On food and cooking the science and lore of the kitchen ( PDFDrive ) 583
Bạn đang xem bản rút gọn của tài liệu. Xem và tải ngay bản đầy đủ của tài liệu tại đây (168.47 KB, 2 trang )
Because we eat hundreds of different plants,
andcountlessvarietiesofthem,thesesurveys
can only be selective and sketchy. They’re
meanttohighlightthedistinctivequalitiesof
thesefoods,tohelpthefoodloverappreciate
those qualities more fully and make the best
useofthem.
Thesechaptersgivespecialattentionto
twofeaturesofourplantfoods.Oneisfamily
relationships,whichtelluswhichplantsare
relatedtoeachother,andconverselyhow
variedagivenspeciescanbe.Such
informationhelpsusmakesenseof
similaritiesanddifferencesamongparticular
foods,andmaysuggestideasforinteresting
combinationsandthemes.
Thesecondfeatureemphasizedinthe
followingpagesisflavorchemistry.Fruitsand
vegetables,herbsandspicesarethemost
complexfoodsweeat.Ifweknowevenalittle
bitaboutwhichsubstancescreatetheirflavor,
thenwebecomemoreattunedtohowthe
flavorisbuilt,andbetterabletoperceive
echoesandharmoniesamongdifferent
ingredients.Suchperceptionsenrichthe
experienceofeating,andcanhelpusbecome
bettercooks.Allaromascomefromparticular
volatilechemicals,andIsometimesname
thosechemicalstobeasspecificaspossible
aboutthequalitiesofagivenfood.Thenames
maylookforeignandincomprehensible,but
they’resimplynames—andsometimesmake
moresensethanthenamesofthefoods
they’rein!
Thissurveyofvegetablesbegins
underground,withtheplantpartsthatsustain
muchoftheearth’spopulation.Itthenmoves
uptheplant,fromstemtoleaftoflowerand
fruit,andfinisheswithwaterplantsandthose
deliciousnonplants,themushrooms.
RootsandTubers
Potatoes,sweetpotatoes,yams,cassava—
