Flavor Layering Introduction

Flavor Layering - Introduction

Years ago, when I had more free time, I brewed beer. One of the critical steps in
the process is hopping the beer while boiling the wort (cracked barley). Brewers
use a “hopping schedule” to control the flavoring effect of the hops. The longer the
hops are in the boil their character changes through time adding different dynamics
to the beer. Hops added at the beginning of the boil (boiling the longest) add the
bitter component to the beer. Hops added to the boil during the last 5 to 15 minutes
add a flavoring component, while hops added within the last 5 minutes of the boil
contribute a floral or “nose” element, but little flavor or bittering. These three
elements in a given beer can be obtained using only one type of hops. This
example represents only one element of flavor layering in the brewing process –
time and heat’s affect on the taste of an ingredient.

The same holds true for many ingredients in cooking. Looking at the simple onion –
you can add them to a dish raw, with no further adornment. Another option is to
sauté them until they are wilted and clear, thereby softening the onions’ flavor by
allowing some of the sulfur to cook off. If you continue to sauté them on higher
heat, you will caramelize the sugars in the onion changing the flavor altogether,
making them sweet with a softer aromatic flavor and more colorful.

Layering flavors is the art of knowing:

What to add – the ingredients and how to combine them such that they
complement each other
How to prepare it – intensifying flavor by toasting, browning, caramelizing,
braising, poaching, finer chopping, dry vs. fresh, etc.
When to add it – preserving the flavor without overcooking, which tends to
mute the intended flavor
How much to add – not too strong, not too little and not too many different
items that confuse the palate

Effectively utilizing these four essentials will add depth and character to the final
product. If you skip a step or add something at the wrong time, you do not usually
recover or simply add it later to achieve the desired results. Your favorite (non-
prepackaged) recipes are usually a result of proper layering. For example, reflect
on your grandmother’s award winning spaghetti sauce. It tastes as good as it does
because of flavor layering she, or her mother, developed over time and practice.
She may not have known what she did was flavor layering, but she did it all the
same.

She most likely browned the sausage first. The caramelized bits of meat that stuck
to the bottom of the pan (that most chefs call “gold”) provide twice the meat flavor
compared to just throwing the sausage into a pot of liquid. Next, she probably
added diced onions, caramelizing them to add sweetness to balance the acidity of
the tomatoes she would be adding later. Garlic would be added next. The finer the
she diced it, the greater the garlic flavor. The sooner she adds it, the milder it gets.
Wisely, she added pepper early to release its spice and floral flavor, but reserved
the basil, parsley, oregano and other seasonings near the end of the simmer. Her
final adjustments she made to the sauce were adding some sweetener (honey,
sugar, molasses, etc.) to balance the acidity, followed by salt. Hint: Grandma did
not simmer her sauce for hours and hours because she knew it would ruin the
sauce, causing the rich red tomato sauce to turn brown from oxidation and become
more salty because of the reduction of water in the sauce.