..where teens can learn to cook restaurant quality meals for the family
The 5 basic tastes
Sweet. You know what that is. It’s the opposite to bitter (below). Sensible amounts of sweetness in the right foods can be appealing. It’s no surprise that kids often like things sweet, and adults develop a taste for less sweet, and sometimes more bitter or sour. What no one really likes is when things are too sweet! So tread carefully.
Sugar and honey are sweet. So are many fruits. And carrots.
Sour. This can cut through sweetness or richness and add a tang that really brightens things up. Again, use carefully.
Citrus fruits are sour. So’s vinegar. And fermented foods. Yum.
Salty. Salt is magic. About 0.4% of the human body is salt. And that keeps you functioning just fine. So you don’t really want to under or over salt things! Getting the amount of salt right in your food is the magic ingredient that brings out the flavours. Always put in minimal, then taste, and add more if required.
Anchovies and soy sauce are salty. Hard cheeses can be too, like parmesan. And stocks. And processed meats. Who the hell puts salt on their bacon?
Bitter. When done right, adding bitterness can turn a basic dish into a pro dish. And when balanced with sweetness or richness it can create interesting new flavours.
Dark leafy greens, broccoli, olives and pure cocoa powder are bitter.
Umami. Not Japanese for “your mum” but it is Japanese for “delicious taste”. Bit vague. But worth shooting for don’t you think? It’s worth understanding. Umami is the taste that comes from ‘glutamates’ or glutamic acid. They are in many natural foods. Ultimately they provide a depth of flavour that makes people go “yum!” without realising why.
You get these in tomatoes, mushrooms, aged cheeses, anchovies, fermented foods, stocks, fish sauce and Worcestershire sauce.
Umami can also be enhanced by this important chemical reaction…
The Maillard Effect
This is really important to understand! Not so that you can show off your French again (the French pronounce it ‘my-YAR’ and the English tend to say ‘mah-YARD’). It’s what happens when apply heat to food and the amino acids and sugars react together sending your food brown, and creating an amazing new flavour. Think: grilled sizzling steak, or turning bread into toast.
It’s chemistry at work. Science. That you get to eat. How good’s that?
You want to be mindful of the Maillard effect in your cooking. One way to fail to create it is when you overcrowd a pan with chunks of meat. Each chunk of meat uses some of the heat available. Put too much in, and each chunk isn’t getting enough heat to experience the Maillard effect. And so you end up with greyish or beige miserable looking meat!
But put a smaller number of chunks of meat into a hot oiled pan, and listen for the sizzle, and your meat should quickly take on a glossy brown look that tastes amazing. You’ve just created the Maillard effect and you will be rewarded for your prowess in chemistry. Maybe not earning the Nobel prize. But you will be rewarded with some nice tasty pieces of meat. Which is probably better for people like us.
You’re a scientist and an artist, so experiment
Good recipes are great for a predictable and repeatable result. But they needn’t lock you in to just one way of doing things. As you learn and improve, start playing around by adjusting quantities, measures and flavours. Ramp some up and pull back on some, but always taste and think about the differences. That’s how to learn and how you’ll improve as a chef.
Also, if you’re missing certain ingredients (or even just to push yourself to learn further) get used to Googling (or using ChatGPT or other AI) for substitutes for ingredients. Just type in, for example, “anchovies substitute”. (I can tell you now, Worcestershire Sauce is a great substitute for anchovies, because it’s made from them!)
Season to taste
These words are mentioned in many recipes. Get your seasoning, salt and pepper right. Always add minimal first (you can’t remove it if you add too much!) And over salting is a fast way to ruin a dinner. So add minimal, taste, think, and add more if required.
You can use the same approach for adding other ingredients too. Put a small amount in, taste, think, and add more if you want.
And remember to balance the 5 tastes! Too sweet? Add some bitter or sour. Too bitter? Add something sweet.
And don’t forget umami. And udaddi. (OK, I made the last one up.)