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than reason, taste subsequently climbed the sense hierarchy and assisted countless others attain similar distinction. Back in the kitchen, and more able to speak knowledgeably about literal tastes, the cook, too, had climbed in status, able to speak of Gastronomic science, while philosophers addressed and even debated taste. In closing, Hoffmann reminds us that the Latin verb to taste, sapere, also means to know. Thus homo sapiens implies not just ‘knowing man’, but ‘tasting man’. Commencing with cookbooks, Hoffmann’s volume takes us on a great journey that, ultimately, explores that which makes us human. An impressive and nuanced study, it is, above all, a worthy addition to the expanding menu of sensory studies.