ABSTRACT
The two terms seasonings and flavorings are used in a sweeping fashion to encompass any substance that adds a flavor to food, and thus includes all the herbs and spices, plus chocolate and vanilla extract as well as some gums and resins. A phenomenon of American culinary history is the towering rise in the consumption of seasonings between the beginning and the end of the twentieth century. After World War II, consumption of seasonings began to shoot up rapidly and steadily. Seasoning Savvy is about flavor, and how to use seasonings to achieve the flavors reader like. Flavor can guide us in making nutritional choices, but that is not all. What the physiologists call the hedonistic aspect of taste, in this case the sheer delight that good seasonings can bring to eating, apparently has real health benefits. Seasonings can make appetizing the foods that the doctor orders, be they low-salt, no-cholesterol, or simply more vegetables.
