Colors and flavors
Colors and flavors are very important elements in food preparation. We always associate flavors with colors so food preparers make it a point to make the colors more alive and natural. And on the same token, the taste should correspond with the color. They should go hand in hand. What’s the use of vibrant and delicious colors if the taste does not satisfy the palate? Food should not only look good- it should taste better if not as good as it looks.
As I try new recipes and learn new things in the process, I’ve learned new techniques- simple as they maybe that somehow inspires creativity. Using vegetable food colors and extracts to come up with pretty and tasty desserts is now a part of my repertoire. A drop of yellow can make the lemon cake more alive especially in a picture. A strawberry chiffon cake tastes better with a few drops of strawberry extract added in the batter. It’s all about enhancement to come up with a better creation- sometimes even during the absence of real ingredients. So we have rum extract in lieu of real rum, or coconut, banana and the likes. So that sometimes when we take a bite into a luscious dessert, our mouths are tantalized by different flavors and we kind of wonder how can it taste so heavenly? Now when I do grocery shopping and look at the countless extracts and food colors in the racks, I am no longer surprised. Everything’s there if we ever need anything. All we have to do is find out how to incorporate and make use of these food elements.
As I try new recipes and learn new things in the process, I’ve learned new techniques- simple as they maybe that somehow inspires creativity. Using vegetable food colors and extracts to come up with pretty and tasty desserts is now a part of my repertoire. A drop of yellow can make the lemon cake more alive especially in a picture. A strawberry chiffon cake tastes better with a few drops of strawberry extract added in the batter. It’s all about enhancement to come up with a better creation- sometimes even during the absence of real ingredients. So we have rum extract in lieu of real rum, or coconut, banana and the likes. So that sometimes when we take a bite into a luscious dessert, our mouths are tantalized by different flavors and we kind of wonder how can it taste so heavenly? Now when I do grocery shopping and look at the countless extracts and food colors in the racks, I am no longer surprised. Everything’s there if we ever need anything. All we have to do is find out how to incorporate and make use of these food elements.
Hi Faye! I usually don't use any other extracts rather than vanilla...if I need lemon flavoring, I usually go with lemon zest. But nowadays, I really want to buy lemon extract & peppermint extract! If you have tried using both these extracts, how do they taste? Oh yea...and I have still yet to make your angel food cake...but I will within a month! Thanks & please continue updating your blog!
ReplyDeleteHello Michelle! I always have fruit extracts in my cabinet because there are recipes that require them. Besides, sometimes the fruits in our tree are not ready for picking so I would use lemon extract and it has oils too. The nice thing about lemon zest is you see the specks of lemon in your food while extract- just the taste which is also good. Like I said, in the absence of the real one. I haven't used peppermint extract- maybe because I haven't baked anything with peppermint. But I love peppermint gum ha ha ha ha. I'm doing my best to update my blog. There's really so much to write about food but sometimes I am busy or I get sidetracked. Thanks again for visiting.
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