ISO info source for flavour matching and general culinary education

[Silver]

Okay, another question!

I've been watching a LOT of "Chef at Home" (Michael Smith) on Food Network Canada and he always talks about flavour matching...like ALL the time..."well this flavour is a natural match wit the fennel in this sausage" or "of course...when using terragon, **** is a natural accompaniment" or, on the other hand "as this is [blank] is such a strong flavour, it accents the [blank2] as opposed to complementing it"...(etc etc ad nauseum).

I'm wondering, as an "culinarily uneducated beginner", is there a good source of information for things like what Michael Smith is talking about? A book? A good website? Some sort of list?

On a related note...as much as I'd enjoy going to culinary school and learning to chef it up, it'd be merely for the sake of personal interest as opposed to an actual desire to become a "chef" (considering I'm 2/3 of the way through law school). As such, I'd really like to "learn" more...and I'm not sure how to go about it, or even what I want to learn, because I don't know what I don't know! Things like techniques, temperatures, different types of stirring...you name it. My girlfriend tells me I'm more than a bit OCD and when I get on a kick, I need to learn all about the area in question - she's more or less right.

So with that in mind, is there a good series of books or a good website where all this kind of thing can be learned? Or is it best learned by simply asking a lot of annoying questions and harassing you folks on a forum like this?

Thanks for any advice!

Mike

 

[ironchef]

This book is a good resource for this, because there is a large section on pairing and matching flavors. Please be advised that this is NOT a cookbook, but rather a reference tool.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0471287857/002-4290449-3931206?v=glance&n=283155

 

[Silver]

that's great ic, thanks for that link! I'll take a look

 

[Brandi Clark]

Hi Mike! I wrote an article on cooking foods that go well together. To be honest it's not necessarily as detailed as to specifying what ingredients complement one another but focuses more on the characteristics of food.

Here's the link if you are interested: http://www.goarticles.com/cgi-bin/showa.cgi?C=179291

Brandi

 

[Silver]

Ah, thanks Brandi. I have often wondered about that as well, as my meals are usually pretty haphazard.

I was thinking more specifically of what kinds of spices go together (and with what other flavours) and that kind of thing, but your article brings to mind something I hadn't previously considered much, thanks!

 

[Silver]

When I was at the book store last night, I was looking at the huge variety of general reference/learning books.

Anyone have any recommendations for a good intro (but not TOTALLY basic) cooking book? There are so many to choose from, I figured a bit of advice wouldn't hurt...

 

[kitchenelf]

At one point in the "beginning" I took out all my spices and herbs and read on the bottles/cans/whatever they are in, what they went with. It really helped.

Also, here is a good site that may have some good reading to it - http://msucares.com/lawn/herbs/herbal_cooking.html It does at least give some insite.

 

[Silver]

Thanks elf, that's great!

 

[Mark Webster]

Elf,

You can go to a bookstore or library and get a book that talks about flvor profiles for each country. If you looked up India for instance it would cover different curries etc, Greece - the use of oil and oregano things like that. It would give you a good base to start with.
Mark

 

[jpmcgrew]

The Culinary Artistry is good Im in the middle of reading it right now.

 

[Silver]

it's on my birthday list...one more month!