Delicious cover art

Delicious

The Evolution of Flavor and How It Made Us Human

 Preview
This Season's Biggest Deal

$0.99/mo for 3 months + $20 Audible bonus voucher

Auto-renews at $8.99/mo after 3 months. Cancel anytime.
Get this deal
Offer ends on 28 December, 2026.
More purchase options

Delicious

By: Monica Sanchez, Rob Dunn
Narrated by: Russell Bentley
Get this deal

Auto-renews at $8.99/mo after 3 months. Offer ends 28 December, 2026. Cancel anytime.

Buy Now for $22.89

Buy Now for $22.89

This Season's Biggest Deal | $0.99/mo for 3 months + $20 Audible bonus

Auto-renews at $8.99/mo. after 3 months - terms apply.
Summary

This delightful audiobook narrated by Russell Bentley offers a savory account of how the pursuit of delicious foods shaped human evolution
Nature, it has been said, invites us to eat by appetite and rewards by flavor. But what exactly are flavors? Why are some so pleasing while others are not? Delicious is a supremely entertaining foray into the heart of such questions.
With generous helpings of warmth and wit, Rob Dunn and Monica Sanchez offer bold new perspectives on why food is enjoyable and how the pursuit of delicious flavors has guided the course of human history. They consider the role that flavor may have played in the invention of the first tools, the extinction of giant mammals, the evolution of the world's most delicious and fatty fruits, the creation of beer, and our own sociality. Along the way, you will learn about the taste receptors you didn't even know you had, the best way to ferment a mastodon, the relationship between Paleolithic art and cheese, and much more.
Blending irresistible storytelling with the latest science, Delicious is a deep history of flavor that will transform the way you think about human evolution and the gustatory pleasures of the foods we eat.

©2021 Princeton University Press (P)2021 Princeton University Press Agricultural & Food Sciences Anthropology Biological Sciences Biology Evolution Evolution & Genetics Food Science Science

Critic Reviews

"One of New Scientist's best science books to read in 2021"
"A New Scientist Book of the Year"
"A Choice Outstanding Academic Title of the Year"
"Our hosts at this empirical dinner party envision a new future for the study of flavor, with seats for the curious of every stripe. . . . A persuasive, entertaining argument about how our avid pursuit of deliciousness helped shape our evolutionary path."
All stars
Most relevant
the narrator's voice ruined this one, way too monotone, random inflexions every now and then. this made it difficult to concentrate on the content of the book. wouldn't recommend.

narrator's voice was too monotone

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
In the spirit of reconciliation, Audible acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to their elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.