Composing Flavors

Appears in

Published 1996

About

The essence of ingredients—which encompasses their appearance, aroma, and texture as well as their flavor—is the starting point of all cuisine. Culinary artists go to great lengths to understand their ingredients as well as possible—everything from their historical origins and uses to exactly how they’re grown or raised.

Cooking is like matrimony—two things served together must match. —Yuan Mel

Only when you understand and respect the essence of an ingredient can you properly come to enhance its flavor through cooking. This takes place in two primary ways: through the application of cooking techniques which serve to change (and, one hopes, enhance) the characteristics of an ingredient, and through combining flavors harmoniously and even synergistically with other ingredients whose properties serve to enhance one another.