Book cover of Gastrophysics

Book description

A ground-breaking book by the world-leading expert in sensory science: Freakonomics for food

'Popular science at its best' - Daniel Levitin

Why do we consume 35% more food when eating with one more person, and 75% more when with three?

Why are 27% of drinks bought on aeroplanes tomato juice?

…

When you buy books, we may earn a commission that helps keep our lights on (or join the rebellion as a member).

Why read it?

1 author picked Gastrophysics as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

Eating, one of my favorite daily rituals, is contiguous with my love of smelling and cooking. Most of what we consider to be the flavor of food arises from retronasal olfaction (the olfactory pathway from the back of the nose). And a great deal of our gustatory experiences are created from a confluence of multiple sensory channels within our headspace.

This piece of knowledge and many others are wonderfully covered in this book. Bringing to bear his cutting-edge research on mutli-modal perception, Spence provides what is to my mind the most enjoyable scientific introduction of gustatory perception and in particular…

If you love Gastrophysics...

Book cover of December on 5C4

December on 5C4 by Adam Strassberg,

Magical realism meets the magic of Christmas in this mix of Jewish, New Testament, and Santa stories–all reenacted in an urban psychiatric hospital!

On locked ward 5C4, Josh, a patient with many similarities to Jesus, is hospitalized concurrently with Nick, a patient with many similarities to Santa. The two argue…

Want books like Gastrophysics?

Our community of 13,000+ authors has personally recommended 100 books like Gastrophysics.

Browse books like Gastrophysics

Book cover of What the Nose Knows: The Science of Scent in Everyday Life
Book cover of Invitation to a Banquet: The Story of Chinese Food
Book cover of Past Scents

Share your top 3 reads of 2026!

And get a beautiful page showing off your 3 favorite reads.

186

readers submitted
so far, will you?

📚 If you like Gastrophysics, you might also like...

Book cover of Creativity, Teaching, and Natural Inspiration

Creativity, Teaching, and Natural Inspiration by Mark Doherty,

I have woven numerous delightful and descriptive true life stories, many from my adventures as an outdoorsman and singer songwriter, into my life as a high school English teacher. I think you'll find this work both entertaining as well as informative, and I hope you enjoy the often lighthearted repartee…

Book cover of AcClaim

AcClaim by Jean Thesquare,

AcClaim is a dark, high-society romance about Beatrix Winslow-Hale, a successful romance author who believes desire can be negotiated and controlled—until enigmatic billionaire Dorian Wolker crosses the line between consensual surrender and violation. Publicly humiliated and emotionally shattered, Beatrix turns to Manon de Rochemaure, her fiercely loyal best friend and…

5 book lists we think you will like!