When it comes to food, taste is everything. In the past, humans needed to eat because our body requires the energy and nutrition from food to survive. Since then, our experience with food has evolved. We now expect food to be delicious. If not, we complain about it to the restaurant or write bad reviews online in sites such as Zomato or Yelp. We're quick to say "too greasy" or "too bland" if the flavor is out of balance.
As home cooks, we owe it to ourselves and to the people that we cook for to learn how to flavor properly. The infographic guide shown below can help you do that, but it can only serve as a reference. You need to experiment in the kitchen to learn.
We all start out in the kitchen roughly the same way: we follow recipes, we are taught by our loved ones, or we go to culinary school. As we get better and become more confident in our cooking, we should learn how to flavor food ourselves. Understanding how to combine and balance flavors is a very important if you want to be a good cook.
You need to understand the individual components of each recipe. The five tastes can help you with that: salty, sweet, sour, bitter and umami. How does ingredient add flavor to create a dynamic dish? If that bottle of salt went missing, can you add something else to the dish so that it tastes just as good or even better?
It's not going to be easy. Just know that master chefs are not made overnight, they practiced and worked hard to get to where they are. The important part is taking that first step, and telling yourself that you would like to be a better cook. Good thing there's an in-depth guide by Cooksmarts that can help you accomplish that goal.
So learn to flavor your meals properly with these tips. Don't forget to share it with your friends!
This post is part of a series on Essential Infographics For Serious Foodies.
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Cheers,
Chef Jay
I'd rather call you Chef Jay because my nickname is also Jay:) I cook my own meals since I live alone. Hopefully, I can learn to cook beyond sinigang, adobo, and the usuals. I'll print this and post on my little kitchen. I was just wondering why tomatoes was put under salty/umami.
ReplyDeleteHi Jay! Thanks for dropping by. Well, tomatoes aren't naturally salty but they are rich in Umami, adding to the 'savoury' aspect of the dish. Try reading up on the fifth taste, you'll enhance flavor in no time! :D
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