A New Tool for the Kitchen

This book just arrived from Amazon and it's a wonderful resource. Now that I have narrowed down my cooking ingredients to meats, vegetables, and healthy fats- my next step has been learning how to keep it interesting. I first realized the simple power of spicing things up when I dove into Indian Spices. But my understanding of adding spice combinations hasn't really expanded since then and I am ready to learn more. I am finally understanding the pleasure of cooking and more importantly the art of cooking. I need to follow the exact recipe over and over before I feel I intuitively understand it and can start improvising. And when I do get to that point where I am comfortably improvising beyond the basic recipe, it is a feeling a great empowerment...especially when it's delicious!

Well, this book is absolutely a great empowerment tool for my kitchen and I'm sure I will make many upcoming posts on my discoveries.

Here is what I have learned so far:

Flavor = Taste + Mouthfeel + Aroma + "The X Factor"

Taste = What is perceived by the taste buds
Mouthfeel = What is perceived by the rest of the mouth
Aroma = What is perceived by the nose
"The X Factor" = What is perceived by the other senses - plus the heart, mind, and spirit.

The book is essentially a large index that allows you to look up any ingredient and it gives you a list of other ingredients that magically compliment it and takes into account the 4 elements of flavor. I can already see that this book will introduce food combinations I would have never thought of...and this is a book years in the making with thousands of interviews with chefs all around the country. Lots of exciting flavor bursts await....
I will post my first recipe I experiment with this week.