Experimenting with Flavor Profiles

 

Strawberries with Balsamic Vinegar and Basil

Flavor Mixtures

Flavor Categories: Food flavors are broken into a few basic categories based on the taste receptors they bind to! These categories include sweet, fat, sour, bitter, salty, and umami. In order to better understand the characteristics and roles of each flavor categories, I mixed together a variety of ingredients and tasted the differences.

Umami- 

Base: Plain Orzo Pasta
Ingredients: Ham, and
Cheddar Cheese
Notes: In my observations, the savory umami flavor is most similar to sweet, but with more substance and depth to the taste. The cheese and ham complemented each other well in texture and flavor, bringing out the meaty qualities, it was quite tasty.

Salt-

Base: Plain Orzo Pasta
Ingredients: Parmesan,
Soy Sauce
Notes: The parmesan had the strongest flavor, but the soy sauce had a noticeable aftertaste, and seemed to emphasize the saltiness of the parmesan---a characteristic I do not frequently associate with cheese. If I did this again, I would try this one with more soy sauce, as it was a very small amount compared to the cheese and orzo.

Bitter- 

Base: Plain Orzo Pasta
Ingredients: Baking 
Cocoa (unsweetened),
Coconut Milk (unsweet)
Notes: The bitter mixture had a significant amount of flavor, yet it could almost be described as 'flat.' The bitterness was most noticeable after the initial taste, and despite the combination looking sweet, it was not. At all. 

Sour- 

Base: Plain Orzo Pasta
Ingredients: Coconut
Milk (unsweetened),
Lemon Juice
Notes: The tart lemon flavor greatly overpowered the mild coconut milk and bland orzo, and lasted into a long aftertaste. I did not eat much of this one! 

Fat: Orzo with Butter (bland, oily)

Sweet: Strawberries with Balsamic Vinegar and Basil on Bread (very sweet, the sharp vinegar and fresh basil brought out the sweetness and juices of the ripe strawberries)

* The sweet combination had the best flavors by far! *