Flavorista

Understanding Taste -Day 3 from Harold McGee Lecture Series

November 12th, 2009

 

I won’t even attempt to be linear in explaining all that I learned at the French Culinary Institute’s Harold McGee Lecture Series. Day 3 was of particular interest to me as I had just completed The Taste of Sweet by Joanne Chen, a most compelling read for any flavorista.  Paired with what we did on day 3, it was all the more valuable. 

 

We started the day with an incredible exercise.The photo above features a small cup with a substance that looks a bit like dirt. That is gymnema sylvestre a tropical plant from India that has been used there to stabilize blood glucose levels.  The gynmemic acid apparently works by blocking the sweet receptors on the palate. Dave Arnold purchased it from a local health food store and emptied the contents of the capsules for us. We were warned that it would taste bad but that we had to keep it on our tongue in order for the experiment to work. Indeed, it was awful but worth it.

    

The first thing we put in our mouths was pure sugar. It was like having sand on my tongue. The grape juices had little to no flavor, the already anemic strawberry provided nothing but texture, the marshmallows were bizarre and the apple was crisp and juicy, but that was it. The only substance that had a robust floral essesence, strong enough for me to identify it, was the honey.

So what is the possible lesson to be gained from such an experiment? It serves as a reminder that we sense things as a whole but it’s really an integrative experience. We each live in our own sensory universe and when part of our internal universe is blocked, i.e. when you have a bad cold or burn your tongue, taste is no longer the same thing.

I guess it was of particular interest to me because I help companies develop products. So often I feel that prepared foods and packaged items are overly sweet. After confirming with the PROP test that I am "a super taster" that makes sense. Super tasters taste louder (which isn’t always great and is no badge of honor). Chen’s book does an honorable description of the test so I won’t even try.

In any event, the exercise helped me to truly appreciating the art of flavoring food in a balanced way. I wonder if there is potential in marketing goods to super tasters? With PROP testing it usually works out that 1/4 of the people can’t detect the flavor, 1/4 are highly sensititive (like me) and 1/2 sense it but only mildly (the masses).

I wonder if my 8 year old is a super taster? Every flavor, with the exception of salt and sugar, screams in his mouth while the rest of us wonder if there could be a bit more spice in our food. I think he fears tasting new foods as a result.

Anyway there is so much more to learn on the subject and I will continue to explore the science of flavor. Stay tuned for the test we did with yumberry!

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