Rick Rider <[email hidden]> wrote in
message news:[email hidden]...
Quoted message said:My sister-in-law has the remarkable knack of being
able to taste things and discern the ingredients. It may
take more than once, but she gets it. Is there a way
to cultivate this talent?
Yes.
It's a multistep process of testing yourself and "training" your tongue
to "feel" the differences. "Cleaning" your tongue after meals and
keeping it free of creams and sugars. It also means cutting out a major
portion of the garlic for a dish (temporarily), coffee (especially if
you drink it with cream) during the day, coca-cola, and most heavy
syrups. These are things that coat your tongue and prevent flavors from
actually being recognized.
Then start using ingredients and foods in pairs (or singly). Once you
find a series of foods that you can pick out from dishes easily, try
adding greater variety and significantly different items that will
enhance those flavors.
Garlic, for me, is like the double-edged sword of butter; it can enhance
a dish but it's also used to disguise things.
Quoted message said:More than once I have attempted to recreate a dish with
disastrous results. My palette seems to be less trained
than hers.
This is where she might be willing to team-cook with you. You'll
suddenly see yourself noticing previously masked scents, distinct
flavors, and marvelous textures.
The Ranger