On food and cooking the science and lore of the kitchen ( PDFDrive ) 751
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createsthecharacter,andthatmakesaspice
wellsuitedtoserveasaunifyingbridge
amongseveraldifferentingredients.
Corianderseed,forexample,is
simultaneouslyfloweryandlemony;bayleaf
combineseucalyptus,clove,pine,andflowery
notes.Itcanbefascinating—anduseful—to
tastespicesanalytically,tryingtoperceivethe
separatecomponentsandhowtheirflavorsare
built.Termsfromperfumerycanbehelpful:
thereare“topnotes,”perceivedrightaway,
etherealandquicktofade;thereare“midnotes,”themainflavors;andthereare
“bottomnotes,”whichareslowtodevelop
andwhichpersist.Thechartsonpp.392and
393listtheprominentaromacomponentsina
selectionofherbsandspices.Therearetwo
particularchemicalfamiliesthatcontribute
manyofthearomacompoundsinherbsand
spices.
FlavorFamilies:TheTerpenes
Terpenecompoundsareconstructedfroma
zigzagbuildingblockoffivecarbonatoms,
whichturnsouttobeamazinglyversatileand
canbecombined,twisted,anddecoratedinto
tensofthousandsofdifferentmolecules.
Plantsusuallyproduceamixtureofdefensive
terpenes.Theyarecharacteristicofthe
needlesandbarkofconiferoustrees,ofcitrus
fruits(p.374),andofflowers,andprovide
pine-like,citrusy,floral,leaf-like,and“fresh”
notestotheoverallflavorofmanyherbsand
spices.Asafamily,terpenestendtobe
especiallyvolatileandreactive.Thismeans
thatthey’reoftenthefirstmoleculestoreach
thenose,andprovidetheinitialimpressionof
theselighter,moreetherealnotes.Italso
meansthatthey’rereadilyboiledoffor
modifiedbyevenbriefcooking,whichiswhy
thesefresh,lightnotesdisappear.Ifdesired,
theycanberestoredtoacookeddishby
addinganewdoseoftheherborspicejust
beforeserving.
