The way to taste

The seasoning method, also known as the seasoning method, is to select the appropriate condiments according to the requirements of the taste of the dishes, according to the characteristics of the flavor substances in the raw materials, and combine these condiments to flavor the dishes according to a certain proportion, so that the taste of the dishes can be formed and determined. After the cooking raw materials are heated, they will produce certain tastes and smells, which are generally not obvious, some need to add other flavor substances to reflect, and some are masked or transformed when other flavor substances are added. This plasticity of the flavor of the ingredients provides an opportunity to enrich the flavor of the dish when seasoning. The organic combination of flavor substances in condiments to affect the flavor substances in the raw materials is the way of seasoning. There are four basic seasoning methods: flavor contrast, flavor multiplication, flavor sanitization, and flavor transformation.

1. Contrast of tastes

The contrast of taste, also known as the prominence of taste, is a seasoning method in which the flavor substances of two or more different flavors are mixed in a disparity proportion, resulting in a large amount of flavor substances with outstanding tastes. In the cooking instructions, a small amount of salt is used to contrast the umami in the soup, a small amount of salt is used to increase the sweetness of the syrup, and the crab is boiled in salt water to highlight the umami, etc., all of which use the contrast of flavors to highlight a certain taste. From the above example, it can be seen that the contrast of taste mainly relies on salt to highlight the taste of other flavoring substances, so there is a saying that "salty has the king of flavors". Therefore, it can be said that the appropriateness of saltiness in seasoning is an issue that cannot be ignored.

When the ratio of sugar to salt is greater than 10 to 1, the sweetness of sugar can be increased, and when the ratio is less than 10 to 1, the sweetness of sugar will be reduced. When making soup, the ratio of salt to fresh soup is too small, that is, when the mouth is light, the umami taste of the soup is not obvious. When the ratio of salt to fresh soup is too large, that is, the mouth is heavy, the umami taste of the soup will be masked by the salty taste. Experiments have shown that when the amount of salt is added to a certain amount, with the increase of MSG, the umami will gradually increase, and when the amount of MSG increases to a certain amount, the umami will decrease. This experiment tells us that although the comparison method is to compare the flavors of large amounts of flavor-presenting substances by the disparity ratio, there is a limit to this disparity in proportion. What is the most appropriate ratio should be experienced in practice.

2. Multiplication of flavors

The addition of flavor, also known as the addition of flavor, is a seasoning method in which two or more flavor-presenting substances of the same flavor are mixed to further strengthen the taste. Using this principle, a new powerful monosodium glutamate is synthesized industrially with 95% monosodium glutamate and 5% sodium inosinate, and the umami taste can reach several times that of ordinary monosodium glutamate. In cooking seasoning, the multiplication of flavor is usually used in two situations, one is when it is necessary to improve a certain main flavor in the raw materials, such as adding monosodium glutamate to animal dishes with soup sweat, so that the umami of the dish is multiplied, and dishes made of animal raw materials,

The soup is rich in new substances, which are fused with monosodium glutamate to enhance the umami of the dish; Due to the lack of umami, chicken, duck and pork bones are often boiled and steamed together during cooking, so that the flavor substances in chicken, duck and pork are fused with the flavor substances in bear paws to improve the fragrance and umami of bear paws. In order to improve the sweetness of bananas when seasoning honey bananas, sugar and honey are used to increase the sweetness in a multiplicative way to improve a certain taste in the raw materials; The second is when it is necessary to supplement the flavor of raw materials, such as sea cucumber, bird's nest, fish maw, fresh bamboo shoots and other raw materials to have a very weak umami, or even no taste, when seasoning, it is necessary to make fresh soup and monosodium glutamate in a moderate proportion of multiplication to supplement the flavor, so as to improve the seasoning effect.

3. Mask of taste

Taste masking, also known as taste sanitizing, is a seasoning method in which two or more flavoring substances with significantly different tastes are mixed and used, resulting in the weakening of the taste of various flavor substances. After the flavor substances in the raw materials and the flavor substances in the condiments are fused, when the taste is obviously different, there will be an obvious mutual masking effect. For example, chili oil is very spicy, adding an appropriate amount of sugar, salt, monosodium glutamate and other condiments to it can not only make the chili oil rich in taste, but also effectively alleviate its spicy taste.

In cooking, beef, mutton, aquatic products, viscera products, radishes and other raw materials, often have a heavier astringency and fishy smell, only part of it can be removed by heating, and the more effective way is to eliminate it by seasoning, that is, only a part of it can be removed by heating, and the more effective way is to eliminate it by seasoning, that is, at the same time while heating, choose the appropriate seasoning method to remove the above-mentioned peculiar smell in the raw materials.

There are two ways to remove odors by seasoning:

One is to use some condiments to cover up the exertive flavor substances, such as ginger ketone, gingerol, gingerol in ginger, cinnamon in cinnamon, disulfide in onion and garlic, ethanol in cooking wine, acetic acid in vinegar, etc., when these condiments are coheated with raw materials, the volatility of their volatile substances is strengthened, thereby diluting and covering up the peculiar smell in raw materials; The second is to use the chemical elements in some condiments to sanitize, such as trimethylamine oxide in the fish body, which is originally the main substance of fresh fish, but when the fish dies, this substance is gradually reduced to trimethylamine with a strong fishy odor under the action of enzymes and bacteria, which has a great impact on the taste of dishes. After analysis, trimethylamine has two properties that can be used by us when flavoring. First, it is alkaline and can be neutralized by adding vinegar; Second, it is soluble in ethanol and can be dissolved by adding cooking wine. Therefore, adding cooking wine and vinegar when cooking fish can not only produce esterification reactions to form aromas, but also sanitize the fishy smell in the fish.

In seasoning, the masking method of flavor can effectively eliminate the flavor that people do not like in the raw materials and condiments. However, this method may also mask part of the flavor of other flavor substances and cause side effects, so it needs to be improvised, such as when seasoning with sweet and sour sauce, in order to make up for the mutual concealment between various flavors, the amount of various seasonings should be used more. 　

4. Transformation of taste

The transformation of taste, also known as the change of flavor of taste, is a seasoning method that mixes a variety of flavor substances with different tastes to cause the original taste of various flavor substances to change. The transformation of taste is caused by two reasons.

On the one hand, complex chemical changes occur after the case of flavor substances in raw materials and condiments, so that the taste of the original flavor substances changes, such as the strange taste of Sichuan, and the sweet, salty, fragrant, sour, spicy, and umami condiments are fused in the same proportion, and finally lead to sweet but not sweet, fragrant and non-fragrant, sour and non-sour, spicy and non-spicy, fresh and non-fresh, salty and non-salty, and this paradoxical taste is modulated through the transformation of taste. On the other hand, it is the physiological impression of the feeling of taste, such as drinking water after drinking sugar water, you will feel that the water is also sweet; After eating spicy dishes, you will feel that these dishes have a spicy taste. The transformation of flavor can be used to modulate compound flavors when seasoning individual dishes, but it should be prevented in the design of flavors for the whole table.

In general, the change in the taste of banquet dishes requires "salty and sweet first, fresh and spicy first, sour and then bitter, light and rich first, and dim sum with the mouth of the big dish", which is to prevent the heavier flavor substances from leaving a temporary impression on the physiological sensory system, and interfere with the taste buds' perception of the lighter flavor substances, so as to avoid various dishes from smelling each other in the mouth.

　　The taste of dishes is often a compound flavor with several tastes, and the compound flavor is combined through various seasoning methods. It is a variety of single flavors through different permutations and combinations of seasoning methods to achieve the purpose of enriching the taste of dishes. The above four seasoning methods have their own characteristics, and if they are used properly, they will be "100 dishes and 100 flavors", and if they are not used well, "100 dishes and 100 flavors". But they are by no means separate, but mutually influencing and intersecting. When using one method for flavoring, it is important to consider whether there will be side effects of other methods, such as how to overcome them. The level of seasoning techniques is actually the level of comprehensive sports seasoning methods.

There are thousands of compound flavors in dishes, and there is no fixed taste pattern, and the various compound flavors mentioned above are only a part of it. The purpose of learning seasoning methods is to guide our seasoning practice through this theory, and to create a more beautiful and popular compound flavor through practice.

10 herbs hidden in the kitchen that can both flavor and nourish!

Traditional Chinese medicine in the kitchen can both flavor and nourish

Many traditional Chinese medicines can not only cure diseases, but also commonly used condiments in daily life.

scallions

Green onions are one of the more common ingredients in our daily diet. In addition to adding flavor to the diet, it also has the effect of publishing yang and relieving diaphoresis, and can be used to treat wind and cold. Modern studies have shown that green onions have the effects of antipyretic, expectorant, promoting digestion and absorption, antibacterial, antiviral, lowering blood lipids, lowering blood pressure and lowering blood sugar.

ginger

As the saying goes, "the magic use of ginger is a good recipe", the inconspicuous ginger in the kitchen is actually a commonly used traditional Chinese medicine, which has the functions of dissolving the surface and dissipating cold, stopping vomiting in warmth, dissolving phlegm and relieving cough, and relieving fish and crab poison, etc., and can be used for wind and cold, stomach cold and vomiting, cold phlegm cough, fish and crab poisoning and other symptoms.

Grass fruit

Caoguo has the effect of dryness, dampness and temperature, and is used for abdominal distension and pain, ruffian vomiting caused by cold and damp internal resistance, as well as malaria cold and fever, plague and fever. Those who are deficient in qi or blood loss, and those who have no cold and dampness are taboo.

pepper

Zanthoxylum pepper has the effect of relieving pain, killing insects and relieving itching, and can be used for cold pain in the abdomen, vomiting and diarrhea, and abdominal pain in the abdomen. External use to treat eczema, itching and other symptoms. Chewing peppercorns can be effective in relieving toothache. People with yin deficiency and fire and pregnant women are not suitable for taking peppercorns.

star anise

Star anise is used in medicine to warm the yang and dispel cold, regulate qi and relieve pain, and is used for cold hernia abdominal pain, kidney deficiency and low back pain, stomach cold vomiting, cold abdominal pain, etc. It should be noted that excessive consumption of star anise can damage the eyes and sores, and it is not recommended for people with false fire.

nutmeg

Nutmeg has the effect of warming the qi, astringency and antidiarrheal, and is used for spleen and stomach deficiency and cold, long-term diarrhea, abdominal distension and pain, lack of food and vomiting. But consuming too much can cause dizziness, vomiting, and nausea.

garlic

Garlic has the effects of detoxification, swelling, insecticide, and dysentery. Modern studies have shown that garlic has a sterilization and anti-inflammatory effect, and at the same time, it also has a strong antiviral ability and has the effect of disease prevention and health care.

clove

Cloves have the effect of reducing inversion in temperature, tonifying the kidney and helping yang, and is used for hiccups and vomiting, vomiting and diarrhea caused by spleen and stomach deficiency and cold, cold pain in the heart and abdomen, and kidney deficiency and impotence. It is important to note that cloves and tulips cannot be used at the same time.

cinnamon

Cinnamon has the functions of replenishing fire and helping yang, leading fire to return to the source, dissipating cold and relieving pain, and warming the meridians, and is used for cold pain in the waist and knees, dizziness and redness, cold pain in the heart and abdomen, dysmenorrhea and amenorrhea, etc. Patients with bleeding tendency and pregnant women should use with caution.

Angelica dahurica

Angelica dahurica has the functions of dissipating cold and relieving the surface, dispelling wind and relieving pain, promoting nasal passages, stopping dryness and dampness, reducing swelling and draining pus. It is used for colds, headaches, nasal congestion, runny nose, toothache and other symptoms. Angelica dahurica can be used as a condiment to remove the fishy smell of beef and mutton very well.

It's healthy to eat like this! Don't ignore these condiments

Hot pot barbecue, spicy hot fried chicken, milk tea, ice cream...... With the improvement of living standards, our food categories are abundant, delicious and delicious drinks emerge in an endless stream, but behind the food there are hidden health risks

High-salt, high-sugar, high-fat diet is a risk factor for obesity, cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, diabetes and other metabolic diseases and tumorsPhysical health is inseparable from dietary health.

Salt reduction

Adults should consume no more than 5g of table salt per day (about 5g of salt in 1 beer bottle cap).

1. Cultivate a light taste, use alternative methods to gradually reduce the amount of salt, and use a rationed salt spoon when cooking at home to cultivate light eating habits. Choose fresh ingredients and cook them with as much flavor as possible, so that you don't need to add too much salt and other condiments to enhance the flavor of your food. Use more natural seasonings, such as Sichuan pepper, star anise, chili, green onions, ginger, garlic and other natural seasonings to flavor.

2. When using cooking methods reasonably, you can wait until it is almost out of the pot or turn off the heat before adding salt, which can reduce the amount of salt while maintaining the same saltiness.

3. Eat less high-salt foods, pay attention to "hidden" salt, buy less high-salt foods, eat less pickled foods, and eat more fresh vegetables and fruits. Condiments such as chicken bouillon, oyster sauce, light soy sauce and other condiments are sometimes high in salt, and some pre-packaged foods, such as biscuits and noodles, may not taste salty, but they also contain salt.

Reduced oil

Adults consume 25~30g of cooking oil every day (about 10g of 1 white porcelain soup spoon of oil).

1. Change the cooking method such as steaming, boiling, stewing, stewing, sliding, boiling, mixing and other cooking methods to reduce the amount of oil.

2. Eat less fried foodFried food is a high-fat, high-energy food, which is easy to cause excess energy.

3. When cooking at home, choose an oil control pot with a scale to control the amount of oil.

4High-temperature cooking oil, margarine, creamer, shortening, etc. may contain trans fatty acids. To reduce your intake of trans fatty acids, do not exceed 2 grams per day. Eat less fried crispy foods and processed snacks such as cookies, pastries, chips, chips, etc.

5. Read the Nutrition Facts TableWhen buying packaged foods, learn to read the nutrition facts list on the packaging and insist on choosing foods with less oil.

Sugar reduction

It is recommended that the daily intake of added sugars should not exceed 50g, and it is best to control it below 25g (1 white porcelain spoon of sugar is about 10g).

1. Sugar-sweetened beverages are the main source of "added sugar" for children and adolescents, try to drink less or no sugary drinks, and do not use drinks to replace drinking water. The best way for the body to rehydrate is to drink plain water. In mild climates, adult males should drink at least 1700 mL (about 8.5 glasses) of water per day, and women should drink at least 1500 mL (about 7.5 glasses) of water per day.

2. Eat less sweet foods, such as: pastries, desserts, candies, preserves, jams, etc.

3. Cook and stir-fry with less sugar.

4. Learn to check the nutrition facts list on food labels, choose drinks that are low in carbohydrates or sugars, and watch out for hidden sugars.

5. Pay more attention to controlling the intake of added sugar when eating out or going out.

One-click interpretation: the application of spices in flavoring and seasoning!

Simple, a clove of garlic and two slices of ginger, and sprinkle with a handful of chopped green onions, you can make the fresh "fresh" burst out to the fullest.

To the multiplicity, star anise, cinnamon, Sichuan pepper, tangerine peel, angelica, cumin, bay leaf, grass fruit and other dozens of spices are made into marinade, accumulating numb, spicy, fresh, fragrant, intersecting the ingredients in the tip of the tongue of all kinds of taste.

Flavoring ingredient of spices

Spices refer to certain essential oils that have taste properties such as natural taste or smell and can be used as edible spices or condiments in specific parts of plants (roots, stems, leaves, buds, seeds, etc.) or extracted from plants (flowers, leaves, stems, roots, fruits, whole herbs, etc.).

The effect of spice fragrance mainly comes from the aromatic components in it, most of which are composed of dozens or even hundreds of compounds. The ingredients with more prominent aroma are pinene, linalool, gingerol, cinnamaldehyde, eugenol, etc. There are four main types of aroma compounds in spices:

01 Aliphatic compounds

Aliphatic compounds are widely found in natural flavors, such as the leaf alcohol contained in green leafy plants, cis-3-hexenol, which has the fragrance of grass; Rue oil contains rutinone, which is methyl nonyl ketone.

02Aromatic compounds

Among natural spices, aromatic compounds are also quite extensive, such as eugenol in clove oil; thymol in thyme oil; anethole in fennel oil; cinnamaldehyde in cinnamon oil; vanillin in vanilla, etc.

03 terpenoids

Terpenoids tend to form the main components of various spice oils, such as menthol in peppermint oil; Eucalyptol in eucalyptus oil accounts for about 70% of eucalyptol, etc.

萜烃类化合物：月桂烯、罗勒烯、柠檬烯、姜烯、α－蒎烯、β－蒎烯、α－杜松烯、α－金合欢烯等。

Terpene alcohols: nerolidol, geraniol, citronellol, linalool, etc.

Terpenal aldehyde compounds: citronellal, citral, hydroxycitronellal, peveraldehyde, perilla, etc.

Terpenoids: mentholone, piperanone, camphor, etc.

Terpene ester compounds: menthyl acetate, citronellyl acetate, geranyl acetate, etc.

04 Nitrogen-containing and sulfur-containing compounds

These compounds are present in natural spices, but in very small amounts. Spices containing propyl sulfide or allyl sulfide chemical structure components generally have the flavor of onion and garlic.

Typical spice ingredients include diallyl disulfide, allyl mercaptan, methacrylenyl disulfide, methylpropyl disulfide, propylene disulfide, propyl disulfide, etc.

The flavoring effect of spices

The role of spices in seasoning is mainly to improve and strengthen the aroma and taste of food and enhance people's appetite by stimulating various nervous systems such as vision, smell, taste, pain and temperature perception. Spices have many functions, including improving the color, aroma and taste of food, turning the otherwise monotonous taste into an easily accepted taste. When judging the deliciousness of food, it is generally based on the five senses.

1. Visual perception of color

Spices such as the red of bell pepper, the yellow of turmeric, the dark red of saffron, etc., all have very bright colors, and they can obtain a direct color effect after being used in food cooking, which has an obvious effect on promoting appetite.

Second, the sense of smell captures odors

There are many factors that can affect the strength of a person's appetite, but in the process of judging the edibility of a substance and whether an appetite is generated, people first rely on the sense of smell. After the sense of smell of spices is captured, it is transmitted to the lower part of the brain through the central nervous system for sum processing, and the olfactory information is reprocessed by the high-level joint control mechanism formed by the lower part of the brain and the close system, and finally forms the "appetite" or specific "ingestion" action. The smell of spices has a strong stimulating effect on the central nervous system such as the cerebral cortex.

3. Taste perception of taste

The traditional taste sense in mainland China is generally "sour, sweet, bitter, spicy, and salty", and spicy taste is also regarded as one of the main tastes. However, the modern 4 and 5 bases do not include spicy (5 bases: sour, sweet, bitter, salty, and umami). In fact, spicy taste is a stinging sensation on the tongue, nose and oral mucosa, such as mustard and horseradish spicy taste has a nasal irritation, garlic spicy taste has a stinging sensation on the tongue and capsaicin stinging sensation on the oral mucosa.

Fourth, the tolerance of pain to the degree of stimulation

The spice's spicy taste is first and foremost capsaicin, which is felt in the tongue and mouth, along with a certain tingling sensation.

Spicy is the effect of capsaicin, piperin, etc. on people's senses, while spicy is the spicy taste of mustard, horseradish, garlic, and the main components are thiocyanate and thioether.

Due to the different ingredients, people feel different about spiciness.

Such as cinnamon, cloves, thyme, allspice, etc., the spicy components of these spices include cinnamonaldehyde, carvacrol, carvone, eugenol, etc. These ingredients are different from the painful spiciness, which directly irritates the nasal and oral mucosa, and they give the spiciness, which is mainly membrane penetrating (fat-soluble), to give the spiciness. Therefore, if you can use spices with these spicy ingredients in cooking, you can produce good results.

The spicy ingredient not only has a strong stimulating effect on the oral mucosa, but also has physiological effects such as accelerating the secretion of adrenaline, promoting hypermetabolism, and eliminating mental stress and fatigue.

5. The sense of touch on the physical properties of food (hardness and softness, temperature).