Understanding flavor profiles to keep your taste buds happy

The thought of basic ingredients tasting so fabulous is sometimes unfathomable. The perfect balance of flavors can be achieved by simply adding a touch of sourness or a dash of saltiness. Understanding your palate and the different flavor profiles is important when it comes to cooking the perfectly balanced meal.

Luckily, a trip to culinary school isn’t necessary in order to understand how to balance out those flavor profiles. According to science there are five “official” flavor profiles: salty, sweet, sour, bitter and umami. There used to be only four and over a decade ago came along umami. I’m sure if you’ve never heard of it before you are quite curious how and what is umami doing on the flavor profile of your taste buds.

Umami is a Japanese word that can be translated as “pleasant savory taste” — or simply, “yummy.” It is closely associated with the salty profile as it is hard to identify without this being present. Umami can be more of a full-mouth experience. It can cause that tingly salivation you get after eating something full in flavor or has a mild lingering aftertaste that you can’t quite describe. That weird feeling on your tongue or throat you get after eating something so delicious, that’s umami.

A few ingredients that are rich in umami components include tomatoes and soy sauce. Some of you might be thinking there is nothing umami about a tomato, but think about making a simple tomato sauce, with your main ingredient being tomatoes. Adding the right amount of salt, sugar, herbs and sometimes a touch of balsamic vinegar can transform the flavor profile of the tomatoes, giving it a full richness that consumes your whole palate. It’s the act of different profile ingredients working together that can transform one ingredient into a mouthful of flavor.

Keeping a balance between the flavor profiles is key to keeping your taste buds happy. If something tastes bland, odds are all you need is some salt to bring out the other flavors. If something is too sour a touch of sweetness can help balance out the flavors. And this works vice versa. Too sweet? Add sour. Lastly, we come to bitter. This is a flavor profile that is usually already existing in our dish and not something we necessarily add, making something more bitter. For example, creating a vinaigrette with sweet, salty and even sour components for an endive, spinach, radicchio or even kale salad can help balance the bitterness.

So, with this simple understanding of flavor profiles you can become more aware of the balance of ingredients to enhance the flavors on your taste buds.

One more thing before we get to our recipe. When creating a dish I always like to think about texture, even if its just creating side dishes to compliment a main course. Creamed Spinach and whipped potatoes might sound lovely but everything ends up having the same texture on the plate and can cause a dish to lack depth. Replacing the whipped potatoes with perhaps roasted potatoes can give the dish more texture and therefore create more depth.

The recipe I am sharing with you today is a simple dish that hits all of the flavor profiles and has a bit of added depth using the most basic simple ingredients. Odds are you have all of the ingredients on hand and it is also very easy on the wallet if a trip to the store is required.

Spaghetti Pangrattato topped with an egg
Serves 4

Ingredients:
1 large garlic clove, minced
2 tablespoons olive oil, plus more if needed
1/2 cup Panko bread crumbs
1 teaspoon fresh sage, minced
1 tablespoon lemon zest
1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
4 eggs
1 box dried spaghetti
2 teaspoons capers, drained, rinsed and minced
1/2 cup grated Pecorino Romano cheese
salt and black pepper

• Heat the olive oil in a medium skillet over medium heat. Add the garlic and let sizzle for about one minute, just until it begins to change color. Add the bread crumbs, red pepper flakes, sage, lemon zest, about one tablespoon of the fresh parsley, salt and pepper. Reduce the heat to low and continue cooking until the mixture is an even golden brown color, about five minutes. Set aside.

• Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook the pasta until al dente, about two minutes less than the package directions. Reserve 1/2 cup of the pasta cooking water before straining the pasta.

• While the pasta is cooking, heat a medium skillet over medium high heat. Add enough olive oil to just lightly coat the pan. Crack the eggs into the pan and cook until the white are done but the yolks are still runny. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

• Once the pasta is strained return to the empty pot. Toss with about one tablespoon of oil, the reserved pasta water, capers, the rest of the fresh parsley and half of the grated pecorino cheese. Toss over high heat for about one minute. Divide the pasta among serving bowls. Sprinkle each dish generously with the bread crumb mixture, then top with an egg. Sprinkle with remaining Pecorino Romano cheese and more of the bread crumb mixture if desired. Serve immediately.

Kayleigh Van Vliet Baig was born and raised in Riverhead, where she lives with her husband Tahir.

Kayleigh has been in the culinary industry for the last 12 years, working in kitchens on the East End. She also is a personal chef.

Look for In the Kitchen with Kayleigh every Saturday on RiverheadLOCAL.com.

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