The Taste is in the Details
Today during my English class, our teacher had us working on writing an essay about whether details are necessary or unnecessary. I thought it to be necessary. In the culinary world, it is absolutely necessary.
Have you ever tasted a great dish before and wonder to yourself, “Oh my gosh! This food is…” Followed by: *Om Nom Nom Nom Nom*. Many people would devour their foods immediately, and the poor cheeseburger, with its precise amount of special sauce, its perfectly melted cheese, and its carefully sliced pickles, is left with little time to show off its details. The kind of details that actually separates a bad food from a good food, and a good food to the best food. A moment in silence for those unappreciated cheeseburgers and foods.
You really don’t have to think hard on it. The tiniest detail can make a meal just that *bit* better, but it makes a very big difference when a person compares which cheeseburger is better. “That slider looks delicious,” said Joe. “But, this one here has the right amount of sesame seeds…. *OM NOM NOM NOM NOM*.
Okay. So maybe the sesame seeds were a bit exaggerated, but who knows? Maybe when it comes down to a food judge to… err… judge, he/she might start criticizing and attacking any flaws that exist. Like, say, it was baked a minute too long. Or the meat was slightly too soft and undercooked. Or even, there were too many extra sesame seeds on the bun. Yea, those mean Food Network judges can be just that harsh when they’re indecisive on which food is better.
All details count when judging the taste of a meal. The food itself could be missing a few more ingredients and more are needed to be added, or it needs less ingredients and some things need to be taken out. I remembered going out one night with my family to celebrate at a Thai restaurant For a long while, I thought my meal was going to be great, but it actually turned out to be a somewhat disappointing One of the Thai soup that I ordered probably had extra red chilies added into it, and, with my tongue being quite sensitive, I was chugging on my water to stop my mouth from burning. As it turned out, the chef did added in an extra piece of chili and he didn’t add enough coconut milk into my soup. My mouth and my trust for chili peppers would have still been intact if the chef didn’t left out the tiniest details in his Thai recipe. LESS PEPPER, MORE COCONUT MILK!
So the next time you eat an amazing food that you just have to devour right away, hold that thought, and look extremely hard at what makes your food tasty. It’s the littlest of details that can make your food either disgusting or delicious (or in my Thai soup case, completely safe to downright dangerous). Then, stuff that food into your mouth. Enjoy it!
– Chris
Food Expertise 