[epavard]

Hi Everyone,
This is the first time I'm posting to a forum other than the welcome post I made several weeks ago. I write a column on the effects of weather on food preparation. This month's column is about the way cold weather affects our sense of of taste.
I touched on the fact that cold dulls the taste buds, probably via our sense of smell, which is imperative to our ability to taste. I talked about the fact that frozen desserts need more sweetening than you would think--a custard for ice cream might taste fine at room temperature, but after you freeze it, it doesn't taste sweet enough. A cook needs to compensate for this effect.
Does anyone out there in Foodie Land have anything to add that might round out my column?
TIA,
Varda

[KYHeirloomer]

Sometimes cold effects the flavor of foods irrelevent to taste buds.

For instance, cold destorys the taste of tomatoes; or seriously impacts in negatively. Unfortunately, letting the tomato warm up again doesn't bring the flavor back.

You're right, though, that cold has a definate negative affect on how we taste things. I've never understood why most people add so much ice to their drinks, for instance. Whisky has a distinct flavor, and icing it down masks that flavor.

Slightly off topic, but something you might want to explore, is the effects altitude has on taste. Airline food (granted, not the best to begin with) is so heavily flavored as to be all but inedible at ground level, to compensate for our loss of taste discernment at high altitudes.

[epavard]

<Sometimes cold effects the flavor of foods irrelevent to taste buds.>

KYHeirloomer, you're definitely on to something. I never refrigerate tomatoes. Thanks for reminding me about this idea.

As for altitude, I did a column relating to cooking at high altitudes and I never explored the idea that altitude has an effect on taste. This might be good material for a future column. Thanks for taking the time to help me.
Varda

[shroomgirl]

the difference between a hot chocolate chip cookie and a cold one is night and day......

we once did a side by side tasting of warm and cold cheeses and chocolate....there was a world of difference.

[epavard]

Good point, shroomgirl.
Thanks!
Varda

[RouxTheDay]

This effect is well-studied in wine. Maybe you could read up on that and see if any of those factors extrapolate to other consumables?

[Luc_H]

HI Epavard,

Yes altitude affects the taste buds. I have talked to chefs that cater to first class airlines and they over salt their foods to compensate this affect.

As for why cold can diminish the taste of food is because of volatility. Our tongue can only taste: salty, sweet, acidic, bitter and unmami (savoury). Everything else is <smelled> by our nose. That can happen only when the heat of our mouth can make aromatic chemicals volatile to reach our nasal receptors. Cold temperature foods prevent certain volatile compound to reach the nasal receptors changing the aromatic profile of a food.

When you are sick with <a cold> the nose is blocked and food taste nothing. Soup just taste salty and juice sweet for example but not fruity. Blow your nose after eating a food and you will temporally taste it.

Hope this helps

Luc H.

[DC Sunshine]

I've noticed the difference a lot when serving soups chilled - you need a lot more seasoning with the chilled version. Salads too - make a hot potato salad one day, then try the leftovers chilled next day - you'll be after the salt and pepper on that one. Same with a dish like chilli con carne - it needs to be hot to have the flavour.

And for brandy - look at the shape of a brandy balloon - it needs a lot of space to breathe and stay warm to enjoy the flavour. Why people mix a good brandy/whisky with ice is beyond me. The less expensive versions, well, we might not want to taste it, so smother it with ice and cola I think this is what pubs have in mind.

[AndyG]

I was just waiting for Luc to say something here . . the chemistry guy and this is right up his alley. He knows his stuff

[AndyG]

Originally Posted by DC Sunshine

I've noticed the difference a lot when serving soups chilled - you need a lot more seasoning with the chilled version. Salads too - make a hot potato salad one day, then try the leftovers chilled next day - you'll be after the salt and pepper on that one. Same with a dish like chilli con carne - it needs to be hot to have the flavour.

And for brandy - look at the shape of a brandy balloon - it needs a lot of space to breathe and stay warm to enjoy the flavour. Why people mix a good brandy/whisky with ice is beyond me. The less expensive versions, well, we might not want to taste it, so smother it with ice and cola I think this is what pubs have in mind.

Mix mediocre brandy/whisky with ice, not the good stuff

[epavard]

Wow. I woke up to a bunch of excellent material for my column. I seem to have stumbled on a very knowledgeable forum!

Andy, DC, Roux, what you say echoes some of the material I found: only drink lousy wines and beers at very cold temperatures.

Luc, my article discusses the effect of the trigeminal receptors (responsible for biting, swallowing, and chewing, and in general, our sense of texture) and the olfactory system on taste, but how does altitude change our perception? I had read something about airplane food needing more seasoning, but what's the science behind this? Anyone?
Varda

[Bazza]

Yep I agree food needs much more seasoning when served cold. I made quite a lot of chicken liver pates last year and when adjusting the seasoning they were still warm, so I had to over compensate (a surprising amount) to allow for the fact that they were bieng served cold.

[shroomgirl]

birth of wine coolers.

[KYHeirloomer]

Mix mediocre brandy/whisky with ice, not the good stuff

and

only drink lousy wines and beers at very cold temperatures.

Boys, you're looking at this backwards. If you stay away from potables that are mediocre, lousy, or otherwise second rate you won't need to put ice in them at all.

It's just as easy to drink good stuff as bad!

[AndyG]

This is true