Flavor Profile
Your
flavor profile is the bouquet of everything that goes into your dish. This
gives your food personality. Your guests have usually made up their mind about
the dish before it even touches their lips. The biggest mistake for the
unprofessional cook is to underestimate the importance of plating. Here is the
order in which people enjoy their food; smell, sight, taste, touch, after taste & hearing. When all of these experiences are pleasant the guests leaves
having enjoyed the meal, when even one of these is lacking in quality the
entire taste of the dish may be compromised.
Smell. About 75% of what we perceive as taste is
actually smell. And your guest starts smelling his/ her meal before it has even
left the kitchen. This means the entire aroma of your restaurant or home may
affect the way their food tastes. This means if you have heavily scented
candles or are wearing perfume, it may affect the way your meals taste. This
means when you burn your rice, and scoop the white rice off the top, it will
still taste burnt even though it isn’t scorched. To create a pleasing aroma,
that your guest will take notice of, add some fresh herbs or citrus zest to
your dish, just before serving. It will act like a palate cleanser for the nose!
When I
am cooking for a large group or just cooking a lot of food, to minimize some of
the excess aroma I crack a window. It’s not to say that the smells are bad, in
fact often, they are pretty wonderful, but I don’t want my guests to get an
overload of the smells before they get to the dish. This way, when I walk out
with their plate the fresh aroma comes with me, and it adds to the initial
appearance of the dish.
Sight. Just like children, adults are making up
their mind before they even know what it tastes like! A simple but beautiful
plate design is my first choice every time. It gives the dish a clean, gourmet
look without making it look overly complicated and intimidating. The other
focus you should have is color. When you have a plateful of potatoes, pasta or
mushrooms, it may taste great but it’s very drab looking. Brighten the plate up
with some Broccoli, Carrots, Tomatoes or other colorful veggies.
Taste. What we’ve all been waiting for. It is
important to remember that the enjoyment of your food isn’t solely based on
taste, that is not to say, however that taste is something we can skimp on.
Rather than talking about ways we can boost the flavor of your dishes, as that
is what the entirety of this blog is about. I’d like to take a moment to
discuss what pitfalls can quickly ruin your diner’s experience.
Seasoning.
Probably the biggest trap of cooks everywhere is seasoning. You have an amazing
soup, it’s seasoned perfectly, and as it’s simmering away waiting for dinner
time it’s condensing and the salt to soup ratio is going up. Your soup is
getting saltier and saltier by the minute! A perfectly seasoned dish is the
goal of every cook. There is only one way to achieve this goal, tasting. When
you put a dash of salt in your sauce, taste it to make sure it’s just the way
you like it. When it comes to salt, under seasoning is always better than over
seasoning. If you accidentally add to much salt, you can counter act the taste
by adding a bit of lemon juice. If you don’t add enough seasoning than your
dish may taste like it’s missing something, but guests can always add a bit
more as needed. The only way to know, is to taste your dish as you’re cooking
& again before serving.
Bitterness.
Many green vegetables, for example are bitter. Brussel’s Sprouts are a perfect
example, even when properly cooked they may hold onto some of their bitter
flavor. Preparing bitter greens with garlic or spicy peppers is the perfect way
to hide that bitter taste.
Burnt.
Once you burn it, it is burnt. There are however, two types of burnt. Burnt
flavorful, as in you blackened it & it has a beautiful dark crust but it is
not yet bitter. And burnt burnt- it’s time for a trip to the trash can. If you
accidentally burn something to that first part where it is flavorful and not yet bitter think about how you can
make that a good thing. Spicy & BBQ flavors go very well with that
blackened cut of meat or fillet of fish, so play that up and add some spices
and call it Cajun!
Home
cooks burn things for usually one of two reasons, the heat is too high &
they lose control or they get distracted and forget… leaving it cooking too
long. I have a magical solution for both of these for you today. If you have
kids running around or find yourself easily distracted by the television set a
timer. Always, always set a timer, even when you know you won’t be distracted this time. If
I have a crazy day & need a timer, I always set my timer for a few minutes
before I expect it to be done, that way I have time to get to it & I have
some wiggle room if I estimated wrong. If you have experienced the losing
control of your heat: you’re sautéing and everything is going well until all of
a sudden your garlic is starting to burn and it doesn’t matter how much you
stir that bad boy is getting more cajuny by the second! I have two tips for
you, if the pan is getting too hot, take it off the burner for a few seconds to
a minute and let everyone settle down. The other tip is to have a small glass
of water or stock nearby. When the pan starts getting to excited through a
splash in there and it will settle things down. Also keep in mind, medium- high
heat is as high as you will ever need to go, almost assuredly. You want to keep
things only as hot at you need them, higher heat doesn’t necessarily mean
you’ll get to eat sooner, sometimes it means you end up ordering carry out
instead.
Touch. Texture is
one of the most missed aspects of cooking a dish. Perhaps because not everyone
is texture-sensitive, but I am! I can enjoy just about any flavor, but if my
broccoli is mush or my banana is too firm- I just can’t swallow that. (pun
attempted…) As a chef, two things come to mind; first, don’t over or under cook
your food- it needs to be just right. Depending on the dish there’s some wiggle
room in what that means. When cooking meat, I use a thermometer & make sure
it is the exact temperature that I want it. For vegetables I check if they are
fork tender & I taste one. For pasta, I taste test. Keep in mind; if you
take your pan off the burner but leave it in the pan, it is still cooking. When
you pull that roast out of the oven, the internal temperature is continuing to
cook the meat. Don’t allow these things to scare you, just keep in mind, if
your sautéed mushrooms or seared asparagus is done to perfection- get it out of
the pan. This is where timing is important, and learning that comes from
experience. You want everything done at the exact same time so everything is
perfectly cooked & hot. If that’s a problem with what you’re making, turn
it into a fancy meal & serve courses- your family will get a kick out of it
and you’ll be able to relax and cook everything the way you want- perfectly!
Second, you have to be aware of what all the
different textures are that are going into your dish and answer one very
important question- do they work together? If they don’t, that doesn’t mean you
have to trash anything & start over. Simply serve those items separately to
avoid any unhappy eating.
After Taste. This is rarely something you need to adjust your dish
for, but it is something you should keep in mind before serving your dish. The
most common issue I’ve seen with after taste is when eating something fried
& fatty and you’re left with that fatty coating in your mouth, that totally
ruins what would have otherwise been a delicious dish. Acid is the best way to
cut through that fat. It can be as simple as serving your crab cakes with a
lemon wedge, or a splash of balsamic vinegar when you’re finishing sautéing.
Wine or citrus sauces are a great pairing with heavy, fatty dishes.
You can also serve a palate cleanser after
the dish. A fresh flavored sorbet is my favorite palate cleanser. Something as
simple as a slice of orange or fresh cucumber salsa can act as a palate
cleanser as well. The goal is to have your guests walking away feeling totally
satisfied & maybe a little impressed with the little extra things you were
able to do that they never would have thought of.
Hearing.
Finally, hearing. This is used constantly
by the chef, sounds give you all kinds of clues as to how the cooking is going
& when things are ready for the next step, it is a skill you develop from experience-
so start paying attention & you too will master this very useful skill. For
the diner, it is also an important part of the meal & in my experience
where home cooks do the most damage to the dining experience. NEVER talk down
about your food. If it tastes bad, they’ll know when they taste it, you don’t
need to forewarn them. If you’re nervous about what you’re serving, say
something about how it was fun to try something new or how you learned a new
way to do something. A simple, “I hope you enjoy this too” is perfectly fine.
DO NOT degrade your food, you’re always going to be your worst critic. It
literally does not matter if you like the food or not, it is all about their
experience. Let them decide for themselves if they like it. When you talk down,
or warn them it might not be very good, you’re telling them to expect bad
things so they are looking for that thing you’re afraid of & it affects the
entire experience.
I hope this helps you see things from a
different perspective. As the cook you’re providing an experience. This is the
same if you’re a chef in a restaurant, catering a wedding or cooking dinner for
your family. This information is meant to provide you with a better
understanding of why chefs do the things they do & how as a home cook you
can steal some chef secrets to create a whole new experience for your family.
This doesn't have to mean more elaborate meals, just more attention to detail.
Now go have fun in that kitchen of yours!
