Table of Contents; A Note on the Translation; List of Tables, Figures, and Color Plates; Introduction: Why the Need for Note-by-Note Cooking Should Be Obvious; 1. Shape; Polyhedrons; Nonpolyhedral Solids; The Fable of the Man with the Golden Brain; 2. Consistency; A Woeful Misunderstanding; The Relation Between Consistency and Flavor; Not Everything Has to Be Soft; Thinking in Physical Terms; Additives; Contrasting Consistencies; 3. Taste; Color Plates; Misdirection and Misperception; The Impossible Description of Unknown Tastes; Sapid Compounds; Mineral Salts; Organic and Mineral Acids

Amino Acids and Their Derivatives; Sugars; Alcohols and Polyols; Intense Sweeteners; Flavoring Agents; Bitterants; Matrix Effects; A New Basic Taste; 4. Odor; Manipulating Odorant Compounds; Methods of Extraction and Processing; Natural, Same as Natural, Artificial; Volatility, Threshold Perception, Toxic Risk; A Lexicon of Basic Culinary Odors; Odorant Compounds; On the Properties of Odorigenic Extracts and Compositions; Trigeminal Sensations; 5. Color; The Eye Precedes the Palate; Legally Approved Coloring Agents; Natural Versus Artificial Redux; 6. Artistic Choice and Culinary Nomenclature

Substance and FormThe Construction of Flavors; Naming Dishes; The First Generation of Note-by-Note Menus; 7. Nutrition, Toxicology, Market Dynamics, Public Interest; The Mixed Blessings of Abundance; A World of Plenty, Filled with Danger; Selection and Supply of Compounds; Political Considerations; Appendix: A Few Recipes; Index