The Science and Craft of Artisanal Food

You are what you eat, and today's consumers care about the origins of their food. Artisanal food embodies those concerns, tailoring processes to raw materials to achieve the artisan's vision of the perfect product. The Science and Craft of Artisanal Food describes the science behind small and large-scale production of food, distinguishing artisanal production from normal commercial practice.

Each chapter is written in a collaboration between scientists and artisans, comparing the production methods used to create beer, wine, chocolate, coffee, cheese, honey, olive oil, and fruits and vegetables. These expert contributors highlight the differences in practices that cause artisanal food to vary in composition, flavor, and texture from mass-produced food. Milk from particular breeds, grapes adapted to the local climate, olives and cacao from a historically important cultivar, or coffee beans from a specific climate can make all the difference. This book reveals the factors that make a difference in each product, and teaches readers how to assess the producer's messages to evaluate their authenticity.

Michael H. Tunick has had 40 years of experience as a chemist and research chemist at the U.S. Department of Agriculture. In that role, he planned and conducted research aimed at creating new dairy products and expanding marketability of existing products. Since retiring from USDA in 2017, Dr. Tunick has been an Assistant Clinical Professor of Food Science at Drexel University. He teaches a variety of courses and serves as a mentor for students in the M.S. in Food Science program.

Andrew L. Waterhouse is the Director of the Robert Mondavi Institute at the University of California, Davis. He attained his PhD in chemistry from the University of California, Berkeley and has an Honorary Doctorate from the University of Bordeaux. His graduate students and post-docs are winemakers, researchers, and faculty in California and elsewhere around the globe. He is a co-author of Understanding Wine Chemistry (2016) and is the Co-Editor in Chief of The Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture.