Welcome to The 5 Tastes Table dedicated to the love and enjoyment of sharing good food and a celebration of the gastronomic alchemy of the five taste senses.
Cooking…
"Cooking is a craft, I like to think, and a good cook is a craftsman -- not an artist. There's nothing wrong with that: The great cathedrals of Europe were built by craftsmen -- though not designed by them. Practicing your craft in expert fashion is noble, honorable, and satisfying."
Anthony Bourdain
To build on Bourdain’s analogy, if the dinner table is the “altar of the meal”, then the table setting, the presentation of the food, the pacing of the meal, the purposeful sequencing of the courses and beverages of the meal, each to compliment the previous, is the “art of dining”. It doesn’t have to be elaborate or expensive, just thoughtful, with the goal of using well prepared food as the vehicle to bring people together; to give pleasure to your family and guests. Eating is fundamentally an individual act of biological necessity; dining is a ritual that people share for communal experience.
“...I do think the idea that basic cooking skills are a virtue, that the ability to feed yourself and a few others with proficiency should be taught to every young man and woman as a fundamental skill, should become as vital to growing up as learning to..., cross the street by oneself, or be trusted with money.”
Anthony Bourdain
About Food...
Food creates memories. Is there a meal that stands out in your mind as being particularly memorable? It may have been at someone’s house or perhaps a restaurant. What was it that made it special for you? Perhaps it was the occasion, perhaps it was the place, but what was it about the food that made it special? In addition to the place and occasion, chances are the food incorporated a variety of tastes, it was visually appealing, it smelled good, it tasted really good, and it felt good in your mouth.
Good food engages all our senses, not only our five taste senses (sweet, salty, bitter, sour and umami), but also our sight, smell and touch. It’s not surprising that nutritionists advise us that a healthy diet, like the Mediterranean diet and many traditional Asian cuisines, should have a variety of colors and textures: leafy greens like kale, swiss-chard, spinach, lettuce; roots, including carrots, purple beets, and orange sweet potatoes; green grapes, purple plums, yellow bananas, orange mangos and red apples are just a few fruits. You get the idea. More colors and textures translate into more visually interesting, fragrant, flavorful, and nutritious food. Professional chefs and good amateur cooks understand that engaging sight, smell and mouthfeel, along with our our five taste senses is the basic integrative philosophy of good cooking. It is the guiding principle and philosophy behind the choices of recipes and menus included in this website and blog.
Five Taste Senses
Salty: due to the presence of Sodium ions. Examples: salt, olives, salted mixed nuts, anchovies, soy-sauce, oyster sauce
Sweetness: due to the presence of an abundance of carbohydrates. Examples: sugar, maple syrup, strawberries, bananas, raspberries, blueberries, watermelon.
Sourness: due to the presence of acid. Examples: vinegar, lemons, limes, green apples, pickles.
Bitterness: the most pronounced of human taste sensations may be an evolutionary development to protect against consuming toxic substances. Examples: broccoli, brussel sprouts, radishes, kale, dandelion greens.
Umami: is the taste sensation associated with savoriness, meatiness, flavorfulness. It is a Japanese word consisting of the two Japanese calligraphic characters “umai” meaning “delicious, and “mi” meaning “taste”. Examples: mushrooms, egg yolk, oysters, fish, beef, pork, tomatoes, tofu, aged cheeses (Roquefort, Parmesan)
