Timing counts

I have just discovered a new problem in the world of designing foods. Time. Not the time to think or experiment, or the time it takes for foods to stale. A whole new issue confronted us this morning when I ran the five day test on the Cranberry and Pumpkin Seed brunch bars I made last week.

They were still the same shape. A bite showed that they were still moist and didn’t fall apart. A powerful whack of banana flavour hit, then a shift to a more subtle taste, then a long slow sweet finish. A single mouthful could keep your taste buds going for a minute, the way a really good wine does. However, my expert on flavour profiles, Mr Taster, said there was a gap. What did he mean? He liked these bars, said he would be happy to eat them anytime, but there was a gap in the flavour. The first hit was the sweet aroma of banana, the long slow finish was deliciously sweet and satisfying, but there was a moment when the aroma had faded and the taste hadn’t kicked in.

I think maybe a little orange zest would fill in this missing bit of time. It’s just that it had never occurred to me to think about the speed with which aromas and flavours were processed and how they lingered. I suppose you have to think about tastes the way you think about music- they are a time and pitch based event.