Building Flavor Profiles

Foods offer complex experiences for the senses. When composing a new dish, a cook must first of all understand that more than just taste should be considered. The senses of sight, smell, taste, and touch all come into play. The fifth sense, hearing, also plays a role, as when we react to the sizzle of a steak or the crunch of a potato chip, but this sense is less of a concern for the cook than the other four. Consider how we perceive these characteristics of a dish: