Culinary Arts Day 3

It’s been almost two weeks since my last post, and this one is really long overdue.  But I’ve been lazy and busy at the same time.

So, day 3, which was actually over a week ago.  All about taste.  The lecture included a discussion about taste buds.  Yep, the same stuff you learn in 3rd grade science class.  Then a lesson about the various flavors found in kitchen staples.  Spices, herbs, oils, vinegars, etc.  The lecture went pretty fast then it was off to the kitchen.  We later found out why the lecture went fast, they were using our classroom for a cheese tasting class.  So we learn about taste, but don’t get to taste yummy cheeses?  But we did taste a bunch of other stuff.  It started with a wonderful experience of the 5 tastes.  Honey from the school’s hives for sweet.  Tamarind for sour.  Soy sauce for salty.  Baker’s chocolate for bitter.  And a mushroom demiglace for umami.  I’ve never really tried mushrooms before, and have to admit, if it was cooked like that, I’d eat them.  After that, a run through of the various herbs in the kitchen, spices, spice blends, oils, vinegars, and finally a tasting session.  The chefs put out cups of all of the spices, oils, vinegars, and spice blends in the kitchen.  We were invited to sniff, taste, and experience each one.   Also laid out for us was a selection of salts.  About 15 different salts from around the world.  Each had a distinct taste.   My favorite was Kala Namak, which tasted exactly like hard boiled eggs.  It was such a strange experience.  After the cups were put away, the chefs made some pasta for us.  Two separate pans.  One using all dried herbs and spices.  The other using fresh.  There was a very distinct difference.  The fresh herbs made the pasta feel more alive.  The look of the pasta with freshly chiffonaded basil was much nicer as well.  There was nothing wrong with the dried herb pasta, it was delicious.  It just wasn’t as vibrant as the fresh herbs.

After the taste demonstrations it was time for more knife skills.  We learned how to chiffonade and practiced on romaine lettuce leaves.  We also learned how to concasse (peel, seed, and chop) a tomato.  While practicing, I almost cut my thumb on my paring knife.  I was lucky, no damage.  We also practices disassembling a potato, some celery, some carrots, some garlic, and a shallot.  Success all around.

Clean up, and time to go.

Since then, we have gotten over 5 feet of snow, and school has been closed for over a week.  Hopefully, tomorrow will be my next Baking class.