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The Five Senses
Human beings have five senses: sight, smell, taste,
touch, hearing
ALL PLAY A ROLE IN COOKING!
The Five Senses
Taste: Food that comes in
contact with our tongue
Taste buds detect flavors
Sweet, sour, salty, bitter,
umami (savory)
Umami is often described as
meaty or brothy and is found in
meats, some vegetables, and
fermented foods such as soy
sauce
Umami = MSG (monosodium
glutamate)
The Five Senses
Sight: What our eyes see
Typically this is the first sense we
experience with food
We prefer foods that look good
“People eat with their eyes.”
If it looks gross, typically people won’t
try it!
The Five Senses
Smell: Another very powerful sense
We use smell to monitor ripeness and cooking process
Humans distinguish between thousands of different aromas
Foods that are especially strong smelling = aromatic
Taste and smell work together
If there is no smell it is often harder to taste!
Example: eating when you have a cold
Smell can also help us determine difference between foods that look and taste similar!
Orange vs. tangerine
The Five Senses
Touch:
How we experience a foods texture and temperature
Another way to determine ripeness
Texture can impact how a food tastes
Thick/chewy foods stay in our mouths longer than thin foods
Fatty, oily, or rich foods coat out mouths for a fuller flavor
We also experience sensations through touch
Examples: burn of a pepper, cooling of a mint, puckering of a
lemon, fizz of carbonation
The Five Senses
Hearing: Important in the
overall food experience
Crisp foods are expected to
make a crunch sound
A hot platter is expected to
sizzle
Chefs use sound to communicate
how quickly a food is cooking
Fast boil vs. simmer
Garlic sautéing in a pan
Baked dish sizzling vs. silent
Changing a Food’s Flavor
Ripening and aging – flavor of most food
changes as it ripens or get older
Not ripe = bitter/bland (because it is not fully
developed)
Ripe = richest flavor
Overripe = spoiled/rotten
Example: green tomatoes are tart, ripe
tomatoes are sweet, overripe tomatoes tastes
fermented
Changing a Food’s Flavor
Temperature – cold foods tend to be less
flavorful than warm/hot foods
Example: a cold tomato from the fridge tastes
more mild than a tomato sitting at room
temperature
Preparation and cooking – how we prepare
foods impacts their flavor
Example: cutting a tomato subtly changes the
way it tastes
Example: cooking that tomato until it’d browned
will change the taste more drastically
Describing Flavor
Can use the five types: sweet, sour, bitter, salty,
umami
…but we want/need more than that!
The way a flavor looks:
You can predict based on appearance
Fresh? Unblemished? Good color?
Other ways to describe flavor based on appearance:
Opaque, translucent, transparent, clear, specific colors
Describing Flavor
The way a flavor smells:
The way something smells before you eat it may be very different than how it smells once you put it into your mouth
Common ways to describe the way a food smells that invoke a taste:
Perfumed
Pungent
Earthy
Stale
Musty
Fresh
Strong
Intense
Describing Flavor
The way flavor feels:
Texture is the way it feels when you touch, cut, or bite it
Common ways to describe the way a food feels that invoke a taste:
Firm, hard
Soft
Melting
Crisp, crunchy, crumbly
Airy, frothy, foamy
Watery, thin
Thick, heavy, dense
Warm, hot
Cold, cool
Describing Flavor
The way flavor sounds:
The sounds a food makes gives us a clue as to how it
will taste
Common ways to describe the way a food sounds that
invoke a taste:
Snap
Sizzle
Pop
Crackle
Crunch
Fizz
Herbs
Leaves and stems of certain
plants
Used to flavor dishes
Certain herbs (or herb
combinations) are associated
with certain cultural groups:
Basil and oregano = Italian foods
Tarragon and chives = Chinese
foods
Oregano and mint = Greek foods
Herbs
Selecting fresh herbs:
Fresh herbs should have a pleasant aroma
Fresh herbs should be a vivid color with leaves in tact
Stems should be firm and not split
As herbs age their flavors become weaker
Yellow/pale or wilted herbs will not have good flavor
Storing fresh herbs:
Should be kept in the refrigerator
Wrapped loosely in damp paper toweling
Kept in a loosely closed plastic bag
Last several days
Herbs
Many herbs are sol dried, ground, or as a powder
Moisture is removed which concentrated the herb’s flavor
Dried herbs should have a pleasant smell
Musty smell or no smell means they are old and should be
discarded
Most last about six months
Should be stored in a cool, dry, airtight space away from
sunlight
For MOST herbs you can substitute 1 teaspoon of dried
herb for every 1 tablespoon of fresh herb
Spices
Aromatic ingredients added in small amounts to foods
them a specific flavor
Seeds, roots, bark, stalks, or fruits from a wide
variety of plants
Whole spices last longer than ground spices
Example: whole peppercorns can last several years vs.
ground pepper will lose some of it’s flavor after 6 months
Some spices are “blended” meaning they have more
than one spice/herb mixed
Examples: curry powder, chili powder, pumpkin spice, and
dry meat rubs
Additional Aromatic Ingredients
Aromatic vegetables/fruits – add flavor and aroma
Plants in the onion family (onions, leeks, garlic, etc.) are most common
Additional examples include celery and mushrooms
Citrus fruits such as lemons, limes, and oranges
Dried fruits like raisins or apricots
Aromatic liquids – add aroma to a dish
Broths/stocks, spirits (brandy/liqueurs), flavored oils, extracts
Cured foods – foods preserved by drying, salting, pickling, or smoking
Examples: ham, bacon, olives, salted anchovies
Add a savory flavor/aroma along with saltiness
Aromatic Combinations
Any time you use more than one flavoring or aromatic ingredient in a dish
Examples: mirepoix, sachet d’epices, bouquet garni
Mirepoix: combination of vegetables used as an aromatic flavoring
Cut veggies into large or small pieced (depends on cooking time)
Common types:
Standard – 2 parts onion, 1 part carrot, 1 part celery (sometimes a tomato paste is included) – used for soups, stocks, gravy
White – 2 parts onion/leeks, 1 part parsnips, 1 part celery – used in white stock and soups
Cajun – combination of onion, celery, green pepper – used in Creole and Cajun dishes
Matignon – combination of onion, carrots, celery, ham
Battuto – cooking fat, garlic, onion, parsley, carrots, celery – used in Italian soups, stews and meat dishes
Aromatic Combinations
Sachet d’epices: (bag of spices)
Mixture of fresh and dried herbs and dried spices that are
tied into a cheesecloth
Standard includes peppercorns, dried thyme, fresh parsley
Bouquet garni:
Mixtures of fresh herbs that are tied together
Usually includes an aromatic vegetable such as garlic or
scallions
Standard includes fresh thyme, fresh parsley, rosemary,
citrus peels