I have an amateur interest in historical cooking, one thing that has become apparent from this is that modern tastes/flavours are just that, modern, not necessarily more refined, as some would have it. Several times I have recreated a dish (as far as I am able) and while the combination of ingredients sounds very strange by modern standards, in general the final product tastes great. An example of this would be an Italian Renaissance period pie, where a sweet short crust is stuffed with pasta, sweetbreads, chicken livers and a ham/porcini custardish sauce. This just sounds terrible too most people I have shown, yet tastes great. The sugar in the crust seems to counteract the richness of the filling (which is the opposite of my expectations).
You obviously combine all types of interesting flavour combinations professionally (I've heard
), so could you give you opinions on how much of what we taste and perceive to be good is innate and how much is a learned? In addition, how difficult is it for you to alter peoples opinions on taste? Would it be easier for you in some instances not to describe the contents of a particular dish, as the combination of flavours is too confronting for people?
