Patrick Di Justo (1964–2021)

Written by the same guy who writes the consumer product column for Wired Magazine, which is one of my favorite parts. He researches the ingredients to various everyday food and household products and explains what each ingredient does and what it's effects are on us and our environment. His wry humour and snarky comments made this a very entertaining read.

I did not previously know that much of the cinnamon we buy in the US isn't actually cinnamon, but a lesser-quality plant material. Or that Spam is canned raw and cooked right in the can. Refrigerators in the 1920s used ammonia as coolant, which could and often did leak, poisoning and killing families. (maybe we DO need to keep the EPA!)

The take-away - do not eat Slim Jims or chicken nuggets. Do buy Vita Coco. We already know that we should eat more natural food and less processed ones, but this book explains in chemical detail exactly WHY.… (mais)

Interesting, quick read about the chemical composition of the things we eat and things we put on our bodies. This is an anthology of articles written for Wired magazine. There are some very surprising facts revealed here, and the old adage about not asking how sausage is made comes to mind.

This book got kind of tedious after a while, and it seemed to be the same thing over and over. I can see it working successfully as a one-item article, but a book of them got pretty repetitive after a short time.

My favorite parts of the book were the back stories, where the author explained why/how a product was chosen or how he was ultimately able to find the ingredients.… (mais)

This review is also available on my blog, Read Till Dawn.

Di Justo definitely did his research for this book. He bats around words like "carrageenan" and "3-isobutyl-2-methoxy-pyrazine" as easy as anything, listing off their origins and common uses in terms that anyone (including me) can understand. Each little chapter is only a few pages long, listing out the most bizarre and disgusting ingredients in the featured product. He doesn't just break down food items, though - trust me, you do not want to know what's in that fabric softener you're putting on your clothes!

This is the sort of book that's good in small doses. I read it over the course of a few days, and I think I suffered overload. There reaches a point where nothing shocks you. "Horse fat? Manure? Diesel exhaust? Okay, whatever." Get the book and read it in small doses. A few here, a few there - it's the kind of book you flip through with your friends, making gagging sounds and proclaiming loudly at the crazy stuff they add to make your food look like food. Read it all in one go like I did, and it's senses overload!

Now, I do have a complaint or two to make. My favorite parts of the book are the extra notes he adds to the end of entries, providing some backstory or a funny anecdote about a particular product. However, sometimes he is a bit too crass for my taste. He uses swear words a couple of times, and a bit of crude humor. Also, two of the products he breaks down are "enzyte" and "K-Y Yours Mine Couples Lubricant." I, a rather straight-laced teenager, am a bit hazy on what exactly these are. However, I couldn't get through either of these entries because of all the innappropriate jokes about the products.

It's really too bad that he crosses the line a few times, because if he didn't I would happily recommend it wholeheartedly to anyone looking for a well-researched and hilariously gross look at the food in our pantry. As it is, I still recommend it but with a warning to skip the two products I mentioned above and a heads up that the humor, while usually fine (and hilarious!) becomes too much sometimes.

Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book through the Blogging for Books program in exchange for an honest review.… (mais)