— Melissa Bryant

Okay. Um, so yes, you know, we talk about, uh, or, you know, at least, um, mention in some fashion or another this idea of building flavors as you cook. And let me, let me just jump into some practical methods. And, you know, maybe from that, some of the, the theory will, will, will come out, uh, of that. Um, but, uh, you know, different categories of ingredients, maybe this is the theory here, um, different categories of, of, uh, of ingredients, um, provide different types of flavors. And as we add these cate, uh, ingredients from these different categories, um, they, they stand out on their own. Yet at the same time, of course, they, they meld with the adjacent flavors. And so, you know, you, you have this complication of flavor that emerges, and this is the result of this layering effect. Okay? Um, and when I say complication, you know, hopefully that's not a muddling of flavors, but, uh, something more harmonious. And, you know, to begin with, uh, think about browning the, uh, uh, the application of dry heat to, to caramelize sugars or to, to develop browning through the my yard process, but, but browning, uh, of the foods which adds flavor. And so often that'll be a first step that, that we use as we, uh, as we saute an item, for example. And then beyond that, as we look at the, uh, different ingredient categories, uh, it could be spices that are used or herbs, um, whole spices or ground fresh spices or fresh herbs or dried, okay? And, uh, citrus zest could be used. Citrus, uh, juice can be used, uh, vinegars, right? As a category, have many different flavors to offer, along with the acidity or the, or the sourness, uh, that comes along with that category of ingredients. So you can pick and choose a vinegar that is aligned with the ingredients that you're using, or, you know, the regional cuisine profile, right, that you're preparing. Or maybe it's, it's simply what you like, okay? And of course, there's salt and pepper as, as very basic, let me, lemme say salt. Okay, we'll, we'll separate the pepper, that's, we'll put that in the spice category. Um, but there's salts, uh, as well. And, uh, many salts are, are fairly neutral in their flavor. If you get a, uh, a kosher salt, kosher style salt, uh, it tends to be a fairly, uh, neutral in flavor. But if you get some of, um, uh, these, uh, regionally specific salts, sometimes, uh, they're, they're categorized as finishing salts, I think, because the price tag is higher. And we associate them with just that last little bit of, um, seasoning adjustment prior to service, uh, you know, finishing the dish before consuming it. Um, you know, this could be, um, uh, the Florida cell, which is this first little bloom of salt that, uh, uh, emerges, um, on the salt pans as the water evaporates from, from the, the sun. Uh, and that's, that's collected. It's very delicate before we get down to some of the, the larger, uh, or, or heavier crystals. Um, you know, there's red salts from Hawaii that are colored by the, the minerals that are in the, the, the clays and, and, uh, the soil adjacent to that salt. And, and the salts come from so many places, and they all have different flavors. And, uh, so you can pick and choose your salt, uh, as well. Okay? Um, and so the use of each of these, you know, ingredients from the categories that I just mentioned will lend a, a different facet or layer of flavor that all sort of builds up and, and, uh, you know, amalgamate into this finished product. Of course, uh, I guess a couple of big categories, I can't, I can't, uh, overlook will be the alliums, right? So you've got, um, onions and garlic and leeks, and scallions, and chives and, and many, many more items in that category of ingredients that are, um, that are commonly used throughout the world. Uh, and then the last thing I'll mention here is you have the main ingredients that, that, uh, comprise the dish that you're making. And if you can choose the, the most flavorful, uh, items, uh, you know, you palate will be most satisfied in the end. And, um, sometimes, you know, we need to look for those things like at local farmer's markets. Uh, sometimes if, uh, we have the opportunity to grow our own food, then, you know, you have a chance to, to, to, uh, to play around with these, uh, different varieties of beets or different varieties of, to, uh, tomatoes or beans or whatever it happens to be. And so keep those things in mind, right as you're producing a dish. And be very mindful of the nuances that emerge in terms of, uh, the, the different flavors. And, um, you know, I, I think that, um, this process of developing flavor will, will become a little more clear to you.