Scharffn berger, neufchatel, mascarpone, oh my!

I furthered explored the tastes of various chocolates in class on Friday with a triangle taste test of Scharffen Berger milk and dark chocolate. I tried them three different ways: straight out of the wrapper, after breathed for two hours, and after heated in the microwave. This was a very high quality chocolate, and I enjoyed both the dark and milk chocolates. My favorite, for both kinds, was the heated version. The heated chocolate melted quickly in my mouth and was very creamy. The dark definitely had the most intense flavor after being heated and the milk chocolate had a high aroma too. The breathed milk chocolate was not as creamy nor as flavorful as the heated chocolate. The wrapped milk and dark was the most firm of the three types of chocolate. The wrapped milk melted in my mouth better than the breathed chocolate. The wrapped dark was the most bittersweet and had a lingering flavor in my mouth. We talked about how we naturally eat chocolate and how letting chocolate melt in your mouth can let you experience and enjoy the taste more than just chewing it quickly. After trying all the chocolates, my ranked order, overall, would be the same for both the dark and milk chocolate: heated, wrapped, and then breathed.

Before moving on to the cheese taste test, we discussed some food safety facts and tips. Food can face physical, chemical, and biological adulteration. The appearance and taste of food are not adequate tests for contamination. Pathogens need certain things to grow and an acronym can help us remember them. FAT TOM (food, acid, time, temperature, oxygen, and moisture). This is why food that is left out, instead of refrigerated, can go bad quickly. Some food experts say four hours is the limit for letting food set out. This time is cumulative though, so if you let food site out for an hour four different times, pathogens can develop in the food. 

Cleanliness is also extremely important while cooking. At a minimum, you should wash your hands before cooking, serving, and every time you change tasks. The kitchen sponge is often the dirtiest thing in your whole house. It provides pathogens all of the FAT TOM things it needs to grow. Dr. Sloan suggested cleaning contaminated counters with wipes, paper towels, or washable rags to avoid spreading pathogens. As well, the organization of your refrigerator can help keep your food safe. Always store meats at the bottom with chicken on the very bottom. That way if the meat drips, it will not ruin the rest of your food. Chicken is the dirtiest meat, so it should be below everything else.

After these lessons, I participated in my first cheese taste test. The test reminded me of my trip to Paris a year ago. The French eat such a variety of cheeses, and I loved trying all of the different kinds while staying there. I fell in love with Brie cheese and other spreadable cheeses on the French baguettes. Today we tried several kinds of soft cheeses. The fresh mozzarella reminded me of Italian food. It was the most firm cheese of all that we tried and was my favorite. My favorite kind of margarita pizza uses this mozzarella cheese and basil. I next tried the mascarpone cheese. It was very creamy and sweet. This cheese is used in cannoli. I enjoyed eating it on the bread to help counter some of the sweetness. The neufchatel cheese was thicker than the mascarpone. It had a much more potent flavor than any of the other cheeses and reminded me of American cream cheese. It was my least favorite on its own, but I imagine that it would be great on a bagel. I just couldn't handle its sour flavor on its own.

The next two cheeses were two variations on ricotta cheese: store-bought and homemade. The homemade ricotta had a mild flavor but was a bit too salty. I liked the texture of it better than the store-bought version. The store-bought was less flavorful and had a grainy texture. It was sweeter and softer than the homemade version. I think that with a little less salt, the homemade version would be very good. I still liked it better than the store-bought version though, especially when spread on a little bread.

These past two days have already helped me describe food better. I usually don't actively think about all the different flavors when eating. It is an interesting experience eating just to document the different tastes. I am excited to taste more cheeses in the future. I would also like to taste test different coffees to compare different roasts and preparations. I am getting very excited to start cooking next week as well!