The Flavor Bible by Karen Page & Andrew Dornenbur
In my cookbook-writing quest, I read more than I cook. I know I'm a relative novice in the kitchen, and learning cooking techniques and flavor combinations doesn't happen very fast unless you have a teacher.
However, I'm reading a book that claims to have researched everything-cookery since 2000 and is all about marrying flavors. The first sentence of their book? "Our taste buds can perceive only four basic tastes...."
Sigh. I might as well return it to the library now. Bitches who do their research KNOW that there are five tastes, it's nothing new--umami has been "discovered" by cooks since the revolution of French cooking (when they started focusing on making tasty food instead of pretty food). It was discovered in Japan eons ago, I think around the early 20th century. Bah, bah, bah.
To counteract this misinformation that even head honch cooks cling to, I am going to make at least one of my recipes with MSG and include a little baggy of it with the book.
Yes yes.
I have no illusions that my sweet grandma or religiously health-concious mother will change their minds about the perceived evils of MSG (which stem from a misinformation campaign, although I have no idea who drives it, and the FDA's willingness to not actually research things when they get kickbacks from other food interests.) But I do hope that some people will read about umami, give the MSG a shot, and see for themselves.
I have a curious test for the MSG, actually. I need to make beef jerky soon because the friends I borrowed a dehydrator from are coming back to the states, so a portion of that will be set aside for what will hopefully be a more robust meaty flavor. No idea how it'll turn out :)
However, I'm reading a book that claims to have researched everything-cookery since 2000 and is all about marrying flavors. The first sentence of their book? "Our taste buds can perceive only four basic tastes...."
Sigh. I might as well return it to the library now. Bitches who do their research KNOW that there are five tastes, it's nothing new--umami has been "discovered" by cooks since the revolution of French cooking (when they started focusing on making tasty food instead of pretty food). It was discovered in Japan eons ago, I think around the early 20th century. Bah, bah, bah.
To counteract this misinformation that even head honch cooks cling to, I am going to make at least one of my recipes with MSG and include a little baggy of it with the book.
Yes yes.
I have no illusions that my sweet grandma or religiously health-concious mother will change their minds about the perceived evils of MSG (which stem from a misinformation campaign, although I have no idea who drives it, and the FDA's willingness to not actually research things when they get kickbacks from other food interests.) But I do hope that some people will read about umami, give the MSG a shot, and see for themselves.
I have a curious test for the MSG, actually. I need to make beef jerky soon because the friends I borrowed a dehydrator from are coming back to the states, so a portion of that will be set aside for what will hopefully be a more robust meaty flavor. No idea how it'll turn out :)