Flavor
People eat food because they enjoy the food’s flavor and not just to satisfy their hunger. The ability to deliver flavorful food is the first job of a cook. Flavor is the quality of a food or drink as perceived by the primary senses of smell, taste, touch and, to a lesser degree, sight and sound. Though all the senses can play a role in the perception of flavor, the sense of smell is the primary determinant of flavor. The perception of flavor is also influenced by an individual’s genetics, awareness, experience, and surroundings.
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Smell
Aromas are the odors that we perceive as they enter the nose or up the back of the mouth into the nasal areas. The average person can discriminate between 4,000 to 10,000 different odor molecules!
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Taste
Taste is the sensory input exclusively from taste receptors (taste buds) to the brain. It is widely accepted that there are five basic tastes: sweetness, sourness, saltiness, bitterness and umami. Other sensations, like pungency, spiciness or astringency are different from the 5 tastes because they respond to sensory receptors in other parts of the mouth and not exclusively to the taste buds.
- Sweetness–Sweetness is usually considered a pleasurable sensation and is produced by the presence of sugars. Our ability to recognize sweetness diminishes the more sweet-tasting foods we eat. Sweetness can sometimes be enhanced by adding a small amount of sourness, saltiness or bitterness.
- Sourness–Sourness is the taste that detects acidity. The most common food group that contains naturally sour foods is fruit, such as lemon, grape, orange, tamarind, and sometimes melon. Small amounts of added sweetness can enhance sourness. Larger amounts of sweetness can neutralize sourness.
- Saltiness–Saltiness is a taste produced primarily by the presence of sodium ions, usually from sodium chloride (NaCl). Other ions such as lithium and potassium resemble those of sodium and produce similar salty tastes. Other than salt on potato chips or pretzels, or the saltiness of oysters, very few foods should taste salty. When using salt for seasoning, salt is used as a flavor enhancer and the salt itself should not be tasted.
- Bitterness–Bitterness is generally perceived as unpleasant, sharp, or disagreeable, but it is sometimes desirable and intentionally added to foods and drinks. Common bitter foods and beverages include coffee, unsweetened cocoa, beer, citrus peel, dandelion greens, wild chicory, and escarole. Many naturally occurring toxins are strongly bitter. The ability to detect bitter-tasting, toxic compounds at low thresholds is considered to be a primitive defense mechanism. Bitterness can be offset by added sweetness or saltiness.
- Umami–Umami is described as a savory or meaty taste. It can be tasted in glutamate-rich foods such as cheese, soy sauce, fermented or aged foods and monosodium glutamate (MSG). The taste of umami itself is subtle and blends with other tastes to expand and round out flavors, most people don’t recognize umami when they encounter it, but it plays an important role making food taste delicious.
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Touch
Mouthfeel is the sense of touch inside the mouth. It refers to the texture, moistness or dryness, softness or crispness that is felt. Temperature is a significant contributor to mouthfeel.
- Temperature–The perception of flavors is enhanced when the food is warm. The final seasoning for a food should be checked at its serving temperature. A food that is cooked and then served chilled will need more seasoning when tasted at a warm temperature.
- Texture or Consistency– Texture or consistency is mainly a function of moisture content, the texture of food plays a significant role in its perception of flavor.
Seven More “Tastes”
There are other flavors that are perceived in the mouth but not necessarily on our taste buds. Those flavors include calcium, kokumi or “heartiness”, piquance, coolness, metallicity, fat, carbon dioxide.
Palate
A chef’s most important tool, a palate is the ability to recognize and appreciate a range of flavors. One is said to have a
Flavor Profiles
The primary and supporting flavors in a dish is said to be its flavor profile. Primary flavors identify the dish and supporting flavors enhance the primary flavors with complimentary or contrasting flavors. For example, the meat, tomatoes, chiles and cumin might be the primary flavors in a chili with onion, cilantro and cheddar cheese being supporting flavors.
Complimentary Flavors–Flavors can be enhanced by the presence of complimentary flavors that amplify the same shared taste. Coffee and chocolate for example compliment each other by amplifying the bitter notes in each.
Contrasting Tastes – Contrasting flavors bring balance to a flavor profile. For example sugar and cream tames coffee’s bitterness and lemon brings a balance to the greasiness of fried fish. When using contrasting flavors, it is generally preferred to balance the flavors and not let one flavor dominate.
Where possible, create intentional flavors that compliment or brings harmony to a dish or contrasting flavors. Many of the most successful dishes have both.
When developing a dish and its flavor profiles consider the accompaniments to that dish and how they bring harmony and/or contrast to the dish.
It is too often the case that inexperienced cooks comparing two recipes for the same dish, decide that the one with the longer list of ingredients or the one with most “exotic” ingredients is the better recipe. More experienced cooks tend to work with fewer ingredients, fully developing the flavors of those ingredients for given dish.
Every ingredient in a dish should play a role in the flavor profile of the dish.
Presence of Fats
The presence of fats transmits flavor and coats the tongue contributing to mouthfeel.
Color
We use visual cues from color to identify and judge the quality and taste of what we eat. We associate certain colors with various types of foods from birth, and equate these colors to certain tastes and flavors throughout life. For example, we may expect yellow pudding to have a banana or lemon flavor and red jelly beans to have a cherry or cinnamon flavor. In fresh foods, such as fruits and vegetables, we rely on the color to determine their level of ripeness and/or freshness. If the color of a food product does not match our expectations, we may perceive its taste and flavor differently. Food companies exploit knowledge by altering a food’s color to make it more appealing, replacing or enhancing color lost in processing with artificial colors.
We eat with our eyes first.
Describing Flavors-The Limits of Language
It is difficult to describe an aroma or taste without comparing it to another smell or food. Imagine how you might describe the taste and aroma of cinnamon. Here are some great adjectives to describe the taste of food.
Acidic, Acrid, Aftertaste, Aged, Appealing, Appetizing, Astringent, Biting, Bitter, Bittersweet, Bland, Burnt, Buttery, Chalky, Cheesy, Chewy, Chocolaty, Choice, Citrusy, Cool, Creamy, Crispy, Crumbly, Crunchy, Crusty, Delectable, Delicious, Divine, Doughy, Dry, Dulcet, Earthy, Eggy, Fatty, Fermented, Fiery, Fishy, Fizzy, Flakey, Flat, Flavorful, Fresh, Fried, Fruity, Full-bodied, Gamy, Garlicky, Gelatinous, Gingery, Glazed, Grainy, Greasy, Gooey, Gritty, Harsh, Hearty, Heavenly, Herbal, Honey, Hot, Icy, Infused, Juicy, Lean, Light, Lemony, Malty, Meaty, Mellow, Mild, Minty, Moist, Mouthwatering, Mushy, Nutty, Oily, Oniony, Overripe, Palatable, Pasty, Peppery, Pickled, Piquant, Plain, Powdery, Pungent, Rancid, Rank, Raw, Refreshing, Rich, Ripe, Roasted, Robust, Rubbery, Saccharine, Saline, Salty, Sapid, Sautéed, Savory, Seared, Scrumptious, Sec, Sharp, Silky, Sour, Spicy, Stale, Stringy, Strong, Succulent, Sweet, Sweet and Sour, Syrupy, Tangy, Tart, Tasteless, Tasty, Tender, Toasted, Toothsome, Tough, Unflavored, Unsweetened, Velvety, Vinegary, Watery, Whipped, Woody, Yeasty, Yummy, Zesty, Zingy
Flavor Profiles
Flavor is described much the same way that aromas are described by professional fragrance manufacturers. The language is symbolic of notes on a musical score.
Top or high notes– are the first flavors experienced like the splash of citrus, the handful of fresh herbs, and minced hot peppers.
Middle notes– are the second flavors in this range are much more subtle. They’re not as immediately identifiable and don’t hang around as long as the low and high notes. Think raw vegetables and chicken. (And this is why those often taste bland and boring without any other flavors to fancy them up!)
Low or bass notes– are the primary tastes of sweet, salty, and sour. They are also the deep lingering flavors in foods that form the base or the backdrop for other flavors. Think earthy and umami, like mushrooms, seared meat, and beans.
Aftertaste or finish– describe the last flavor, like the lingering taste of pepper or mustard.
Roundness–describes how well many tastes meld together. The way a chili or stews improves overnight suggests that the flavors have melded together and the overall flavor is more rounded.
Depth of Flavor–describes how many flavors can be detected. A good wine, coffee or chocolate is said to have many tastes and complex flavors.
Flavoring vs. Seasoning
A flavoring adds a new taste to a food & alters natural flavor. Seasoning enhances or amplifies a foods natural flavors, commonly salt. (Seasoning also refers to creating a thin patina of carbon on a steel or cast iron pan or on a grill grate. This seasoning makes a fair non-stick surface and is considered a quality of a good pan.)
Herbs and Spices
An herb is the leaves, stems or flowers of an aromatic plant…the soft parts. A spice is the bark, roots, seeds, buds or berries of an aromatic plant…the hard parts.
Salt
Salt, in the form of sodium chloride, is essential for human life and, until the invention of canning and refrigeration, was the primary method of preservation of food. Before modern mining methods, salt was a limited and valuable commodity. In China, the revenues from the sale of salt helped pay for the Great Wall. The Greeks and the Mayans worshipped their gods with salt offerings. Roman soldiers were given an allowance to purchase salt known as “salarium,” from which we get the word “salary.” It is a myth however, that Roman soldiers were actually paid in salt.
What’s the difference between kosher salt, sea salt, and table salt?
Chemically, there is no significant difference between salts used in cooking. All are at least 97 1/2 percent sodium chloride. But there are significant differences in the provenance, processing and price of these salts.
Table salt is mined from underground salt deposits, and includes a small portion of calcium silicate, an anti-caking agent added to prevent clumping. It possesses very fine crystals and a sharp taste. Because of its fine grain a single teaspoon of table salt contains more salt than a tablespoon of kosher or sea salt.
Sea salt is harvested from evaporated seawater and receives little or no processing, leaving intact the minerals from the water it came from. These minerals flavor and color the salt slightly. However, because these salts are usually expensive, it is worth keeping in mind that they lose their unique flavor when cooked or dissolved.
Kosher salt takes its name from its use in the koshering process, where meat is cleaned of blood with the salt. It contains no preservatives and can be derived from either seawater or underground sources. Aside from being a great salt to keep within arm’s reach when you are cooking, it is particularly useful in preserving, because its large crystals draw moisture out of meats and other foods more effectively than other salts.
For a chef, the main difference between these salts is in the size and texture of their grains. Table salt has fine granules that dissolve quickly, making it the preferred salt for baking or seasoning cold foods like salads. Kosher salt has larger, irregular grains preferred by most chefs. The larger grains are easier to handle in your fingers, measuring the salt by eye. Sea salts are typically used as a finishing salt, where a few large flakes will add crunch and hint of salty flavor.
Proper Seasoning
A properly seasoned dish can be can be the difference between delicious and dull. Proper seasoning is a fundamental culinary technique. Understanding how and when to season is critical to the success of a dish. We season foods with salt to heighten our reception of their natural flavors; not to the point of tasting the salt.
How to Properly Season
- Season evenly, by sprinkling salt high over the food.
- Lightly season ingredients prior to cooking or serving.
- Season throughout the cooking process.
- Season neutrally to draw out the natural flavors of a dish.
- Taste and adjust seasoning just prior to serving.
Iodized Salt
Iodine is an essential nutrient for humans. Since the early 20th century, iodine has been added to table salt to counter a common deficiency in iodine in the US and some other countries. Iodized salt may be used in place of non-iodized salt in cooking applications with generally no noticeable difference. Directly tasting iodized vs. non-iodized salt, one may be able to detect a slight metallic bitterness in the iodized salt.
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