[325] La Busqueda del Sabor Perfecto

Como he dicho en varios articulos, sigo viendo mis links con mas frecuencia que nunca pero no tengo tiempo para actualizar este blog.  Cada vez mas sandeces por radio y television, por eso ni las menciono ya.

Tambien he mencionado que he viajado a diferentes lugares y buscando comidas especificas de cada region.  En conclusion, la comida caribeña, sobre todo la cubana, la dominicana y la boricua es bien sabrosa y usa muchas especias.  Pero su combinacion es distinta.  La tailandesa es spicy pero es increiblemente picante, la cajun es con muchas especias pero no es lo mismo.  Ese sabor picante dulzon se me trepa...

Esas diferecnias las habia mencionado aqui:
http://alcantarillaalquimica.blogspot.com/2011/12/221-redes-de-sabores-en-regiones.html

El C quizas explique a lo que me refiero.  La raiz norteamericana es distinta a la caribeña o la oriental.  Tambien tiene que ver con ese sabor, que no se si he mencionado antes, le llaman umami.  El umami es como textura al sabor.  Los orientales descubrieron ese sabor era el monoglutamato de sodio o acido glutamico y otras formas adicinales de esa molecula.

No soy muy cocinero, a pesar de mi trasfondo como ingeniero y tener una familia donde todos cocinan bien.  Decidi entonces escribir sobre el umami y las cocinas de alimentos basados en este articulo de lo mas curioso que encontre en mi Flipbook....

http://www.buzzfeed.com/johnmahoney/the-notorious-msgs-unlikely-formula-for-success

Aqui es un tratado de como se vilifica el MSG (alias Aji No Moto) mientras que el acido glutamico natural que es similar es altamente preciado por su sabor.  Me encanto solo por las fotos y la relacion con el restaurante momofoku.

Without fermentation, we would live in a sad world without beer, cheese, miso, kimchi, and hundreds of other delicious things humans have enjoyed for centuries. But in the carefully labeled containers stacked around the cramped confines of their lab, Chang and Felder have been fermenting new things. They’ve turned mashed pistachios, lentils, chickpeas, and other legumes into miso-like pastes Chang calls “hozon” (Korean for “preserved”). They’ve created variations on Japanese tamari — a by-product of miso production that’s similar to soy sauce — with fermented spelt and rye they call “bonji” (“essence”). They’ve even replicated the Japanese staple katsuobushi (a log of dried, smoked, and fermented bonito that’s shaved into bonito flakes) using fermented pork tenderloin instead of fish.
The flavor Chang and Felder are chasing in creating these new fermented products is umami — the savory “fifth taste” detectable by the human tongue along with salty, sweet, sour, and bitter. When bacteria and fungi break down the glucose in foods that are fermenting, they release waste products. And the waste valued in Momofuku’s lab above all others is glutamic acid, the amino acid that creates the taste of umami on our tongues.

http://scienceandfooducla.wordpress.com/2013/06/20/umami-momofuku-culinary-lab/

http://ny.eater.com/archives/2013/01/chang_2.php

http://www.lamag.com/features/2012/05/01/empire-of-the-bun

La fuerza motriz de que restaurantes como momofuku se han dado cuenta es que el umami hace todo sabroso.  Por eso es que los puestos de tacos, de hamburgers o de ramen se han convertido en una sensacion entre los foodies.

A proposito me recordo ese anuncio que Studio IG hizo para el BMW siguiendo unos jovenes persiguiendo el trailer de comida perfecto.  Links debajo

http://io9.com/5961633/slick-futuristic-anime-about-a-hunt-for-a-legendary-food-truck-is-the-greatest-car-commercial-ever
http://www.cartoonbrew.com/advertising/next-a-class-production-i-g-s-mercedes-benz-viral-73506.html




August 23 UPDATE = Referencias Previas a los Sabores

http://alcantarillaalquimica.blogspot.com/2011/12/221-redes-de-sabores-en-regiones.html
http://flowingdata.com/2011/12/27/backbone-of-the-flavor-network/
http://www.nature.com/srep/2011/111215/srep00196/full/srep00196.html

Esto salio HOY:
Love it...
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=flavor-connection-taste-map-interactive
http://flowingdata.com/2013/08/23/network-of-shared-flavors/

Psychology of Menu Design

Interesting read. An article from New York Magazine on the proper design of menus for trendy restaurants.

In his new book, Priceless: The Myth of Fair Value (and How to Take Advantage of It), author William Poundstone dissects the marketing tricks built into menus—for example, how something as simple as typography can drive you toward or away from that $39 steak.

Here is the New York Magazine article:

http://nymag.com/restaurants/features/62498/

and the original link:

http://www.boingboing.net/2009/12/29/hamburger-or-115-sea.html

Here are some pointers from the article's author:

1. The Upper Right-Hand Corner

That’s the prime spot where diners’ eyes automatically go first. Balthazar uses it to highlight a tasteful, expensive pile of seafood. Generally, pictures of food are powerful motivators but also menu taboos—mostly because they’re used extensively in lowbrow chains like Chili’s and Applebee’s. This illustration “is as far as a restaurant of this caliber can go, and it’s used to draw attention to two of the most expensive orders,” Poundstone says.

2. The Anchor

The main role of that $115 platter—the only three-digit thing on the menu—is to make everything else near it look like a relative bargain, Poundstone says.

3. Right Next Door

At a mere $70, the smaller seafood platter next to Le Balthazar seems like a deal, though there’s no sense of how much food you’re getting. It’s an indefinite comparison that also feels like an indulgence—a win-win for the restaurant.

4. In The Vicinity

The restaurant’s high-profit dishes tend to cluster near the anchor. Here, it’s more seafood at prices that seem comparatively modest.

5. Columns Are Killers

According to Brandon O’Dell, one of the consultants Poundstone quotes in Priceless, it’s a big mistake to list prices in a straight column. “Customers will go down and choose from the cheapest items,” he says. At least the Balthazar menu doesn’t use leader dots to connect the dish to the price; that draws the diner’s gaze right to the numbers. Consultant Gregg Rapp tells clients to “omit dollar signs, decimal points, and cents … It’s not that customers can’t check prices, but most will follow whatever subtle cues are provided.”

6. The Benefit Of Boxes

“A box draws attention and, usually, orders,” Poundstone says. “A really fancy box is better yet. The fromages at the bottom of the menu are probably high-profit puzzles.”

7. Menu Siberia

That’s where low-margin dishes that the regulars like end up. The examples here are the easy-to-miss (and relatively inexpensive) burgers.

8. Bracketing

A regular trick, it’s when the same dish comes in different sizes. Here, that’s done with steak tartare and ravioli—but because “you never know the portion size, you’re encouraged to trade up,” Poundstone says. “Usually the smaller size is perfectly adequate"

Finally, when you see the platters served on the restaurant...it ain't Taco Bell. I'd really dig some of those fresh oysters right now...

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new york magazine food menu design art