Welcome to Adi’s Journey Into Nonfiction Land. For the next four weeks, I’ll be reading one food-related book a week and then writing a review, along with some key points/quotes that I think are important. Below is the list of books, along with a quick description of each and why I chose to read them. If anyone is actually reading this post and/or they want to read along with me, that could be kind of fun I guess.
Salt Sugar Fat: How the Food Giants Hooked Us by Michael Moss
Blurb: This book is about the food industry and why the products it produces are the way that they are (that is, extremely unhealthy).
Why I want to read it: I’ve known for a while that so much of the food we eat is, health-wise, absolutely terrible. But I’ve never given much thought as to why: I just kind of assumed that unhealthy ingredients taste better and thus sell better. Of course, no story is ever that simple, and a more in-depth look at the history of the food industry sounds super interesting.
The Botany of Desire: A Plant's-Eye View of the World by Michael Pollan
Blurb: A book about the relationship between humans and the plants we domesticated.
Why I want to read it: I was originally going to read Pollan’s The Carnivore’s Dilemma, but I want to stay away from books that focus too much on the food industry being awful towards animals because I just… don’t want to be that sad. Anyway, the blurb asks whether we have tamed plants or they have tamed us, which to be honest I’ve never considered before, but I’m now very curious. The book focuses on four main plants and how each fulfils a role in satisfying man’s (food-related) desires.
Eight Flavors: The Untold Story of American Cuisine by Sarah Lohman
Blurb: An exploration of eight flavors (black pepper, vanilla, curry powder, chili powder, soy sauce, garlic, MSG, and Sriracha) and how they shaped the American palette.
Why I want to read it: This is less sciencey and more of a history book, which I think will be a nice change from the others in the list. I like books that examine less-known sides of history or look at it from a different perspective. I also enjoy reading about immigrant stories in America, so hopefully this book should be right up my alley.
A Square Meal: A Culinary History of the Great Depression by Jane Ziegelman and Andrew Cole
Blurb: “An in-depth exploration of the greatest food crisis the nation has ever faced—the Great Depression—and how it transformed America’s culinary culture.”
Why I want to read it: The Great Depression was cool. I mean not cool, it was definitely not cool, but you know what I mean. It was interesting.
