Flavors & Seasoning

Building Flavors  Enhancement and judgment of flavors is one of a cooks most critical task, one requires experience and judgment.  The combination of flavors and aromas that make up the total taste impression of a dish is called a Flavor Profile

Building Flavor Profiles  When composing a new dish, a cook must first of all understand that more than just taste should be considered. Sight, smell, taste, touch, and also hearing  hearing plays a role when we react to sizzle of steak or crunch of a potato chips.  Characteristics of a dish Aroma, Appearance color and color contrast, shape, shine arrangement on the plate), Taste, Mouth feel( texture, moistness, dryness, softness, or crispness and temperature).

Primary and Supporting Flavors  The flavors are broken into two categories: Primary flavor and Supporting flavors. The flavors of the main ingredient are the Primary Flavors The Support flavors support and enhance the flavors of the primary flavors of the main ingredients.  Refer to recipe.

General Concepts in Building Flavor  Every ingredient should have a purpose.  Ingredients should work together by harmonizing or by contrasting  When two ingredients contrast, be sure they balance.  Consider not only the components of the single recipe but also other items that will be served with it on the plate.

Simplicity and Complexity  Simple is usually better.  The more flavors you the harder it is to balance the recipe. When you add more flavors sometimes the primary flavors get lost.  Sometimes simpler is better is not always accurate. Most Classical dishes and different countries have complex flavors.

Understanding What Works Together  Study traditional recipes from around the world( see handout #2)  If you are looking to create your own dishes refer to classical recipes as a start.

Seasoning and Flavoring Ingredients  Enhancing the natural flavor of food without significantly changing its flavor is called seasoning.  Adding a new flavor means adding a new flavor to a food, thus changing or modifying the original flavor is flavoring.

Seasoning  The most important time for seasoning liquid foods is at the end of the cooking process. Remember the last step in most recipes is “adjust seasoning”. That means 1 st taste and then evaluate the product. 2 nd you decide what needs to be done to improve flavor.  Salt and other seasoning are added at the beginning of cooking particularly for larger pieces of food.

Seasoning Continued  Adding some of the seasoning during cooking process also aids in evaluating the flavor along the way.  Do not add as mush seasoning if it will be concentrated during cooking as when liquid is reduced.

Flavoring  Flavoring ingredients can be added at the beginning, middle, or end. Depending on the cooking time, the cooking process, and the flavoring ingredient. Fresh herbs, sherry, or flamed brandy, and condiments like prepared mustard and Worcestershire sauce these are the few flavorings that can be added successfully at the end of cooking.

Flavoring Contd.  Most flavoring need heat to release their flavors and for flavors to blend. Whole spices take longest. Ground spices release flavors more quickly and thus don’t require as long a cooking time.  Too much cooking results in loss of flavor. Most flavors, whether in spices of in main ingredients are volatile, which means they evaporate when heated.

Common Seasoning and Flavoring Ingredients  Any food product can used as a flavoring ingredient, even meat.  Refer to handout#2 and 3