food-and-wine-pairing-a-sensory-experience-robert-harrington

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1. Define sensory analysis.
2. What are the six S’s of wine evaluation?
3. What are the proper serving temperatures of various
red and white wines? Why?
EXERCISE 2.1
Exercise 2.1 33
4. Where on the tongue do you perceive the tastes of
sweet, sour, bitter, and salty? Does everyone perceive
them in the same location on the tongue?
TASTING SWEETNESS, SOURNESS, BITTERNESS, SALTINESS, AND TANNIN
Recent research indicates that the entire
mouth experiences taste sensations. Take
this opportunity to individually map your
own palate according to where you taste
the basic four components of sweetness,
saltiness, acidity, and bitterness. Additionally,
the tannin evaluation portion of
this exercise will allow you to identify the
difference between the taste sensation of
bitterness and the tactile all-over-themouth
sensation of tannin.
Sweetness is generally the first component
you perceive as it hits the tip of
your tongue. The sweetness in wine can
be derived from the presence of residual
sugars or from the presence of alcohol or
glycerin. Saltiness is one of the primary
taste components in food. Salt is vitally
important in the seasoning of food items
but, with few exceptions, is present in
wine at undetectable levels. Salt is a taste
enhancer, and you will come to learn its
positive and sometimes negative impact
on wine and food pairings. Acidity is
present in food and wine. Acidity creates
a feeling of crispness or tartness in wine
when present in sufficient levels. Often it
is described as a refreshing or ‘‘electric’’
feeling on the sides of the tongue.
Bitterness is often confused with astringency.
Astringency is a tactile sensation
of puckeriness throughout the
mouth, while bitterness is a sensation at
the back of the tongue. When tasting bitter
foods or solutions, you will notice
how it affects your tongue and mouth.
Tannin is present in most red wines and
to a much lesser extent in white wines
that have been aged in oak. To evaluate
the level of tannin, you will assess the
amount of drying and rough feeling in
your mouth and inside your cheeks.
OBJECTIVES
The main goal of this exercise is to provide
an introduction to the identification
of the basic four sensory components:
sweetness, saltiness, sourness, and bitterness.
After completing it, you will be
introduced to tannin and understand the
difference between tannin (astringency)
and bitterness. The exercise allows you
to locate where you sense the four basic
taste sensations of sweetness, acidity,
saltiness, and bitterness on your palate.
While tasting for acidity, you will be introduced
to four different types of acid,
including tartaric acid, malic acid, citric
acid, and acetic acid.
Mise en Place: Things to Do Before
the Exercise Review the sections
of this chapter describing the primary
taste components. Assemble the following
ingredients and materials.