School Update

After three blocks of skills classes I have finally made it onto my fifth class at the CIA. It is a new class to both the ACAP program and to the CIA. I am now in Contemporary Topics. It deals with such topics as; flavor profiles, farm to table, Northern California, and Nutrition. This week we have been conducting flavor profile tastings, and while all very interesting it becomes a bitt nauseating to taste 15 different types of oils in a 15 minute period.

Which steak has more Umami?...The answer is the Ribeye on the left because of it being dry aged.

The new trend in food fine dining is Japanese influence. This will come up again in my blog when I write a post on the Worlds of Flavor conference that will be happening in early November.
There are 4 basic tastes that most people are familiar with (Salty, Sweet, Bitter, Sour,) It was Dr. Ikeda of Japan that introduced the 5th taste, umami, that is building both recognition and booming popularity. Umami is the taste associated with savory items such as a broth or porcini mushrooms. We spent an entire class day on the study of umami by taking basic sauces and comparing them with the same sauce plus an umami rich ingredient. It was so interesting to see how with the addition of one ingredient the profile of the sauce could change entirely. Tomato sauce with dried trumpet mushrooms became more well rounded and lost a lot of its acidity.

Awesome Reference to Umami

Truffles

St. Helena put on a sidewalk sale this weekend, and I happened to wonder into the St. Helena Olive Oil Company. As the name states they sell olive oil, but along with it they have other gourmet products such as balsamic vinegars and mustards. The product I happen to be most excited about was the Truffle Sea Salt.

When I first saw it I thought, ok here we go again...what else can truffle be added to as away to draw attention to something like sea salt. I was way to skeptical though. After trying it I realized I was all wrong, it really did work. The truffle was not just another marketing ploy. Not only are there pieces of black truffle, but the quality of salt is very much up to par. To me a truffle is reminiscent of a garlicky artichoke. This salt at $26.00 a jar is a great way to sparingly incorporate that flavor into many dishes at home. The truffle flavor should be that added extra and not the overwhelming flavor of a dish. I plan to sprinkle this salt on a quality steak right before grilling. The truffle with the charred flavor will make for the perfect meal.