JonR10 wrote:When you (being a Frenchman) cook, why do you combine ingredients? Why not just enjoy them individually? Is it because you use low-quality ingredients so you want to make up for that lack of quality by blending?
First of all, there are lots of ingredients that are used for practical reasons rather than taste. For example, eggs, baking soda or yeast are often used as raising agents. To avoid crystallization of syrup, we use acids like lemon juice, or baking soda. To make things more viscous we can use starch, gelatin, agar-agar. To make chocolate more liquid, we use cream, to make it harder, we use butter. We use colorants. To avoid oxidation, we whip cream with N20. Also lots of ingredients are here just for the style. Icing on a cake looks very good, it does not really matter what taste it has. The ingredients might have an effect on the taste. But it is not always its first role. We also mix for other reasons. I like grilled steak, I like whiskey-pepper sauce. I could take them apart. But I find it more practical to eat them together. I knew a guy who dipped Camembert in his yogurt. That has nothing to do with taste. For the sandwich, yes I can eat ingredients by ingredients. But eating them inside the bread is more practical because you do not need a fork. Note that if you mix your sandwich in a mixer like a milkshake, you will have a completely different experience. I still prefer to eat it as a sandwich because I prefer to feel distinct tastes.
But you are right. There are cases were we mix the tastes. But it is usually using completely different ingredients. Which means that if you want to add a taste of chocolate in your coffee, you would put chocolate, and not try to find another coffee with taste of coffee. I think you can compare blending of coffee to blending of wine, but hardly to a food or cocktail recipe.
So what I understand from what you said is about the balance of the cup. You are fixing the coffee. I accept this explanation.
JonR10 wrote:I apologize, I do not understand this one. What does it mean?
People are used to the taste of things. And if you tend to make something different, the surprise will rarely be good. Even if the new taste is way better. I do SOs and I am please by the small differences I get each time. But when a friend used to the coffee from 7/11 try my coffee, he/she will complain there is too much flavor. And I mean, this is a complaint. I have the impression that people are not very open-minded about taste. The problem can be also seen in tradional cuisine. People tend to like things because they are traditional not because they taste better. But nothing says that traditional food should taste better.
by ValentinDavid on Mon Aug 10, 2009 8:00 am 
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