With
that in mind here are 14 tips from chef Paul Sorgule that will help you to have
a deeper understanding of flavour, kicking your cooking up a level. He has some
interesting ideas on how we should actually define flavour too. Be sure to
check out more of his writing over on the Harvest America Ventures blog. This
is an edited version.
1. Seasonality and
maturity of ingredients is important
When
restaurants serve items out of season or prior to maturity then the consequence
is something that fails on the flavour scale and does little to build a
restaurant’s reputation for exceptional food. Allowing Mother Nature to do her
good work will always serve a restaurant well.
2. Seasoning changes
with the application of heat
Seasoning
a dish to the end game before the cooking process is complete will result in a
dish that clouds the palate with excess. Many spices, in particular, increase
in potency through the cooking process. In particular, peppers and spices such
as curries, cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice will act differently through the
various stages of cooking. To this end, many seasonings are best applied at the
end of the cooking process where they can be controlled.
3. Dried spices lose
their aroma and flavour with time and heat
Proper
storage of dried spices and herbs is as important as proper storage of more
perishable foods. Heat, light, and time is not a friend of dried herbs and
spices, yet in most kitchens these items are stored where all of these factors
are present. That gallon container of dried oregano or basil that sits on your
shelf for a year or so is not a bargain at any price.
4. Heat is not always
a fan of flavour
Flavour
should not hurt! Some peppers are not appropriate for anyone to consume. Ghost
peppers that burn your mouth, oesophagus, and stomach are not part of food
enjoyment; they are really more a part of a game of dares. Other peppers that
are more subdued on the Scovil Scale are improperly used and as such focus on
the pain of heat rather than the joy of flavour. Roasting those peppers,
removing the seeds and pith, will allow the true pepper flavour to come through
rather than inflict discomfort.
5. The source and
terroir matter with food as well as wine
Just
as terroir (soil composition, exposure to sun, rainfall and rain composition,
wind and temperature) impacts on the quality and flavour characteristics of
grapes and in turn the wine they produce, so too will terroir impact on a
tomato, peach, onion, potato, green bean, chicken, steer, pig, or fish. Knowing
where a product comes from will allow the cook or chef to understand its
flavour characteristics and if necessary, adjust how it is handled to reach a
desired outcome.
6. “Needs salt” is
not always the right answer
Chefs
and cooks, just like most customers, suffer from saltshaker’s elbow. There is
no question that salt is not only a flavouring addition, but a flavour enhancer
– bringing out or accentuating the natural flavour of other ingredients. But,
salt, like alcohol, can cloud a person’s tolerance. The more salt you use, the
more you will require in the future to achieve the same result. Chefs and cooks
with great palates will use salt sparingly as an enhancer rather than a flavour
in of itself.
7. Consistency is the
goal of a cook
Flavour
consistency is one of the greatest drivers of return business. Standardised
recipes can help, but they fail to account for variances in ingredient quality
and taste. Cooks and chefs must build an experienced palate if consistency is
to be the foundation of a restaurant’s flavour reputation.
© Photo of American Heart Association
8. Taste and flavour
are not the same thing
Often
misused interchangeably, taste is really one portion of the flavour experience.
Flavour includes aroma, texture, taste, and even the visual aspects of a dish.
How food looks will paint a mental picture of flavour perception.
9. Aroma counts
Never
lose sight of the fact that we have 10,000 taste buds, while we have the
ability to distinguish more than 1 trillion smells with our 400 types of
olfactory receptors. Taste cannot stand alone without the introduction of
smell. In fact, our flavour memory is more based on aroma experiences than
taste. When asked to visualise foods like fresh bread from the oven, a recently
baked apple pie, roast chicken, or a grilled steak, it is the memory of how
each item smells that brings a smile to a person’s face.
10. Your palate can
be trained
Some
individuals are certainly born with more acute “buds,” but most of us have the
capacity to train our palate to recognise and adjust flavour. It is experience
and time that allows a palate to grow and mature. A cook without a
well-developed palate will struggle to understand or create positive flavours.
11. Flavour memory
requires experience
Everything
that we experience with food is imbedded in our subconscious – this is where
our flavour memory is built and stored. In the process of building a palate an
individual must learn how to bring those memories to the surface and out of the
subconscious. For those without the gift of nature’s taste buds the best way to
accomplish this is through repeated experience with a flavour. Cooks and chefs
must try all foods – repeatedly. These same cooks must experience how these
items change with the application of heat, through the use of different cooking
methods, from ingredients of different quality, and with the addition of a
variety of seasonings. There is no other way to reach this goal. Recipes with
flavour experience equal success.
12. Great cooks and
chefs do not limit their palate to food
All
career cooks and chefs must invest the time in not only developing their
flavour memory with food, they must also invest the time to understand those
items that complement the food – wine, beer, coffee, tea, bitters, fresh herbs,
floral introductions, etc.
13. Context is an
important part of flavour memory
One
of the interesting variables with regards to flavour is the environment and the
people associated with eating certain foods. Knowing that this can cloud a
guest’s perception of flavour, it is important for cooks to work with the front
of the house to create an environment that protects and enhances a flavour
experience. Many people do not consider that the service staff can have an
impact on food flavour, but in the process of understanding context a server
can do a great deal through food description, recommendations based on a guest
previous experience, presenting the food with flair, and simply understanding
how important it is to capture the best of the food placed in the kitchen pass.
14. Flavour anticipation
is as important as actually tasting
Restaurant
food is part of theatre. Chefs and restaurant managers are trained to build
anticipation. The ambience of the room, the menu wordsmithing, the
introductions by service staff, the recommendations of the sommelier, and the
exciting presentation of the first course are all designed to build flavour
anticipation. This anticipation becomes the memory that ends up embedded in a
guest’s subconscious. Taste and flavour are important, but the thought of what
an item is likely to taste like is equally, if not more important.
By Tom Jenkins/ FDL/ Harvest America Ventures
blog