ECHO 2016 COLLEGE MAGAZINE

taste, people tend to associate a food’s
quality level with how well it’s physical or
cooked properties coincide with their
preferences. Examples abound: Do you
like your pizza crust crispy or soft? How
sweet do you like your Qubhani? How
spicy is your Biryani? Anyway, your
declaration that any food is “good” is
mediated by all the little nuances that
are dear to your heart, and not
necessarily some external, objective
criteria. Another issue with evaluating
food quality involves foods whose
appreciation necessitates an acquired
taste like the Karela Fry. There is no
doubt that our palates broaden and
become refined with experience and
w i t h t h a t e x p e r i e n c e c o m e s a
sharpening of our senses and a broader
base for comparison. For example, you
would be in a compromised position to
judge the quality of specific Caviar based
on the first time it entered your mouth. At
the very least, you’d have nothing to
compare it to. At the most, the “palateshock”
caused by your initial exposure to
the novel and strong flavor can interfere
with your ability to judge it fairly.
Not only does greater experience with
any given food increase our capacity to
evaluate it, but also experience with
higher quality examples of that food. If
you’ve never had a Nizami Sufiyani
Biryani, you’re more likely to think the
local specimen is pretty good. In fact,
you may say the Local Biryani is the best
one you’ve ever had. Similarly, if you’ve
never or rarely been exposed to the level
of Culinary Diligence Demonstrated by
upper Echelon Chefs, your comparative
scrutiny is restricted. Thus, having never
or rarely experienced top-notch
ingredients nor top-notch cooking, one’s
standard for quality immediately
becomes relative to their narrowed
range of familiarity.
Interestingly, even when exposed to the
highest quality cuisine, some people
r e s p o n d w i t h i n d i f f e r e n c e o r
displeasure. Inevitably this disqualifying
response to superior quality stems from
the aforementioned lack of experience
with gourmet food and professional
cooking. A layman could very well dine in
a top-of-the-line French restaurant and
come away wondering what all the fuss
is about, (and be just as satisfied with his
Pulao and Chicken Curry).
And then of course are the ultrasubjective
factors that shape our
appraisal of food quality, namely the
irrational beliefs, misconceptions,
phobias, and sometimes outright
superstitions that a growing number of
Indians harbor about food. A perfect
example is “Curd and fish together
causes itching” when in fact fish
marinated in curd tastes heavenly.
Much like beauty is in the eye of the
beholder, Quality is in the tongue of the
taster. Nevertheless you should pursue
what you think is quality and what makes
you happy and that is the Appraisal of
Taste.
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student clubs
1. Gastronomy Club
2. Events Club
3. Greencore Club
4. Hospitality Club
5. Cultural Club
6. Communicado Club
7. Sports Club
8. Disciplinary Committee
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