"Describes Benedict Arnold's actions during the Revolutionary War and his betrayal of the Patriot cause"--

"The history of how a set of ancient laws and regulations adapted to modern practices of American food production and foodways"--

One morning while reading Barron's, Kara Newman took note of a casual bit of advice offered by famed commodities trader Jim Rogers. "Buy breakfast, " he told investors, referring to the increasing value of pork belly and frozen orange juice futures. The statement inspired Newman to take a closer look at agricultural commodities, from the iconic pork belly to the obscure peppercorn and nutmeg. The results of her investigation, recorded in this fascinating...

More than Mom's apple pie, peanut butter is the all-American food. With its rich, roasted-peanut aroma and flavor; caramel hue; and gooey, consoling texture, peanut butter is an enduring favorite, found in the pantries of at least 75 percent of American kitchens. Americans eat more than a billion pounds a year. According to the Southern Peanut Growers, a trade group, that is enough to coat the floor of the Grand Canyon (although the association does...

"We have all had that experience with the friend who has a new diet, one that he's following enthusiastically. Or maybe we've been that friend, adopting a new diet because we learned about it from another friend, or read about it online, in a magazine, or heard a compelling celebrity endorsement. Most such diets promise the same things: weight loss, better health, better sleep, mental functioning and a general improvement in mood and affect - in other...

"Herve This (pronounced "Teess") is an internationally renowned chemist, a popular French television personality, a bestselling cookbook author, a longtime collaborator with the famed French chef Pierre Gagnaire, and the only person to hold a doctorate in molecular gastronomy, a cutting-edge field he pioneered. Bringing the instruments and experimental techniques of the laboratory into the kitchen, This uses recent research in the chemistry, physics,...

In the West, we have identified only four basic tastes--sour, sweet, salty, and bitter--that, through skillful combination and technique, create delicious foods. Yet in many parts of East Asia over the past century, an additional flavor has entered the culinary lexicon: umami, a fifth taste impression that is savory, complex, and wholly distinct. Combining culinary history with recent research into the chemistry, preparation, nutrition, and culture...

To some, food allergies seem like fabricated cries for attention. For others, they pose a dangerous health threat. Food allergies are bound up with so many personal and ideological concerns that it is difficult to determine what is medical and what is myth. This book parses the political, economic, cultural, and genuine health factors of a phenomenon that now dominates our interactions with others and our understanding of ourselves. Surveying the...

"Cooking food is one of the activities that makes humanity unique. It's not just about what tastes good: advances in cooking technology have been a constant part of our progress, from the ability to control fire to the emergence of agriculture to modern science's understanding of what happens at a molecular level when we apply heat to food. Mastering new ways of feeding ourselves has resulted in leaps in longevity and explosions in population--and...

Offers 12 different views on the environmental disaster that lasted for years. Each page provides information about what happened during the Dust Bowl and how it affected different people, along with interesting sidebars, questions to consider, and historical images.