February 21, 2012

Flavor is probably the most important aspect in any dish and the most misunderstood.  To create flavor in a dish, layering flavors is necessary to find the right balance and depth.  Flavor is the distinct quality of a food type that is perceived by the taste buds coupled with the sense of smell.  Hence food must taste good and smell good!  There are five distinct tastes: sour, salty, sweet, bitter and umami.  When creating a dish, think of how to combine flavors that depict the type of taste you are going for. Think about the simple version of a dish and then think about what spice, herbs or other seasonings can you add to create more depth.  Today each group prepared a version A and a version B dish.

1. simple carrot soup for version A and white carrot soup with ginger for version B.
2. mango and orange salad with lobster for version A and version A plus curry
3. chocolate Pot de Creme for version A and version A plus ginger, orange peel and cardamon
4. mashed potatoes, pork chop, mushrooms and red wine sauce for version A and garlic mash, Dijon crusted pork chop, thyme and cumin mushrooms and rosemary and coriander red wine sauce.

Tasting A and B versions really helped to express how different ingredients can create deeper and more complicated flavor levels.  The pork chop had so much going on, that there were to many flavors and the true essence of the dish was lost.  Balance, balance, balance - but go out on a whim and kick it up a notch!!

Hints:
-always start potatoes in cold salted water and bring up to a simmer
-make sure the star of the plate is the star and does not fall into the background
-think complimentary flavors
-garlic mash - place smashed garlic cloves in the boiling potato water and cook with potatoes!
-to steam lobster, use a pan with a rack and cover. Place water on the bottom and you have a homemade steamer!
-do not throw away lobster roe - can make a delicious pasta, cream sauce or butter.  Adds a certain depth to a sea food plate
-think out of the box and play around.  next time you roast veggies take a few and add a new spice.  The more you taste and try the flavors, the more natural pairing flavors will come

We had a tour of Eastern Standard and Island Creek Oyster today with chef Jeremy Sewall - the running of a vast food facility takes a lot of people, organization, communication and patience!