Gourmandism is an act of judgment, by which we prefer things which have a pleasant taste to those which lack this quality.
Interpretation
Gourmandism reflects a preference for pleasurable tastes over those that are not enjoyable.
In this quote, Brillat-Savarin highlights the concept of gourmandism as a conscious choice made by individuals to seek out and appreciate flavors that bring joy and satisfaction. This idea underscores the importance of taste and the sensory experience in our consumption choices, suggesting that pleasure plays a fundamental role in our relationship with food.
In practice
This quote can be used in a culinary presentation to emphasize the importance of flavor in cooking.
It has been shown as proof positive that carefully prepared chocolate is as healthful a food as it is pleasant; that it is nourishing and easily digested... that it is above all helpful to people who must do a great deal of mental work.
The limits of pleasure are as yet neither known nor fixed, and that we have no idea what degree of bodily bliss we are capable of attaining.
Place a substantial meal before a tired man and he will eat with effort and be little better for it at first. Give him a glass of wine or brandy, and immediately he feels better: you see him come to life again before you.
In the hands of an able cook, fish can become an inexhaustible source of perpetual delight.
You first parents of the human race...who ruined yourself for an apple, what might you have done for a truffled turkey?
Cooking is one of the oldest arts and one which has rendered us the most important service in civic life.
Food is our common ground, a universal experience.
A recipe is a story that ends with a good meal.
Coffee - the favorite drink of the civilized world.
All of the people who work in the kitchen with me go out into the forests and on to the beach. It's a part of their job. If you work with me you will often be starting your day in the forest or on the shore because I believe foraging will shape you as a chef.
Avoid at all costs that vile spew you see rotting in oil in screwtop jars. Too lazy to peel fresh? You don't deserve to eat garlic.
The great virtue of a diversified food economy, like a diverse pasture or farm, is its ability to withstand any shock. The important thing is that there be multiple food chains, so that when any one of them fails-when the oil runs out, when mad cow or other food-borne diseases become epidemic, when the pesticides no longer work, when drought strikes and plagues come and soils blow away-we'll still have a way to feed ourselves.
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