Syst em of Dess ert Crea tion
System of
Dessert Creatio
n
System of Desserts Creation
• In order to create dessert we must understand how we perceive a dessert
• We must understand how our Five Senses react and interact with food . Then we will be able tell why THIS DESSERT IS REALLY GOOD
• When we understand this we can use this information to create truly memorable desserts
To create a proper dessert composition it is vital we comprehend the 5 human
senses
Taste
Smell
Sight
Touch
Hearing
Sensory Perception• This is the process by which the
human body recognizes and categorizes the messages from each of the five senses
• Our senses all contribute to the perception of the food we enjoy
• Each one of us do not perceive foods in the exactly the same manner, this is a unique a personal sensation
The Human Senses
Taste is elementary, this drives patron to your
place of business. They want to experience the pleasurable of eating and tasting, they want to placate their hunger and need to socialize
4 Basic Tastes
• Sweet• Salty• Sour• Bitter• 2 recent add -ons• Umami-(savory
or meaty)• Fatty
Flavor is the intermingling of taste smell and
trigeminal receptors
(nerve response to biting and chewing or
mouth feel and consistency)
Taste is what we perceive through our taste buds
Taste vs. Flavor
Certain substances stimulate the trigeminal receptors causing primary sensations such as:
Pungent-caused by hot spicesBiting-caused by garlic
Burning-caused by chili peppers
Prickling-caused by carbonated water
Astringent- caused by caustic foods and drinks (red wine /very bitter chocolate)
TASTE
• These primary sensations can be followed by secondary sensations such as sweating, crying, increased salvation and a runny nose
• Many people like these sensations and link these with the foods they enjoy
• The sensations will have their sensitivity decreased with frequent exposure, spicy foods lose their punch
Smell is the detection of
chemicals dissipated in the air
Your perception of smell is much more sensitive. There are only a small
number of tastes can be identified there are
400,000 known substances that convey to
us the sense of smell
The average human can distinguish a few
thousand of these odors
How we smell• Direct-through the nose• Indirect - through the Pharynx• We perceive smell through our throat
because of gases released as we chew• Smell accounts for 80% of our
perception of flavor• Take chocolate for example our taste
buds can pick up sweet, bitter and fatty but our nose tells us this is CHOCOLATE
Smell
• The aromas or odors arrive to our brain long before the flavors and sensations of the tongue does
• Some food and beverages are very
complex coffee has 800 aroma components and chocolate has 500
Sight• Appearance is crucial is establishing the diner’s exhilaration, recognition and enjoyment of the food presented
Visual PerceptionLight rays help us form a visual image by visual stimuli
• This is broken into 3 distinct pathways• Depth perception
• Pattern and Shape Perception• Color Perception
Depth Perception we use
information from both eyes to
determine depth perception but there are other factors we can
use too
Occlusion- one
object is partially
hidden by another
Perception - judging distance based on how close together
they appear Motion objects that
are close seem to
move more quickly than
those far away
Shadow and light bright
closer appear closer than
dull ones Dark object appear farther away
than light ones
SIGHT
Pattern and Shape Perception
• Foreground and background- We see object and their surrounds at the same time
• When we shift our focus we see some things more distinctly than others, this our perception altering not those items
Grouping-We see some things both separately and in relation to the objects
around them
Proximity-similar objects viewed in close proximity of others are seen as a group i.e. a bouquet of flowers
Color, size and orientationwe visually group objects together by color, size and
direction, We will see the whole strawberries cascading down a fruit display against the sliced
honeydew
Closure- are eyes make connections between objects when they aren’t
touching. An arch of pulled sugar will be closed I as a loop with your eyes
Continuity-this is the perception of objects as a group if their position forms a pattern. Dots of sauce in a straight
line seen to form a line even if that line is interrupted by a scoop of ice cream
• Color perception this is of exceptional importance when plating a dessert
• Different cultures attach contrary significance to colors. Blue is not an appetizing food to Europeans or Americans although the Japanese use food coloring in their foods an cite blue as appealing food color
Mouthfeel is essentially the sence of touch that provides
us information about the food
e are eating
We use two different term to describe
mouth feel
Viscosity and consistency-this
is used for liquids and
semisolid item like ice cream
Texture-this is for solid or
semisolid item like a cookie or
cheesecake
TOUCH
Hearing• To fully enjoy some foods sound impressions
are essential• Such as eating potato chips or • These is broken into two categories
• Crunchy-crackers, cereal and tuile
• Crispy-applesSounds are perceived when eating or touching foods. Like tearing off a piece of crusty bread
Four Basic Tastes
Sweet
Salty
Sour
Bitter
Power of Sweetness• Sweetness is almost universally
regarded as a pleasurable experience. It is the only we have from birth
• Sweetness is detected by all the receptors located mainly on the surface of the tongue
• Sweetness tends to soften sharper flavors such as bitter or sour elements
Salt enhances the taste of sweet dishes
and disguises bitterness
Salt is essential to sustain life
Most humans develop the taste for salt around 4-6 months of
age
Salty
Sour• In small quantities sourness can
excite our appetite and add complexity to a dessert. It also can be used to cut the heavy feeling on the palate of high fat or super sweet foods
• A strong sour taste is usually undesirable because it is used to warn us of spoiled food
Bitter• Bitter used to be generally an unwanted
flavor in modern cuisine as many people didn’t have a strong tolerance to it.
• Now enjoying bitter flavors is usually considered the sign of a mature palate
• Bitterness compliments fruitiness and acidity thus giving your dessert profound dimension and harmony
The Temperature Dynamic
• In general we encounter the most intense taste perception from food that are about
68-95 degrees• So the lower the temperature the lower
the taste perception. We have very low acknowledgement of foods below 32 degrees
• High temperatures increase release of aroma components and taste intensity
Mouth Feel
The better the food coats the
tongue and the more liquid in
consistency the stronger
the taste perception
Liquid textures easily
dissolves on the taste buds and increase
aroma release
High density textures-lot of taste buds are
covered because of the coating of the
tongue
DurationThe longer the time on the tongue
the stronger the taste
perception, eating food more slowly
will aid in this
Age• As one gets older the amount
of taste diminishes
• Children have three times a stronger perception than adults especially to bitter undertone like those found in vegetables
Chemical interaction• Consuming drugs, coffee, alcohol and
pungent dishes and cigarettes before eating will result in a loss of flavor perception
• Certain prescription medicines and medical treatments can have the same effect
3 steps to Create a Successful Dessert
Step 1 Flavor-combining
Step 2 Mouth feel –combining textures and temperatures
Step 3 Appearance-combining visual elements
Combining Flavors
The following slides are from Albert Uster Imports auiswiss.com• This will help you with the age old
question of what goes together• Many Pastry Chefs struggle with this
and until they get a better idea of what works create some really awful desserts with combination that don’t work
Using the charts
Dark Chocolat
e Almonds Chipotle
Chilies Port Cherries
Dark Chocolate, Almonds, Chipotle Chilies and Port will all pair well with cherries creating a interesting and pleasing dessert combination
The flavor profile includes the 9 attributes
1.Bitter
2. Cocoa
3. Sweet 4. Fruity
5. Acidic
6. Nutty 7. Salty
8. Spicy/Herbal
9. Others
Combining different tastes
Sweet and SourSweetness is full and round and an overly sweet dish is overwhelming
and cloying
Sour is sharp and has the ability to cut trough overwhelming sweetness without detracting
from the full round flavor
With a pungent sour dish a little sugar will soften it up
Sweet and Salty
These two components work well together to make an addictive treat when use in the correct proportions
Bitter and
Sweet
Each taste enhances the other
Bitter
can help
to cut
the
cloying
and
overwhel
ming
sweetnes
s in a
dish
Salty and Sour
May sound strange but the
work well together
In small amounts acid
enhances salty flavors
In large amounts acid seems to diminish salty flavors
Mouth feel Profile
1. Smooth2. Liquid3. Light4. Soft5. Crunchy6. Solid7. Heavy
Appearance EvaluationColor• Are there multiple colors or hues of the
same color to provide visual interest• Do the colors work well together• Do the colors represent the flavors of
the dessert
Shape- Does the shape(s) convey the overall style of the dessert
Size- is the size appropriate for it’s attended use and environment
Proportion• Are the elements in the dessert in good visual
relationship to one another
• Dose the relationship of height, width and depth create a pleasing presentations
• Does the serving plate make sense with the dessert
6 Plating Styles• Classic- familiar dessert with
memories, picture Gateaux St. Honore
•Minimalist- small portions very little décor-precise detail and high quality is a must for this style
• Naturalist-similar to minimalist, relies on organic shapes, sizes and colors
• Contemporary-leans toward abstract, layers of colors , contrasting textures and geometric shapes
• Theatrical-evokes emotion, sets a mood, playful , dramatic, surprising and chaotic are examples
• Molecular Gastronomy- breaks all the rules by the use of specific techniques
Plating Musts• Variety of shapes• Size- does it make sense• Proportion of components• Style -pick one and carry it through
the dessert• Skill- everything made well and truly
well crafted• Focal Point-show me the money• Texture
Summary
• What are the five sense involved in eating • List the 4 tastes• Describe 5 important fact about tastes• Describe the factors in Mouth feel• Describe 4 important fact about smell• Describe 4 important factors of sight and/or
visual perception• Why is our hearing important
Summary
• List the 3 steps to create a successful dessert• List some common flavor combinations• Describe 5 of the mouth feel profiles
• Use the complimentary flavor chart• List 3 factors in appearance evaluation• List the 6 plating styles• List the plating musts