Ingredients: A Visual Exploration of 75 Additives & 25 Food Products

In the bestselling tradition of The Elements and Salt Sugar Fat, an unprecedented visual exploration of what is really inside our food, setting the record straight on the controversial and fascinating science of chemical and synthetic additives in processed food—from Twinkies and McNuggets to organic protein bars and healthy shakes.

What’s really in your food?

We’ve all read the ingredients label on the back of a can, box, or bag from the grocery store. But what do all those mysterious-sounding chemicals and additives actually do?

Focusing on 75 of the most common food additives and 25 ordinary food products that contain them, acclaimed photographer Dwight Eschliman and science writer Steve Ettlinger demystify the contents of processed food. Together they reveal what each additive looks like, where it comes from, and how and why it is used.

Essential for everyone who is concerned about the wholesomeness of their diet or merely curious about “polysorbate 60” or “tertiary butylhydroquinone,” Ingredients is a visually and scientifically stunning journey from ketchup to Cool Whip.

You’ll be surprised at what you find.

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Ingredients focuses on processed food additives from acesulfame potassium to xanthan gum, including artificial and natural flavorings, sweeteners, colorings, preservatives, thickeners, emulsifiers, dessicants, and more.

It also shows what is inside Amy's Burrito Especial, Campbell's Chunky Classic Chicken Noodle Soup, Doritos Cool Ranch Flavored Tortilla Chips, Dr. Pepper, General Mills Raisin Nut Bran, Hebrew National Beef Franks, Heinz Tomato Ketchup, Hidden Valley The Original Ranch Light Dressing, Hostess Twinkies, Klondike Reese's Ice Cream Bars, Kraft Cool Whip Original, Kraft Singles - American Skim Milk Fat Free, McDonald's Chicken McNuggets, MorningStar Farms Original Sausage Patties, Nabisco Wheat Thins, Naked Green Machine 100% Juice Smoothie, Nestle Coffee-Mate Fat Free The Original Coffee Creamer, Ocean Spray Cran-Grape Juice Drink, Oroweat Healthy Multi-Grain Bread, PowerBar Performance Energy Bar Oatmeal Raisin, Quaker Instant Oatmeal Strawberries and Cream, Red Bull Energy Drink, Snickers Bar, Trident Perfect Peppermint Sugar Free Gum, and Vlasic Ovals Hamburger Dill Chips.

Winner of the 2016 IACP Judge's Choice Award

“…photographer Dwight Eschliman captured some of the most common ingredients included in supermarkets’ many, many processed foods… science writer Steve Ettlinger dissects those details, exploring each ingredient’s journey from raw material to highly refined ingredient to your plate.” -- Katie M. Palmer ― Wired.com

“Eschliman’s images put common ingredients like corn syrup, chlorophyll, MSG, caramel color, and folic acid in the spotlight for once, instead of relegating them to a behind-the-scenes role.” -- Shaunacy Ferro ― Mental Floss

“…a simple exploration of ingredients that most of us know nothing about, even if we're eating them on a regular basis.” ― Fast Company & Inc.

“Dwight Eschliman and author Steve Ettlinger present a peek behind the matrix for an unfiltered glimpse at the real ingredients that processed foods are cooked manufactured with. “ ― GOOD

“Photographer Dwight Eschliman and writer Steve Ettlinger, seeks to demystify 75 common food additives—their curiosity about additives comes through on every page. Each photo gives a rich sense of the additive's color and texture, and the text regularly throws in additive trivia.” ― NPR ‘The Salt”

"Whether or not you want them on your plate, these Ingredients prove a feast for the eyes and mind.” -- Priyanka Mattoo ― mental_floss

"This book belongs in the library of everyone who cares about what goes into their food." -- Cree LaFavour ― New York Times Book Review

Dwight Eschliman is a world-renowned photographer whose work spans subjects from bicycles to Legos, clean rooms to castles in Germany, the newest tech products to Twinkie ingredients. His work has appeared in the New York Times Magazine, Time, Esquire, dwell, and Wired and in campaigns for Absolut, Apple, Audi, and other companies whose names do not begin with the letter A. Dwight lives near San Francisco with his wife and two sons.

Steve Ettlinger has been an author, editor, and book producer since 1985, and has helped create over forty books—with more than a million copies sold—that explain complex and daunting but common things like wine, artificial food ingredients, ethnic cuisines, beer, and DIY hardware. Ettlinger is the author of Twinkie, Deconstructed and is a former president of the American Book Producers Association. He is a graduate of Tufts University. Ettlinger lives in New York City.