Harold McGee – who usually writes about the science of cookery – had always been struck by the way foods could smell of something unrelated – the whiff of pineapple in parmesan or chestnut honey in tortillas – so 10 years ago he became a “smell explorer”, annotating not just the layers in specific smells but also the molecules behind them. He takes apart the smell of rain on parched earth, candle flames, the scents created by parfumiers. McGee wants you to smell more, to pay attention, to enrich your life by using this sense more fully. I’m now a signed up “smell explorer” too. Nose Dive opens up a world full of wonder. It’s an enthralling, extraordinary, life- affirming book.
— Diana Henry, The Telegraph, 26 Sept. 2020
Olfactory Bliss
The dean of food-science writers brings his matchless descriptive powers to the ‘osmocosm’—the totality of scents in the world around us.
. . . fans of Mr. McGee’s culinary writing won’t be disappointed—there are several hundred pages devoted to scrumptious foods, both raw and cooked. He articulates the secrets of truffles and peaty whisky. It’s important to note that Mr. McGee isn’t blustering here, the way some wine snobs speak cryptically—and unverifiably—of certain “overtones” in their favorite vintages. Like an analytical chemist, he catalogs the exact molecules that each food or substance emits, and how they combine like musical notes to produce a scent chord. He offers some general rules for correlating molecular structure with aromatic sensation—that sulfur is generally pungent, and large molecules are more pleasant than small ones. It’s fascinating stuff.
— Sam Kean, The Wall Street Journal, 23 October 2020
Of all the human senses, smell is perhaps the least appreciated, even when its major role in tasting is acknowledged. In his detailed survey of scents, food writer and cooking scientist McGee elegantly explains olfaction. "When we smell something, it's because particles of that thing—its vaporized, airborne, volatile molecules—enter us and momentarily become part of us." His exploration of our smelly world includes the odors of flora and fauna, soil and smoke, food and fragrances, but also the unexpected: primordial earth, rain, and the whiff of old books. Pungent and even rancid smells—skunk spray, ammonia, manure—are as respected as such delectable aromas as lemon, coffee, and rosemary. Odiferous facts abound. A section on the human body is notable, with a scent "recipe" for underarm sweat (vinegar, cheese, mushroom, onion, meat, grapefruit, metal, rancid goat). More pleasantly, the fallen leaves of the Asian katsura tree have the scent of cotton candy, cake, and caramel. Numerous tables summarize the molecular composition and source of odors of selected entities. Even with helpings of organic chemistry, this is a delightful outing across the olfactory world.
— Tony Miksanek, Booklist, 15 October 2020
Award-winning science writer McGee (On Food and Cooking) offers an exhaustive compendium on odors and their chemical makeup. He begins by explaining that chemical volatiles that drift from their sources provide us with these smells, what he calls the osmocosm. Those chemicals began in space before earth existed. He grounds his study in the original chemicals, the building blocks, which serve as ingredients for all odors, and explains how our brains perceive them. Jumping off from this foundation, he devotes sections of the book to the specific odors emanating from animals, from plants, and from the stuff of earth itself (the waters, land, and gases). His concluding section includes chapters on perfumes, on the varied aromas of cooked foods, and on cured and fermented foods. In every chapter, numerous tables note the item, its smell, and its chemical composition. He often makes interesting connections between odors that exist in widely different and unexpected places. The reader may wish to dip in and out of this exceedingly thorough book, following their fancy.
VERDICT: Perfect for foodies, those interested in science, and the innately curious. Engagingly written, this would be a wonderful ready reference to have on hand.
— Caren Nichter, Library Journal, 1 October 2020
The ultimate obsessive’s guide to all things olfactory.
If you’ve ever been curious as to why cat urine is so potent, why feet stink, or, more pleasantly, why flowers smell so lovely, then this is the tome for you. McGee, who has written multiple books about the science of cooking and displays an encyclopedic knowledge of the “wide world of smells,” invites readers to become “smell explorers.” The author seems equally fascinated by the smells of flowers, trees, plants, and other organisms as well as some of the foulest funks out there (human excrement, dead flesh). “Despite its longtime reputation as one of the lowest of human faculties,” he writes, “smell clearly has the power to engage us with the world around us, to reveal invisible, intangible details of that world, to stimulate intense feeling and thought: to nudge us into being as fully and humanly alive as we can be.” Throughout, McGee dives deep into the science and taxonomy of smells, and he augments the text with plentiful charts that provide visual demonstration of his discussions. . . . This is a unique project executed meticulously from beginning to end.
Equips readers with all the science necessary for a life of heightened smell perception.
— Kirkus Reviews, 15 September 2020
