UNIT 7: Game-Changers
These are the top four things I learned to pay attention to that helped me become a better cook.
UNIT 5: All About Herbs
The purpose of herbs is to add fragrance and flavor to a dish. Herbs are rarely meant to dominate the palate of the dish, rather serving to compliment the other flavors.
UNIT 4: All About Spices
The purpose of spice is to add aroma, color, flavor, taste and/or texture to food. Spices come from all over the world. Let’s look at some of the regions where spices originate. ASIA: cinnamon, cloves, galangal, ginger, nutmeg, pepper AMERICAN TROPICS: allspice, chili peppers, vanilla MEDITERRANEAN: coriander, fennel, fenugreek, mustard, poppy EUROPE: caraway, dill, juniper…
UNIT 3: Aromatics: Their Purpose & Preparation
Aromatics are the foundations of flavor. Aromatics give a dish depth and personality. They usually start with a heated fat or oil and are followed by combinations of vegetables and herbs. The heated fat helps the vegetables and herbs to release their flavors. Usually, they are diced, minced, or ground into a paste, and the…
UNIT 2: Sourcing Ingredients & Stocking Your Pantry
Lucky for us, learning to source ingredients for optimal flavor goes hand-in-hand with sourcing ingredients that are more nutrient dense and naturally better for us. I’m talking about meat from animals raised on pasture and produce picked as close to peak ripeness as possible.
UNIT 1: What is Flavor?
Creating flavor comes down to three things: Quality ingredients An understanding of how different flavors balance each other An adventurous spirit Some of my most-loved recipes are those I created on a whim, often when I felt I had nothing in the kitchen, no groceries, no plan. But because I understand how different flavors interact,…
