Tasting Food Using Your Nose
Posted: Fri May 11, 2012 12:02
Tasting Food With Your Nose
Did you know we humans experience only four fundamental tastes? Before reading much further, pause and see if you are able to name them. Some scientists allege the existence of a fifth taste called "umami", which they perceive as "savory". As we make distinctions with the unique characteristics of tastes, we perceive flavors. Nothing new here, but did you know that the way a food smells actually accounts for more than 70 percent of the flavor we perceive? Why is the sense of taste so much less complex? Taste merely makes distinctions in the quality of food (or any other material) we have already selected and placed into our mouths. Our four fundamental tastes are sweet, salty, bitter, and sour. In primitive man, a keen sense of smell was vital for successfully hunting food - often under dangerous conditions - and his ability to quickly detect and recognize thousands of odors became advanced. He could qualify it later, using his much less complex sensation of taste. Of course food had to taste good, simply to be palatable.
Odors and aromas of foods need volatile compounds (organic chemicals that have a high vapor pressure at ordinary, room-temperature conditions) to reach our nasal cavities, and the aroma of hot food is usually the only encouragement we need to straighten up and be seated at the dining table. That`s fine for Snagman`s Hungarian Csabaii, but what about Uwanna`s cold Alysandra salami? When the temperature of food drops, very little vapor is released. Accordingly, most cold food does not have much odor, not to mention taste. Thus, a problem occurs when we prepare or eat cold food - how do we keep it interesting? How does Wally soup-up his sensational salami so it attracts a little attention? One solution is to use particularly pungent flavorings such as garlic or onion. Other foods may use citrus for a little potency.
The best answer is to spotlight the four basic tastes of sweet, salty, bitter, and sour. Many sausage makers select strong-smelling seasonings to heighten taste, but because acidity may be detected at low temperatures, the development of lactobacilli becomes most essential. In some cultures, vinegar is sometimes used as it is in chorizo and similar sausages. It`s also found in such cold recipes for pickles, soups, dips, and dressings.
What about our sweet tooth? We focus upon the sweetness of cold desserts such as ice cream by commonly adding hefty quantities of sugar. Only our sensitivity to salt remains somewhat uniform whenever tasting both cold and warm foods, and we usually add comparable quantities to each. Experienced cooks often check cold foods just before serving them to see if they require more salt. Experienced home sausage makers often cook up a quick sample and taste it before the batch is stuffed into casings.
Another consideration is an introduction of contrasting flavors. For instance, sprinkling salt on cold watermelon or pineapple emphasizes their sweetness by providing a distinctive counterbalance. Can you think of any application in sausage making where this might occur?
We have almost 10,000 taste buds inside our mouths and in general, females have more tastebuds than males. Taste buds sensing salty and sweet flavors are located near the front of the tongue while those identifying sour flavors line its sides. Bitter flavors are identified at the very back of the tongue. Our sense of taste is the weakest of the five senses and as we grow older, our taste buds become less sensitive. Many older people are more likely to eat foods they once thought were too strong - including Ross` chicken!
It may be fun to really learn how to taste the sausages you make. Why not take a new approach to savoring your hard work? Begin by tasting any other food - soup for instance. Be sure to check the temperature before placing a scalding, savory, soup sample into your mouth. Juggling a spoonful of steaming, 210-degree, Crusty`s "chicken-noodle ambush" inside your mouth will completely take your mind away from your immediate objective. Smell the sample first. Leave your nasal passages open and close your mouth. Close your eyes and move it all about your mouth or swirl it around a little if tasting liquid. Notice which taste buds react most as you individually evaluate sweetness, saltiness, bitterness, or sourness. Concentrate and appraise each of the four tastes you were born with. Through experience, many chefs develop a talent for correcting their dishes by using their "mind`s eye" - imagining the effect of added seasonings upon their final effort. I`ve seen old time sausage makers taste, squint, rub their whiskers, reach inside the grub box, then add just exactly the right amount of one thing or another to the mixture, "seasonin` the blend" perfectly. These same ol` pros usually stick to the basics - salt, sugar, pepper, and perhaps a "signature spice" to make the best sausage. Most have learned that too much spice or too many spices are simply not necessary to create sensational sausage.
Saddlebum Savvy And Recipe Rescues
As we cook, it becomes important to frequently taste food to avoid the use of too much seasoning or adding it too soon. Removing a spice, herb, or seasoning cannot be done once it has been added. By the way, herbs come from plants - spices from seeds. Some just naturally blend well used together. For example, equal amounts of basil and oregano, with half as much thyme, make a first-rate choice seasoning for thousands of recipes! Some herbs and spices should be used in moderation. Rosemary, ginger, sage, and tarragon have comparatively strong flavors and as a general rule should be used sparingly. On the other hand, some spices or herbs, such as dill, should be used by themselves. Others are added to food liberally, only following the cooking process. This is especially true whenever deep-frying food. Never add spices or herbs to hot oil.
Beginners, believing they may "neutralize" the sweetness of sugar by adding more salt, or curb the taste of salt by using more sugar, have much to learn. Yet, occasionally, some dishes may be adjusted or "pulled up" using a bit of "western saddlebum savvy". The following remedies are not foolproof yet may help if a situation is not too grim.
If a food is too spicy, try adding some sweetness or creaminess. Too sweet? Don`t add salt! Try adding something sour or spicy hot. If a food is too bland, try adding salt or some spicy heat. If it`s too salty, don`t add sugar! As an alternative, try adding something sour. If something is just too harsh, you may try adding a touch of something sweet, and if your cooking just needs a kick in the fanny because it lacks depth, charge it up using something acid or aromatic near the end of cooking - perhaps vinegar or an ingredient with just a bit of spicy heat in it.
I hope your taste buds just reach up and tickle yer` tonsils!
Best Wishes,
Chuckwagon
Did you know we humans experience only four fundamental tastes? Before reading much further, pause and see if you are able to name them. Some scientists allege the existence of a fifth taste called "umami", which they perceive as "savory". As we make distinctions with the unique characteristics of tastes, we perceive flavors. Nothing new here, but did you know that the way a food smells actually accounts for more than 70 percent of the flavor we perceive? Why is the sense of taste so much less complex? Taste merely makes distinctions in the quality of food (or any other material) we have already selected and placed into our mouths. Our four fundamental tastes are sweet, salty, bitter, and sour. In primitive man, a keen sense of smell was vital for successfully hunting food - often under dangerous conditions - and his ability to quickly detect and recognize thousands of odors became advanced. He could qualify it later, using his much less complex sensation of taste. Of course food had to taste good, simply to be palatable.
Odors and aromas of foods need volatile compounds (organic chemicals that have a high vapor pressure at ordinary, room-temperature conditions) to reach our nasal cavities, and the aroma of hot food is usually the only encouragement we need to straighten up and be seated at the dining table. That`s fine for Snagman`s Hungarian Csabaii, but what about Uwanna`s cold Alysandra salami? When the temperature of food drops, very little vapor is released. Accordingly, most cold food does not have much odor, not to mention taste. Thus, a problem occurs when we prepare or eat cold food - how do we keep it interesting? How does Wally soup-up his sensational salami so it attracts a little attention? One solution is to use particularly pungent flavorings such as garlic or onion. Other foods may use citrus for a little potency.
The best answer is to spotlight the four basic tastes of sweet, salty, bitter, and sour. Many sausage makers select strong-smelling seasonings to heighten taste, but because acidity may be detected at low temperatures, the development of lactobacilli becomes most essential. In some cultures, vinegar is sometimes used as it is in chorizo and similar sausages. It`s also found in such cold recipes for pickles, soups, dips, and dressings.
What about our sweet tooth? We focus upon the sweetness of cold desserts such as ice cream by commonly adding hefty quantities of sugar. Only our sensitivity to salt remains somewhat uniform whenever tasting both cold and warm foods, and we usually add comparable quantities to each. Experienced cooks often check cold foods just before serving them to see if they require more salt. Experienced home sausage makers often cook up a quick sample and taste it before the batch is stuffed into casings.
Another consideration is an introduction of contrasting flavors. For instance, sprinkling salt on cold watermelon or pineapple emphasizes their sweetness by providing a distinctive counterbalance. Can you think of any application in sausage making where this might occur?
We have almost 10,000 taste buds inside our mouths and in general, females have more tastebuds than males. Taste buds sensing salty and sweet flavors are located near the front of the tongue while those identifying sour flavors line its sides. Bitter flavors are identified at the very back of the tongue. Our sense of taste is the weakest of the five senses and as we grow older, our taste buds become less sensitive. Many older people are more likely to eat foods they once thought were too strong - including Ross` chicken!
It may be fun to really learn how to taste the sausages you make. Why not take a new approach to savoring your hard work? Begin by tasting any other food - soup for instance. Be sure to check the temperature before placing a scalding, savory, soup sample into your mouth. Juggling a spoonful of steaming, 210-degree, Crusty`s "chicken-noodle ambush" inside your mouth will completely take your mind away from your immediate objective. Smell the sample first. Leave your nasal passages open and close your mouth. Close your eyes and move it all about your mouth or swirl it around a little if tasting liquid. Notice which taste buds react most as you individually evaluate sweetness, saltiness, bitterness, or sourness. Concentrate and appraise each of the four tastes you were born with. Through experience, many chefs develop a talent for correcting their dishes by using their "mind`s eye" - imagining the effect of added seasonings upon their final effort. I`ve seen old time sausage makers taste, squint, rub their whiskers, reach inside the grub box, then add just exactly the right amount of one thing or another to the mixture, "seasonin` the blend" perfectly. These same ol` pros usually stick to the basics - salt, sugar, pepper, and perhaps a "signature spice" to make the best sausage. Most have learned that too much spice or too many spices are simply not necessary to create sensational sausage.
Saddlebum Savvy And Recipe Rescues
As we cook, it becomes important to frequently taste food to avoid the use of too much seasoning or adding it too soon. Removing a spice, herb, or seasoning cannot be done once it has been added. By the way, herbs come from plants - spices from seeds. Some just naturally blend well used together. For example, equal amounts of basil and oregano, with half as much thyme, make a first-rate choice seasoning for thousands of recipes! Some herbs and spices should be used in moderation. Rosemary, ginger, sage, and tarragon have comparatively strong flavors and as a general rule should be used sparingly. On the other hand, some spices or herbs, such as dill, should be used by themselves. Others are added to food liberally, only following the cooking process. This is especially true whenever deep-frying food. Never add spices or herbs to hot oil.
Beginners, believing they may "neutralize" the sweetness of sugar by adding more salt, or curb the taste of salt by using more sugar, have much to learn. Yet, occasionally, some dishes may be adjusted or "pulled up" using a bit of "western saddlebum savvy". The following remedies are not foolproof yet may help if a situation is not too grim.
If a food is too spicy, try adding some sweetness or creaminess. Too sweet? Don`t add salt! Try adding something sour or spicy hot. If a food is too bland, try adding salt or some spicy heat. If it`s too salty, don`t add sugar! As an alternative, try adding something sour. If something is just too harsh, you may try adding a touch of something sweet, and if your cooking just needs a kick in the fanny because it lacks depth, charge it up using something acid or aromatic near the end of cooking - perhaps vinegar or an ingredient with just a bit of spicy heat in it.
I hope your taste buds just reach up and tickle yer` tonsils!
Best Wishes,
Chuckwagon
