Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso Summary

In the introduction, author Isabel Allende discusses the connections between people, sensory perception, and memory. She explains why memories of a favorite aunt are linked in her mind to the scent of violet PASTILLES, or candies. Allende tells about the fisherman who first gave her a taste of sea urchin when she was young, forever linking the smell of iodine to the memory of that fisherman and images of sea urchins. Allende explains that all the important people in her life, particularly men, are associated in her mind with specific foods.

Allende's purpose in writing this collection of recipes is to entertain and be creative. The author says she has researched the substances, spells, and magic that have been employed over the centuries to incite passion, and she proves it by providing examples: potions used by Cleopatra...