Magazine: A spring where flavours flow

It isn’t a written law, but…

Experts say the best-known cuisines of the world use three fundamental ingredients, for instance in an Italian kitchen these are wheat, olives and grapes. Besides the ingredients, cooking methods add a lot to the full flavour experience. Aromas and how food smells provide the basis of the taste experience. In China this is created from ginger, garlic and onions – the majority of stir fry dishes start from here. In the Western World various types of onion, carrot and celery are mixed (mirepoix) and serve as the starting point of meat stew dishes and soups.

Spices add colours and tastes in every kitchen

Fats, sauces and juices

It is also decisive what kind of cooking fat is used in the given cuisine. It can be of animal origin such as lard or vegetable-based like olive oil or ghee – the clarified butter they use in India. Liquids can be the medium that bring together different worlds of flavours, but in many cases they can also be used as complex spice, e.g. fish- or meat-based spicy sauces. Alcoholic drinks can also add a special flavour to a dish: where would coq au vin be without a glass of red wine? Milk-based ingredients such as cream don’t just make food tastier, but also work as food thickeners.

We are impatiently keen on variety

A balance of flavours

Sour flavours are typically delivered by vinegars and citrus fruits. In China rice vinegar is used widely, while in France wine vinegar is the first choice of chefs. It is always some kind of sweeteners that gives sour dishes a balance of flavours. The strongest flavour and dominant colour of a dish come from spices. As we are approaching the Equator, people tend to use more and more spices in cooking. We can see it in the cuisine of every nation that people want to speed up the food preparation process. This is what spice mixes and condiments are good for, e.g. curry, chilli, harissa, ketchup, etc. //