I Am Not A Label

lableU

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 eng


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…

FIGS

Sweet and spicy, now that’s the very essence of ‎flavor balancing! ☺‎


I would like to thank you for your patience in reading this post to its end.‎

If you liked what you read and you are not on my mailing list, you can sign up ‎here.‎

Finally I would like to request that you please share my post which precedes the ‎release of my animated clip (soon, I promise). I am so excited! Please share this ‎post…

Thank you and have a great week!‎

HBNE

You tell your future! The power is ours!