Обмен веществ. Чего ждать от спаржи, или Почему еда бывает к нам несправедлива

by Andy Brunning

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 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.

Genres: Science, Chemistry, Nonfiction

152 pages, Paperback

First published October 8, 2015

Reviews

[Kam Yung Soh · Rating 5 out of 5]

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.

[Maria Shuliak · Rating 3 out of 5]

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.

[Am Y · Rating 2 out of 5]

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.

[Eva Zeman · Rating 5 out of 5]

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...

[Word Muncher · Rating 4 out of 5]

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.

[GlobeRunner · Rating 5 out of 5]

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!

[Martin Willoughby · Rating 5 out of 5]

A chemistry book about our food. Absolutely fascinating.

[Wilde Sky · Rating 3 out of 5]

A chemical guide to food.

I found a couple of the section interesting.

Reading time around ninety minutes.

[Yvonne Lecocq · Rating 3 out of 5]

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.

[Zsadany · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very interesting afternoon read! The Infographics are great, follow them @compoundchem on Twitter.

[Tao Zheng · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really liked how they devote an entire page with the chemical formula diagrams for each question.