Just a thought about the way the senses relate

Funny how one sense relates so uniquely to the others. The eye likes to see things shift in their surface and have 'texture' about them, and likewise the sense of touch loves texture as well (fairly obvious there, but we do love soft, slick, rough and fizzy, don't we?). In hearing, texture is the movement of one sound or note up and down - like music, birds and conversation - which is certainly more attractive than one note in a continuous level (i.e. monotonous. The word 'mono-tone' refers to that literally). So why not with the sense of taste, finding pleasure in texture as well?

This same theory of variety appeal applies to our subject we know as 'texture', but also to 'heat', 'cool', 'spice', 'bright', 'soft', 'spike', 'melodic', 'harsh', 'delicious', 'bitter', and so on - across all the sensual applications.

My first love is art. That’s pretty broad a picture, let’s just say for the sake of it, making things of beauty and thought, of permanence and of essense brings me joy. Being creative has rewards and frailties, but remains the core of what I feel is ‘me’. My formal training for reaching this goal was with mediums and colors, canvases and brushes as opposed to music sheets and metronomes. My ear is alert to visual creativity, and although I’ve played the piano ‘by ear’, my heart finds its expression in the visual realm. I learned of the power of one color against another, and the appreciation for the power of color use, light and dark, shape and form. My world has translated itself within the realm of senses in visual, taste and texture to foods as well. Let’s make an assumption that there’s a correlation between different structures of tastes on a consistent basis; and that taste structure is parallel to the visual structure of color. Picture in your mind a flavor wheel, much like the foundational color wheel with art, where one can plot out harmonies, contrasts and complementaries by relating the placement of the ‘flavor colors’ with one another on the wheel.

Well, to my way of seeing it, there is a logical and methodical blend that the palate finds enjoyable. Enhancements, associations, contrasts and textures all are like cogs and gears in a machine, they work in consistent alignments for the pleasure of the overall taste. One part of that ‘wheel’ can be used to plot out harmonies or contrasts with other parts of the ‘wheel’ for finding specific blendings.

With the color wheel, we find complementary colors to be opposed directly across the wheel, where one color placed against the other becomes more enhanced and focused – even vibrant, like red and green. Then with contrasting colors placed in forming an equilateral triangle within the wheel circle like orange, green and violet where each color enhances the others in focus, intent and stability, and each color finds a relationship with one another -- although each remains uniquely different. Finally sighting three colors aligning side by side on the color wheel is referred to as harmonious or analogous – colors like blue, aqua and green, where each color gently works with one another, more or less ‘blending’, becoming more of a whole thought or concept.

Well, in my simplistic way of thinking, why not apply this basic fundament to flavors as well? We can find a reasonable reference with flavors using this kind of structuring.

Picture a wheel showing instead of nine colors, nine flavor categories. The same relations one makes on the color wheel may be applied with the ‘flavor wheel.’ Of course the samples I’ve offered within each category list is a very simplified offering of food types, but I think they cover most of what the average US person knows about and eats regularly. You can alter your wheel with foods, supplements, and spicing you most relate to, and try using them in new fashions as the wheel may suggest.

This wheel can suggest for you ideas of flavor blendings that you may have not already thought of. Don’t be crazy and mix cherries and sardines (hey? Hmm . . .) -- but give a logical, thoughtful effort to ‘hear’ in your mind the melody of these blends. For complementary, try sweet and sour; for contrasting try sweet, spicy and salty; and for analogous or harmonious, try salty, savory and full, for example. You bet, they do sound good!

The recipes in this book utilized this wheel to formulate flavors and accents. I’d say that’s a good support to this theory.

    herbs/spices, animal/poultry/fish, dairy, fruits/vegetables, grains and others

SWEET: sugars (sucanat/piloncillo, palm, dark/light brown, cane, granulated, white, cane, etc), stevia, some bacons/porks, some shellfish, honey, fish sauce, sweetened condensed milk, molasses, corn/cane/rice and maple syrups, root vegetables (beets, carrots, turnips/parsnips, onions), tree fruits (apple, orange, cherry, peach, pomegranate seeds, plums/prunes, dates and the juices as well as the dried presentations of these fruits), sweet corn, vine fruits (grapes/raisons, currants, berries/strawberries, melons – and their juices, and some peppers – bell, poblano, wax, cherry), pineapples, bananas, good aged or quality generic balsamic vinegar; port, sweet and ‘new’ wines, and fruit brandies, some flavor extracts (vanilla, almond etc)

RICH: basil, rosemary, saffron, sage, honey, red/organ meats (beef, bison, venison, ostrich, horse, mutton, lamb, duck etc / tongue, liver, brains, sweetbreads, heart, tripe etc), pork, dark fish (salmon, mackerel, tuna etc), shellfish (fresh lobster, crab, escargot, shrimp, prawn, crayfish, scallops, abalone, clams/mussels, oysters, urchins etc), butter, cream, fermented and/or aged dairy (most all cheeses, sour cream/crème fresh/fromage blanc, cream cheese/mascarpone), truffles, oily nuts and seeds (sesame, wild ‘rice’, walnuts, pecans, macadamia etc), chocolate, dried fruits, oils, oil foods (avocados, oil cured olives, sardines, canned tuna, kippers, canned oysters, etc)

NEUTRAL: gelatin, simple dairy (milk, ricotta/cottage and other fresh cheeses, eggs), pale breads, oats, rices, bulgur, lentils, soy beans and soy products (tofu, soymilk, light miso etc), pale rice/grain flours, crackers, bread crumbs, pastas, couscous, margarine, ‘white’ vegetables (cauliflower, turnips, parsnips, potatoes, eggplant, white beans – cannelini, navy, fava etc)

SPICY: garlic, ginger, fresh ground horseradish root, mint, paprika and dried chili peppers, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, mace, allspice, fresh ground pepper, citrus zest, red pepper flakes, onions, radishes, Thai chili paste, fresh peppers (chipotlé, jalapeno, pasilla, cayenne, habanero, piquin) French (Dijon) and Chinese mustards

SOUR: sour grass, lemon grass, fermented dairy/buttermilk/yogurts, modest balsamic vinegar and wine/ champagne vinegars, some citrus/berry/tree fruits – lemons, grapefruit, limes, unsweetened cranberries, some vine fruits/vegetables (grapes and peppers), pickled foods, some yeasts/breads

BITTER: yarrow, chamomile, absinth, barberry, white pepper, beer, unsweetened chocolate, white (distilled) and other strong vinegars, alcohols, cornichons (a small French pickle), lemons, radishes, some greens (dandelion, escarole, frisée, collards, kale, endives, arugula, radicchio, watercress)

SALTY: salt, baking powder, MSG, brined/salted foods (some hard cheeses – Parmesan, pecorino Romano, olives, dill pickles, capers, dried meats), anchovies, oyster sauce, caviar, bouillon cubes and soup bases, soy sauce, fish sauce, oyster sauce, salted nuts

SAVORY: cilantro, dill, bay, pickled meats, caramelized meats, fish sauce, Worcestershire sauce, some cheeses (camembert, Limburger, Ricotta Salata, some bleu varieties, some brie etc), tomatillos, ‘wild’ mushrooms (portabella, oyster, chanterelle, morel, porcini etc), pickled/cured vegetables and olives, radishes, sweet and hot cherry peppers, rice/apple/wine/malt vinegars, prepared horseradish sauces, German and French table mustards, bottled hot pepper sauces, dry and red wines, sherry, some brandies, ports, sauerkraut, canned olives, capers, soy (dark miso)

FULL: oregano, parsley, thyme, tarragon, white meats (poultry, rabbit, veal), white fish (cod, halibut, pollock, tilapia, haddock, flounder, trout), seeds and nuts (almonds, pumpkin seeds, pine nuts etc), and brown rices, barley, corns, dark breads, legumes, squashes, vine vegetables/fruits (tomatoes, cucumbers, beans and peas), floral vegetables/fruits (artichokes, eggplant, asparagus, lettuces, cabbages, broccoli), and fungi (button mushrooms, enoki/straw, shiitake, portabella, Crimini, etc), dark beans (black, kidney, Anasazi etc), scallions and leeks