The Joy of Eating

 

There are few things we do in life that simultaneously satisfy all 5 senses at the same time the way eating does.  I, for one, eat with my eyes first.  From something as basic as an unblemished, perfectly ripe, ruby red strawberry to a colorfully artistic, meticulously balanced, spotlessly clean plate presentation, if something looks good I am going to want to eat it.  And the better it looks, the MORE I am going to want to eat it! 

 

The most obvious thing we experience when we eat is taste.  There are 5 different categories that you can boil "taste" down to:  salty, sweet, bitter, sour, and umami (which is basically savory -- it's nutty; earthy; buttery -- think truffles, parmesan cheese, and crabmeat).  One of these flavor profiles in an of itself in its purest form does not necessarily taste good.  When was the last time you had a spoonful of salt?  Or had a shot of straight lemon juice?  Or ate frosting all by itself?  But when you combine 1 of those flavor profiles with another one -- like a salty piece of prosciutto wrapped around a sweet, juicy piece of canteloupe -- your tastebuds explode and your eyes roll back in your head! 

The next sense we experience when we eat that we don't usually associate with food is "touch".  Believe it or not, temperature actually contributes to the taste of a dish. For example, when you make ice cream, the base you start with -- whether it's a sorbet base or the egg-cream-sugar base known as creme anglaise -- will taste WAY sweeter at room temperature than when you freeze it. If you taste that base unfrozen, partially frozen (fresh out of the ice-cream maker) and completely frozen (after spending a few hours in the freezer), you will have 3 very different degrees of sweetness.  Likewise, if you have a cold soup, such as gazpacho, you will need to season it more liberally than if you are serving it warm.

Also, food obviously has different textures.  When I bite into that freshly-picked, stop-sign-red strawberry, it is soft and succulent.  It is moist and ripe; tittilating.  And if it is still warm from the sun, it makes it taste even more sweet.  Its juices trickle down my lips toward my chin as I bite into this perfect piece of fruit, and again, MY EYES ROLL BACK IN MY HEAD!   Somethings, nature needs no help in.

 

In the textural scheme of things, there are sensations our mouths recognize:  crunchy, creamy, chewy to name a few.  The more of these textures you put on a plate, the more interesting it becomes.  Think of a pasta salad.  You combime the chewiness of the al dente pasta, with the crispiness of some raw vegetables (bell pepper, onion, celery), and some creamy mayonnaise, maybe some nice fresh herbs.  You add to that equation some "sour" in the form of vinegar or lemon juice, some saltiness like bacon or maybe some canned tuna, your bell pepper will provide some sweetness .... Your dish starts to become complex and more interesting not only to your tastebuds, but you also have a more diverse mouthfeel which directly contributes to how a dish "tastes".  Not to mention, you have a few different colors on your plate, so it becomes interesting to the eye as well.

This leads me to the sense of "sound".  Totally unrelated to taste, right?  Quite the contrary.  How does an apple sound when you take a bite out of it?  What do you hear as you slurp at a spoonful of soup?  As you greedily gulp it down?  What would eating be like if we could not hear these sounds?  It is part of the pleasure.  Not to mention an important part of cooking.  The sound a piece of meat makes as it hits the hot surface of a pan.  Most of the time when I make pasta, I know my water is ready because I can hear it boiling.  I also know that when I can't hear that meat sizzling anymore, it's probably time to flip it over.

The next stop -- which more accurately would be our first stop, even before sight -- on our sensual journey of eating, is SMELL.  I left this one for last, because it is the most important when it comes to food, and it is the most directly related to our sense of taste.  Some of my favorite smells are directly related to food.  After moving to California, late one spring I was sitting at a stoplight in rush-hour traffic.  I had all my windows down and a warm San Diego breeze swept through my car.  I experienced for the first time the smell of orange blossoms.  It caught me off guard, actually.  I didn't realize what it was at first, only that the SWEET smell was intoxicating and I couldn't inhale ENOUGH.  I looked to my left and saw an orange grove, and then suddenly it made sense.  You could ALMOST TASTE the sweetness. 

Although far inferior to other species, smell is our stongest sense.  Since our olfactory nerves are located at the top of our nasal cavity, there are actually 2 ways we are able to smell things:  orthonasally (or through the nostrils) and retronasally (through the mouth).  So, as we taste things, we are able to smell them at the same time.  Ever notice when you have a cold, food just doesn't taste good?  This is exactly why.  Our sense of smell -- therefore our sense of taste -- is inhibited.

Interestingly enough, the olfactory nerve is located near to the amygdela -- which is the area of the brain that is connected to memory and emotion.  Personally, there are many food smells that evoke both memory and emotion for me.  One is the smell of yams roasting in the oven.  Every year for Thanksgiving and Christmas, my mom would make her "sweet potato" casserole.  She would roast the yams the night before the dinner and our entire house would be permeated with the warm, sweet smell of them.  To me, that smell is the essence of the holiday season.  It evokes comfort and excitement.

And isn't eating, by nature, COMFORTING?  After eating a nice meal, when your belly is full of food that tastes good, you feel relaxed; secure.  When you go to someone's house for dinner, you ring the bell, and as the door opens the smell of food hits you.  It could be fresh bread, cookies, sizzling meat, roasting veggies ... all of the above!  Correct me if I'm wrong, but the smell of food puts a smile on your face. 

We associate the SMELL of food with the emotions of comfort and of fullness.  Food FEELS good; it TASTES good; it SOUNDS good; it LOOKS good.  As we rush through our meals so we can make it to work on time, get to that meeting, get the kids fed so everyone can go to bed and start the cycle all over again, I think we forget that eating is a sensual act.  It literally encompasses all of our senses.  I think it is important to take the time to enjoy food.  Whatever it is you are eating -- be it an animal or a vegetable or a fruit -- remember that that creature gave up its life for you so you could have nourishment for your body.  Enjoy it!