Flavor Is Not Taste!

Try an experiment. Make some Jell-O desserts with different flavors, or take something that comes in different flavors with the same texture, shape, and even color so you can't tell by any other way except tasting them, for example, jelly beans that come in surprise flavors. You can even mash up some fruits with the same texture.

Now, pinch or plug your nose first, cover your eyes and ask your friend to feed you blindfolded.

When you eat that mysterious Jell-O, jelly bean or puree, can you decide the flavor of it? Is it apple, pear, carrot, potato, yam, watermelon or butterscotch? You notice the sweetness and the texture, maybe a little acidity, but without the sense of smell, you shouldn't be able to tell what flavor it is.

Now, let your nose go and taste again. You'll notice that the flavors become apparent, and likewise the distinction between taste and flavor becomes apparent. Taste and aroma in tandem become the flavor you perceive. In other words, we decide the flavor of food through our taste perception of the tongue and our smell perception of the nose.

Recognizing the distinction between the taste and flavor will help you season your food in the kitchen. Most of the challenges in cooking have to do with the interaction of tastes with one another (Basic Five Tastes), and is not about esoteric herbs and spices.

Further more, if you find yourself eat without tasting or savoring it, it may be time to slow your pace down a bit.

Cheers.