I remember when friends of mine were taking college courses on anatomy and physiology (A & P). They would talk about feeling overwhelmed by all the muscle groups, anatomical structures, etc. I am sure that learning all the seasonings and spices and variations of them does not compare in complexity to what they were learning, however, by the time I was done reading the section on seasonings in Deborah Madison’s book I felt overwhelmed. I knew there were different kinds of salts, peppers, vinegars, and oils, etc. However, reading about each of them, the variety of herbs and spices, nuts, and the variety of ways in which one could make breadcrumbs and croutons and tortilla chips was making my head spin. Each piece of information I read was important for me to know. I learned about all the chemicals that are in food that I had never stopped to think about before, like bottled lemon and lime juices. I learned that the way in which some foods say they are produced could be misrepresentative, such as shelled nuts, which say they are roasted, but are really fried.