On food and cooking the science and lore of the kitchen ( PDFDrive ) 767

herbs and spices, while others are prepared
from one or a few synthetic chemicals that
capturetheessenceoftheflavoring,butdon’t
match it in complexity and mellowness
(artificial extracts often taste harsh and off).
The advantage of synthetic extracts is their
lowprice.
FlavorEvolution

Oncethearomamoleculesinherbsandspices
arereleasedintoapreparationandexposedto
otheringredients,theair,andheat,theybegin
toundergoahostofchemicalreactions.Some
fractionoftheoriginalaromachemicals
becomesalteredintoavarietyofother
chemicals,sotheinitiallystrong,
characteristicnotesbecomemoresubdued,
andthegeneralcomplexityofthemixture
increases.Thismaturingcanbeasimpleside
effectofcookingtheflavoringswiththeother
ingredients,butitoftenconstitutesaseparate


preparationstep.Whencuminorcorianderare
toastedontheirown,forexample,theirsugars
andaminoacidsundergobrowningreactions
andgeneratesavoryaromamoleculestypical
ofroastedandtoastedfoods(pyrazines),thus
developinganewlayerofflavorthat
complementstheoriginalrawaroma.
MaturingSpiceFlavors:TheIndianSystem

The use of spices is especially ancient and
sophisticated in India and Southeast Asia.
Indian cooks have several different ways of
maturing spice flavors before their
incorporationintoadish.
Thetoastingonahotpanofwholedry
spices,typicallymustard,cumin,or
fenugreek,foraminuteortwountilthe
seedsbegintopop,thepointatwhich
theirinnermoisturehasvaporizedand
theyarejustbeginningtobrown.Spices
cookedinthiswayaremellowed,but
individually;theyretaintheirown