Learning Fundmentals

On Mon, 7 Nov 2005, fourmations

This is a bloody good question.

The directions to Beeton and Delia for the basic techniques, and to Harold McGee, Nicholas Kurti, Herve This, etc, for the scientific aspects, are all very good, but don't actually address this question.

This question is asking, when i cook my chicken with lemon, not apple, or deglaze my steak pan with brandy rather than vermouth, how did i know to do that? Chilli and coriander yes, chilli and thyme no; marjoram and coriander no, marjoram and thyme yes. Conversely, how do i instinctively know with absolutely certainty that my mum's prawns in a cheese sauce is going to be awful? How is it that cooks - and, a fortiori, chefs - know which combinations work and which don't? This isn't about knowing *how* to cook, it's about knowing *what* to cook. How do we learn that? And has anyone written it down?

One of my friends mentioned a book that did talk about 25 good flavour combinations - some well-known, some not - but i don't remember the details; i'll track it down.

A biochemist and a nutritionist at the US Department of Agriculture offer some advice on herbs:

I really can't think of any book i've come across which talks about what i'm after. Nigel Slater's 'Appebreaste' is close. What i'm after, really, is a pattern language:

Hmm.

tom

PS Oooh, fun:

-- If you tolerate this, your children will be next.