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Why
Do Some Dishes Taste Better Tomorrow?
Amy asks: Why do some foods tend to become more flavorful a day after they're made? I just made some ratatouille out of Emeril's second cookbook (great if you haven't made it yet) and he says that it picks up more flavor after it's been reheated. I've also noticed this to be true with gumbo, chicken soup and other things. Why? Tom sez: I've wondered that myself. After checking with many sources, I find that nobody is quite sure of what makes this happen, but they're all sure that certain things do taste better a day after being cooked. The most outstanding example involves beans and other legumes like peas. Here it is thought that the sugars and starches in the beans, which are largely undigestible by humans, oxidize somewhat and become more amenable to our system, part of which is our taste apparatus. I think also that the small amount of fats that beans are always cooked with manage to penetrate their substance more fully after a day or so. Vegetables such as are found in ratatouille are also not fully digested in our bodies, and I suspect that the breakdown of their substance caused by the acids in the rest of the recipe (particularly in the tomatoes) allows a better flavor release. But I'm just guessing. Revised 3/10/08 Copyright © 2008 Tom Fitzmorris. All rights reserved. |
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