Misto de receitas gastronômicas, aforismos e meditações, esta iguaria literária é a verdadeira certidão de nascimento do gênero e seu maior clássico. A fisiologia do gosto , verdadeira certidão de nascimento da gastronomia, é um clássico escrito para paladares delicados e desapressados. Não é obra para quem quer matar a fome, literal ou de saber, mas para quem se delicia com petiscos fugazes, sente um prazer quase espiritual ao folhear as páginas amareladas de um velho caderno de receitas manuscritas e é capaz de evocar o clima de uma época em que se preparava uma perna de vitela com três pombos velhos e vinte e cinco lagostins. Para Roland Barthes, trata-se de um livro paradoxal, "pois o que se exprime pela elegância do estilo, do tom mundano das anedotas e da futilidade graciosa das descrições é a grande aventura do desejo".

The publication of The physiology of taste in the Penguin Classics series is a translation of La physiologie du gout, first published in French in 1825. A few years back, I was interested in writing wine and fine dining reviews professionally and collected and read some books in that field. While other reviews described this book as a must read, I was rather disappointed. I can only say that is this is perhaps due to the early publication date. The book may be remarkable in this form for the genre, but both modern cookbooks as well as novels about gastronomy are much better. ( )

Hoy en día, cuando todo parece haber sido dicho ya sobre las delicias y secretos del arte de la cocina, la prosa de Brillat-Savarin vuelve a recordarnos que siempre queda algo nuevo por aprender y disfrutar. El alto magistrado de la Corte de París que sus contemporáneos describían como hombre serio, de mucho comer y poco hablar, nos sorprende en esta obra con un tratado gastronómico ya clásico, donde las más sabrosas recetas van acompañadas de amenos consejos sobre la forma de curar la obesidad o mejor aprovechar los placeres del lecho gracias a los cuidados de la mesa: un "Dime qué comes y te diré quién eres" indispensable para el buen vivir. ( )

Kulinaristisen kirjallisuuden klassikko on kokoelma herkullisia ranskalaisia kertomuksia pöydän iloista, ruoasta ja juomasta. Kirjasta voi lukea tryffelin eroottisista ominaisuuksista, suklaan sopivuudesta saarnaajille, kenraali Bissonista, joka joi päivittäin kahdeksan pulloa viiniä lounaalla ja lukuisista muista notkuvien ruokapöytien ihmeistä. (Kustantaja)

It's impossible to read any book about French food culture without encountering the name Brillat-Savarin along with a myriad of quotes. ("A dessert without cheese is like a beautiful woman who has lost an eye" is oft repeated.) He published what could be the first foodie treatise in the early 19th century, praising the joys of fine food in orgasmic terms while also espousing on how food impacts sleep (as understood by his own observations) and overall day-to-day existence.

This book must obviously be looked at within the context of the time period. He's a man born in the 1700s, a survivor of the Revolution, and inspired--and limited--by the science of his time. Some of his observations made me roll my eyes, like his rants on obesity: "Obesity produced a distaste for dancing, walking, riding, and an inaptitude for those amusements which require skill or agility." However, after he describes his own recommended diet to reduce fatness, he goes to tell of how he lost an early love to a terrible eating disorder after she took drastic measures as a result of being bullied over her weight. His grief, and his counsel for moderation, rang as quite profound.

Most of the book is about the joy of food, though--and French food at that, still very much worthy of praise. He talks of regional cuisines, and of course things like cheese, truffles, salads, and how the senses are involved with the experience of the gourmandise. It's a shame that he died right as the book was published, as he could have done even more to boost French food in that era. As it is, his influence is still felt today. The man has a cheese named after him. In my judgment, that's one of the best forms of immortality available. ( )