, a few of the other "questions" in the book are not really answered.
Examples:
1) Why do some people hate brussels sprouts? (Bottomline: We still don't know.)
2) Why do beets turn urine red? (They actually shouldn't - at least, not in "normal" or "healthy" people.)
And some other questions just weren't relevant or interesting enough for me to bother. Like all those alcohol-related ones for instance, since I don't take any alcohol whatsoever. (E.g. Can mixing drinks make your hangover worse? How do bubbles enhance the taste of champagne? Does drinking Absinthe cause hallucinations? What causes the bitterness and taste of beer?)
Annoyingly, there were quite a few of these, which I skipped since I have no interest in alcoholic drinks as they all smell like petroleum to me.
I did find some questions interesting though, like: why some mushrooms are poisonous while others are not; why potatoes turn green; what causes that "fishy smell" in fish; how miracle berries alter our sense of taste; if apple seeds really contain cyanide and so on.
The book does an average job of explaining the answers to these.
If there had been more interesting and practical questions related to foods an average individual normally would (or should) consume, then this would have made for much better reading.
February 26, 2021
This is a quite entertaining book for its short format. I liked that it’s so well researched and I learned a couple of new things, for example that tonic water glows in the dark (and why), or why does orange juice taste so bad after brushing your teeth.
The only statement from the book that I don’t agree with, is when it says “there’s no telltale clue when it comes to spotting which mushrooms are poisonous and which are not.”
As someone coming from a country where mushroom picking is a national hobby, I feel almost offended by this. Of course you can tell which mushroom is which, it just takes time and experience to learn recognize them...
The only statement from the book that I don’t agree with, is when it says “there’s no telltale clue when it comes to spotting which mushrooms are poisonous and which are not.”
As someone coming from a country where mushroom picking is a national hobby, I feel almost offended by this. Of course you can tell which mushroom is which, it just takes time and experience to learn recognize them...
January 11, 2020
Such a clever little book with so many useful and helpful new facts to reference and make things clearer. There's so much going on that we should be more aware of in our diets and this is a wonderful place to start.
March 26, 2018
I wish l had known that chemistry could be this interesting when l was in school! The book is rather addictive, so it's a good thing there's also the website to turn to for more!
March 23, 2019
A chemistry book about our food. Absolutely fascinating.
May 20, 2019
A chemical guide to food.
I found a couple of the section interesting.
Reading time around ninety minutes.
I found a couple of the section interesting.
Reading time around ninety minutes.
May 29, 2020
Unreadable on Kindle
I had to read it on the kindle for android app as it is unreadable on the kindle.
I found the book itself OK, but not that exciting.
I had to read it on the kindle for android app as it is unreadable on the kindle.
I found the book itself OK, but not that exciting.
May 30, 2020
Very interesting afternoon read! The Infographics are great, follow them @compoundchem on Twitter.
December 5, 2023
Really liked how they devote an entire page with the chemical formula diagrams for each question.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews