Gastronomy

Defined by the great French epicure and father of the science of Gastronomy Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin from his entertaining and enlightening book
The Physiology of Taste~

Translated by M.F.K. Fisher

"Gastronomy is the intelligent knowledge of whatever concerns man's nourishment.
Its purpose is to watch over his conservation by suggesting the best possible sustenance for him.
It arrives at this goal by directing, according to certain principles, all men who hunt, supply or prepare whatever can be made into food.
Thus it is Gastronomy, to tell the truth, which motivates family cooks, no matter under what names or qualifications they may disguise their part in the preparation of foods.
Gastronomy is a part of:
Natural history, by its classification of alimentary substances;
Physics, because of the examination of the composition and quality of these substances;
Chemistry, by the various analyses and catalyses to which it subjects them;
Cookery, because of the art of adapting dishes and making them pleasant to the taste;
Business, by the seeking out of methods of buying as cheaply as possible what is needed, and of selling most advantageously what can be produced for sale;
Finally, political economy, because of the sources of revenue which gastronomy creates and the means of exchange which it establishes between nations.
It rules over our whole life; for the cries often newborn for his wet nurse's breast; and the dying man still receives with some pleasure his final potion, which, alas, it is too late for him ever to digest!
It concerns also every state of society, for just as it directs the banquets of assembled kings, it dictates the number of minutes needed to make a perfectly boiled egg.
The subject matter of gastronomy is whatever can be eaten; its direct end is the conservation of individuals; and its means of execution are the culture which produces, the commerce which exchanges, the industry which prepares, and the experience which invents means to dispose of everything to the best advantage."

Boom!