Layering "flavors" question

[K Robert]

Can someone explain to me the term "layering" as it applies to flavors in a dish?

Thanks

 

[marmalady]

It can mean simply adding flavors during the preparation of the recipe - ie, first salt/pepper, let's say, the chicken; then sauteeing some onion/celery/garlic, spices, wine, and so on.

It could also mean the different 'mouth' flavors one gets when tasting a dish; ie, think of Indian food or Mexican - you get the sense of all the different flavors used for the dish, and it all comes together to make a great dish!

 

[ironchef]

Think of layering a dish like painting a picture. One color (flavor) by itself is pretty bland, but when you start to add other colors the painting starts to really come alive. There's also a point where if you add too many colors, the painting will end up as a jumbled mess. But the better the artist, the more complex the painting will become, yet it will not be overbearing.

 

[Andy M.]

Think of layering a dish like painting a picture. One color (flavor) by itself is pretty bland, but when you start to add other colors the painting starts to really come alive. There's also a point where if you add too many colors, the painting will end up as a jumbled mess. But the better the artist, the more complex the painting will become, yet it will not be overbearing.

Well said, IC!

 

[Quanyn]

I layer flavors by first tasting the dish then trying to figure out what would compliment or accent it the best. I've only been doing this a few years, but I get better as I cook.

 

[BreezyCooking]

Also keep in mind that too many "layered" colors/flavors can end up equaling "froufrou", which will mean nothing to the diner, but is more an idiotic piled up melange of "whatever" that's just an egomaniac chef's way of thinking. Boy, have I come across that more than once in my travels. . . .

I am SO tired of restaurants assuming that we're all idiots just DYING to taste the latest "pyramid of the day", regardless of whether the ingredients/flavors/colors work or not. Aaaccckkk!!!

(Edited to add: Present chefs' company on these forums excluded, of course!! )

 

[VeraBlue]

You add your flavouring agents (spice, herb, liquid) at different stages of cooking to best be absorbed and to best enhance what is already in the pot.