Oops I Did It Again!
Once again disaster strikes and I find myself tossing my culinary creation. Are you too familiar with the misfortunate moments when you realize that you accidently overdosed your soup with salt? Added too much sugar to your cake batter? Your casserole overpoweringly fatty? Soup too sour? The sauce just plain bitter? Your salad smoking hot, ever so spicy?
What’s to be done? Start again from Scratch?!!!
We may know how to solve a differential equation, how to protect ourselves in the case of chemical warfare but we are completely helpless when it comes to the kitchen… Yup, our tactical capabilities in the kitchen are virtually nil…
I belong to a dying breed. In eighth grade we of the female gender were taught basic cooking and sewing skills (Don’t worry – at that tender age I was already breaking down barriers and had also forged my way into the boy’s woodworking class…). I cannot say that I came out of that semester with any significant cooking skills. Neither at school, nor at home was I gifted with culinary expertise …
Of late, I have completed a number of cooking and naked (raw) cooking classes. I must say that I have collected any number of magic tricks along the way. One of the most basic ones is the art of flavor balancing. Here lies a delightful secret which can correct and enrich a dish’s taste.
Have you ever wondered why every cake recipe calls for a “pinch of salt”? What in heaven’s name has salt got to do with cake???
Flavor Balancing
The mystery ends here. Add new flavor elements to your cooking to sharpen, correct and add a sophisticated punch of deliciousness to your brew.
There are six groups of flavor essences: sweet, sour, fats, salty, spicy and bitter. The first four groups are the major flavor elements: sweet, sour, fats and salty. Most recipes will contain at least one element from each of these four groups. Pull down one of your cookbooks from your bookshelf. Choose a random recipe and try to identify ingredients representing each of these four elements.
When one of these flavor essences is overpowering your dish, there is a science to follow by using one or more of the other essences to balance its flavor. Perhaps not an exact science, but a wonder to behold…
I prepared a flavor balancing diagram to provide clarity and aid with the task at hand:
Flavor Balancing Made Easy:
Too sweet – This dish will be very easy to correct as any of the other flavor essences or a combination of them can be used to balance the overpowering sweetness. Use sour, fatty, salty, spicy and/or bitter elements to balance.
Too sour – With the exception of spicy additions, balancing a dish which is too sour can be done with any of the remaining four flavor elements: sweet, salty, fatty and/or bitter.
Too salty – With the exception of spicy and bitter additions, balancing a dish which is too salty can be done with any of the remaining three flavor elements: sweet, fatty, and/or sour.
Too bitter – With the exception of spicy and fatty additions, balancing a dish which is too bitter can be done with any of the remaining three flavor elements: sweet, salty, and/or sour.
Too fatty – The only tool available in this situation is adding a sour flavor essence.
How To Adjust Flavor Profiles:
Adding sweetness – date honey, maple syrup, agave syrup, dried fruits
Adding sourness – citrus fruit, vinegar, fermented foods
Adding saltiness – sea salt, Himalayan salt, seaweed, tamari, miso
Adding spiciness – hot pepper, ginger, garlic, onion, cilantro, horseradish, mustard
Adding bitterness – cumin, cinnamon, parsley, citrus peel, dark chocolate, coffee, mangold
Adding fattiness – nuts, nut butters, coconut oil, tahini, avocado, olive oil
Balancing Movement Sensations
A delicate weave of these six flavors can deliver a powerful kick of joy and happiness. Just as a successful combination of flavor essences can award divine pleasures to our taste buds so too can a well balanced mix of the five movement sensations. Infuse flexibility, agility, mobility, strength and stability into your movement practice and you too can reap the rewards of being InJ♥Y!
As a diet rich in salty flavors will compromise our health so will a workout regimen heavily focused on strength training repetitions create rigidity and imbalance.
A good workout regimen will reflect a wide spectrum of movement sensations:
Flexibility is energy moving outwards, away from your body. It allows you to grow and feel the magnitude of your very being. Flexibility opens up a wealth of potential. Extend your reach towards the sky, Feel a world of possibilities awaiting you…
Strength is energy moving inwards, towards your body. Feel the power of your arm as you make a deep muscle. Embrace your strength.
Mobility is energy in constant motion. Mobility is a multidirectional flow of energy. Here resides the very essence of freedom and youthfulness.
Agility is a stop and start energy motion. Agility is a mischievous prankster, full of surprises and constantly changing.
Stability represents multi directional movement stemming from and returning to the body’s energetic pathways. Stability is peace and unity, grounded to source and readiness for movement and change.
Nia is a holistic movement practice which embraces each of these five movement sensations. It builds bodies from the inside out, different by far from any other movement practice you have experienced.
Daylight savings time a distant memory as winter approaches fast; my body craves a hearty soup. Now would be an opportune time to tinker with the flavoring essences and balance a magnificent soup.
Allow yourself the liberty to experiment and play both in the kitchen and on the move. Anyone who limits her palate, and engages in monotonous activity, ends up losing. As Michael Jordan was quoted in saying:
“Just play. Have fun. Enjoy the game.”
May I give you an ingenious recipe idea with a taste of paradise? On an older sprig of rosemary string your favorite fruit. Roast for 15-20 minutes in a preheated oven of 180 degrees Celsius…
Sweet and spicy, now that’s the very essence of flavor balancing! ☺
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Thank you and have a great week!