Flavors so subtle I missed them

[MarketStEl]

These are distinct but related issues, so I'm combining them in this one post.

I've come to understand from hanging out here long enough that the true mark of culinary sophistication is to appreciate subtle flavorings and seasonings. The interplay of hints of an herb or spice with the main ingredients, if I understand this argument correctly, is what sets fine food apart from its coarser cousins.

Saffron, so I've been told, is one of those subtle seasonings. A few strands is all one needs to impart not only a yellow color, but also a touch of bitterness, to a dish. Too much, the woman who sold me a $1 bag of saffron (yes, you read that correctly; it was about .25 gram) at the Spice Corner told me, and your dish will become too bitter.

So I added about seven threads of saffron to the 1/2 cup of rice I made last night. Sure enough, that was all I needed to produce a deep yellow color in the rice. But where was the flavoring? Adding nothing else to the rice but that, I got rice so bland that I wondered what the salesclerk was talking about. I generally cook with little or no salt because my partner needs to watch his sodium intake. But I wonder whether the flavor of saffron--if indeed it has any--isn't something that needs the presence of another seasoning--salt, say--to bring out.

However, I have learned that it's not necessary to use a heavy hand with the seasonings to balance flavors in a dish. That's no small achievement for someone who has been accustomed to liberally dousing food in sauces, turning his fried potatoes orange with the Old Bay and seasoned salt, and preparing five-alarm chili.

So last night I prepared linguine (sorta) Florentine with mussels. I say "sorta" because I used melted butter flavored with garlic instead of cream sauce. To half a pound of pasta, a one-pound bag of mussels and a one-pound bag of thawed frozen spinach I added two whole sticks of melted butter (1/4 pound or one cup) in which I had simmered (too much butter to call this sauteing) five minced garlic cloves.

The resulting dish tasted just fine to me--a nice interplay between the butter, garlic, spinach and mussels. A friend I served it to begged to differ. "Make me a plate and add butter and garlic," he said.

"But both are already in there," I replied. "I used two whole sticks."

"It's too dry," he said. And, apparently, not garlicky enough.

I understand that garlic fiends can't get enough of the stuff and that butter is a great seasoning. But isn't there a point where it becomes overkill?

[SuzySushi]

Hmmmnn... I think you are bringing up several topics in one post.

First, tastes differ, which I'm sure you know. What may taste salty or spicy to me may not to another person. IMHO, 2 sticks of butter (which is 1/2 pound, not 1/4 pound) is an awful lot for 1/2 pound of pasta. 5 cloves of garlic, though, would be not enough to my palate!

The saffron is another issue. There are a lot of different grades of saffron and the lesser grades (I hesitate to say "cheap") are not as flavorful and some of what's sold as "saffron" is not be saffron at all, but safflower that is being passed off as saffron. They will impart a yellow color to the rice but very little flavor. The higher grades of saffron have completely red strands (no orange or yellow tip). Saffron, if over-used, tastes medicinal.

[C. sapidus]

I've come to understand from hanging out here long enough that the true mark of culinary sophistication is to appreciate subtle flavorings and seasonings.  The interplay of hints of an herb or spice with the main ingredients, if I understand this argument correctly, is what sets fine food apart from its coarser cousins.

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Sandy: I agree that the interplay of flavors makes for fine eating, but disagree that said interplay must be subtle to be sophisticated. Take, for example, the bold flavors of many SE Asian cuisines: hot chilies, sour lime juice or tamarind, salty fish sauce or soy sauce, and sweet sugar. These are not subtle flavors, but balance remains the key to a well-made ("sophisticated") meal. I would also argue that Indian and Mexican cuisine (among others) can be sophisticated without being subtle.

In addition to cultural norms, individuals have differing physical capacity to detect different tastes. Better sites probably exist, but this one (link) gives the gist. Some folks are born with more taste buds on their tongues than others. A person would be embarking on a futile quest by trying by trying to appreciate especially subtle tastes that they lacked the physical ability to detect.

What other folks call subtle, I probably consider under-spiced. On the other hand, the bold flavors that I prefer may be anathema to a supertaster. Other folks may value interesting textural contrasts in their food. To each his own; I am reluctant to declare bold or subtle foods inherently superior (but I know what I like).

[TongoRad]

...The saffron is another issue. There are a lot of different grades of saffron and the lesser grades (I hesitate to say "cheap") are not as flavorful and some of what's sold as "saffron" is not be saffron at all, but safflower that is being passed off as saffron. They will impart a yellow color to the rice but very little flavor. The higher grades of saffron have completely red strands (no orange or yellow tip). Saffron, if over-used, tastes medicinal.

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That was my first thought as well. I've overdone it with saffron in rice before and I probably used less than you did. (It's something I would recommend that you do just once, actually, just to get a real sense of what it tastes and smells like. At that point you will be able to detect it with no trouble in more subtle amounts).

Here in the NYC area one can get excellent quality saffron in Indian markets at very affordable prices.

[mrbigjas]

spice corner, where sandy got the saffron, is a reputable store--i don't think they'd sell him safflower and call it saffron.

they do have a really bad website, though.

[alanamoana]

i'll second the idea that seasoning doesn't have to be subtle to be considered sophisticated.

gray kunz formerly of lespinasse in new york and currently of cafe gray uses a heavy hand when it comes to seasoning and strong flavors. i think that is what distinguishes his style from other chefs. although there are times when poorly executed (by an inexperienced line cook or someone who doesn't "get" it) and you end up with a salt or sugar bomb on the plate, for the most part, you end up with a dish that just hits every note spot on. i think he takes his cues from s.e. asian cuisines that c. sapidus talks about upthread.

i used to be of the school that "if a little bit of this is good then a lot has got to be better"! i've come to realize that is only the case if everything is balanced.

but again, it is very subjective!

[bandregg]

Being subtle with a flavor and not over- or under-powering the eater is tricky depending on the flavor itself. A good friend once served a house-cured halibut that was proportedly flavored with clove. No-one eating it could taste the clove and he said, "I've had trouble with clove being overpowering before, maybe I cut it back too much this time."

[MarketStEl]

Hmmmnn... I think you are bringing up several topics in one post.

First, tastes differ, which I'm sure you know. What may taste salty or spicy to me may not to another person. IMHO, 2 sticks of butter (which is 1/2 pound, not 1/4 pound) is an awful lot for 1/2 pound of pasta. 5 cloves of garlic, though, would be not enough to my palate!

The saffron is another issue. There are a lot of different grades of saffron and the lesser grades (I hesitate to say "cheap") are not as flavorful and some of what's sold as "saffron" is not be saffron at all, but safflower that is being passed off as saffron. They will impart a yellow color to the rice but very little flavor. The higher grades of saffron have completely red strands (no orange or yellow tip). Saffron, if over-used, tastes medicinal.

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The comment on the garlic is noted. I doubt I'll ever get it up to levels that would pass muster in Gilroy, California, but I may have been dealing with a true garlic lover. Obviously there's room to experiment here.

As for the saffron: Echoing James, I doubt I was sold something being passed off as saffron, and part of the reason why is because for years, I had in my spice cabinet exactly that. When I belonged to a food co-op in Allston (Boston), Mass., back in the days between college and college, I once purchased enough saffron to fill a small Grey Poupon jar for about $4. Knowing what I know now about how much real saffron costs per ounce, no way that could have been the genuine article. Not to mention that the threads were much thicker than what I got in the bag and were a mix of red and orange-red in color.

That stuff didn't have much flavor to it either, but it was a little more noticeable when I used it in the rather large quantities I needed to turn things really yellow.