On food and cooking the science and lore of the kitchen ( PDFDrive ) 750
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MostFlavoringsResembleOils
Theflavorfulmaterialinanherborspiceis
traditionallycalleditsessentialoil.Theterm
reflectsanimportantpracticalfact:aroma
chemicalsaremoresimilartooilsandfats
thantheyaretowater,andarethereforemore
solubleinoilthantheyareinwater(p.797).
Thisiswhycooksmakepreparedflavor
extractsbyinfusingherbsandspicesinoil,
notwater.Theydoinfuseherbsinwatery
vinegarandinalcohols,butbothalcoholand
vinegar’saceticacidaresmallcousinsoffat
molecules,andhelpdissolvemorearomatics
thanplainwatercould.Thedefensivearoma
chemicalscanhavedisruptiveeffectsona
plant’sowncellsaswellasonpredators,so
plantstakecaretoisolatethemfromtheir
innerworkings.Herbsandspicesstockpile
theiraromachemicalsinspecializedoilstoragecells,inglandsonthesurfacesof
leaves,orinchannelsthatopenupbetween
cells.Somedryspicesareasmuchas15%
essentialoilbyweight,andmanyare5–10%.
Freshanddryherbsgenerallycontainmuch
less,around1%,freshherbsbecausetheir
watercontentismuchhigher,anddryherbs
becausetheylosearomachemicalsinthe
dryingprocess.
TheFlavorofanHerborSpiceis
SeveralFlavorsCombined
Aswe’veseenmanytimesandinmanyfoods,
flavorisacompositequality.Aripefruitmay
containhundredsofdifferentaromatic
compounds;andthesamegoesforaroast.
Thoughwetendtothinkofaparticularherb
orspiceashavingitsowndistinctiveflavor,it
tooisalwaysacompositeofseveraldifferent
aromacompounds.Sometimesoneofthose
compoundspredominatesandprovidesthe
maincharacter—asincloves,cinnamon,
anise,thyme—butoftenit’sthemixturethat
