What is the difference between flavour and taste?

Flavour is the complex experience we have when we eat something, it is the combination of all senses and it evokes an emotion. Taste is a characteristic of the ingredient and together they compose a meal. We identify five flavours. Most of us know sour, sweet , salty and bitter, but not many know Umami. Umami is, like the Guardian says int this magnificent article: ‘when it comes to savoury, "1+1=8". In the simplest terms, umami actually comes from glutamates and a group of chemicals called ribonucleotides, which also occur naturally in many foods. When you combine ingredients containing these different umami-giving compounds, they enhance one another so the dish packs more flavour points than the sum of its parts. This is why the cooked beef, tomato and cheese in the above examples form a ménage à trois made in heaven. And why ham and peas is a gastronomic no-brainer’.

All Chefs are alchemists says www.Pattycooks.com. ‘I think of cooks as alchemists, defined as a person who transforms or creates something through a seemingly magical process’.

For me umami -together with great olives oil, lemon zest, fresh herbs and star anise- is the secret to a fantastic dish. Umami is a key component of the flavour of meat and we use sundries tomatoes, parmesan, sautéed mushroom, tamari, miso, nuts etc to bring it into a dish. Pattycooks.com did a great article about all five tastes here. Key to a great dish is to make sure you have all five. And combined with five textures: crispy, creamy, chewy, airy and qroquant.