System of

Dessert Creatio

n

System of Desserts Creation

• In order to create dessert we must understand how we perceive a dessert

• We must understand how our Five Senses react and interact with food . Then we will be able tell why THIS DESSERT IS REALLY GOOD

• When we understand this we can use this information to create truly memorable desserts

To create a proper dessert composition it is vital we comprehend the 5 human

senses

Taste

Smell

Sight

Touch

Hearing

Sensory Perception• This is the process by which the

human body recognizes and categorizes the messages from each of the five senses

• Our senses all contribute to the perception of the food we enjoy

• Each one of us do not perceive foods in the exactly the same manner, this is a unique a personal sensation

The Human Senses

Taste is elementary, this drives patron to your

place of business. They want to experience the pleasurable of eating and tasting, they want to placate their hunger and need to socialize

4 Basic Tastes

• Sweet• Salty• Sour• Bitter• 2 recent add -ons• Umami-(savory

or meaty)• Fatty

Flavor is the intermingling of taste smell and

trigeminal receptors

(nerve response to biting and chewing or

mouth feel and consistency)

Taste is what we perceive through our taste buds

Taste vs. Flavor

Certain substances stimulate the trigeminal receptors causing primary sensations such as:

Pungent-caused by hot spicesBiting-caused by garlic

Burning-caused by chili peppers

Prickling-caused by carbonated water

Astringent- caused by caustic foods and drinks (red wine /very bitter chocolate)

TASTE

• These primary sensations can be followed by secondary sensations such as sweating, crying, increased salvation and a runny nose

• Many people like these sensations and link these with the foods they enjoy

• The sensations will have their sensitivity decreased with frequent exposure, spicy foods lose their punch

Smell is the detection of

chemicals dissipated in the air

Your perception of smell is much more sensitive. There are only a small

number of tastes can be identified there are

400,000 known substances that convey to

us the sense of smell

The average human can distinguish a few

thousand of these odors

How we smell• Direct-through the nose• Indirect - through the Pharynx• We perceive smell through our throat

because of gases released as we chew• Smell accounts for 80% of our

perception of flavor• Take chocolate for example our taste

buds can pick up sweet, bitter and fatty but our nose tells us this is CHOCOLATE

Smell

• The aromas or odors arrive to our brain long before the flavors and sensations of the tongue does

• Some food and beverages are very

complex coffee has 800 aroma components and chocolate has 500

Sight• Appearance is crucial is establishing the diner’s exhilaration, recognition and enjoyment of the food presented

Visual PerceptionLight rays help us form a visual image by visual stimuli

• This is broken into 3 distinct pathways• Depth perception

• Pattern and Shape Perception• Color Perception

Depth Perception we use

information from both eyes to

determine depth perception but there are other factors we can

use too

Occlusion- one

object is partially

hidden by another

Perception - judging distance based on how close together

they appear Motion objects that

are close seem to

move more quickly than

those far away

Shadow and light bright

closer appear closer than

dull ones Dark object appear farther away

than light ones

SIGHT

Pattern and Shape Perception

• Foreground and background- We see object and their surrounds at the same time

• When we shift our focus we see some things more distinctly than others, this our perception altering not those items

Grouping-We see some things both separately and in relation to the objects

around them

Proximity-similar objects viewed in close proximity of others are seen as a group i.e. a bouquet of flowers

Color, size and orientationwe visually group objects together by color, size and

direction, We will see the whole strawberries cascading down a fruit display against the sliced

honeydew

Closure- are eyes make connections between objects when they aren’t

touching. An arch of pulled sugar will be closed I as a loop with your eyes

Continuity-this is the perception of objects as a group if their position forms a pattern. Dots of sauce in a straight

line seen to form a line even if that line is interrupted by a scoop of ice cream

• Color perception this is of exceptional importance when plating a dessert

• Different cultures attach contrary significance to colors. Blue is not an appetizing food to Europeans or Americans although the Japanese use food coloring in their foods an cite blue as appealing food color

Mouthfeel is essentially the sence of touch that provides

us information about the food

e are eating

We use two different term to describe

mouth feel

Viscosity and consistency-this

is used for liquids and

semisolid item like ice cream

Texture-this is for solid or

semisolid item like a cookie or

cheesecake

TOUCH

Hearing• To fully enjoy some foods sound impressions

are essential• Such as eating potato chips or • These is broken into two categories

• Crunchy-crackers, cereal and tuile

• Crispy-applesSounds are perceived when eating or touching foods. Like tearing off a piece of crusty bread

Four Basic Tastes

Sweet

Salty

Sour

Bitter

Power of Sweetness• Sweetness is almost universally

regarded as a pleasurable experience. It is the only we have from birth

• Sweetness is detected by all the receptors located mainly on the surface of the tongue

• Sweetness tends to soften sharper flavors such as bitter or sour elements

Salt enhances the taste of sweet dishes

and disguises bitterness

Salt is essential to sustain life

Most humans develop the taste for salt around 4-6 months of

age

Salty

Sour• In small quantities sourness can

excite our appetite and add complexity to a dessert. It also can be used to cut the heavy feeling on the palate of high fat or super sweet foods

• A strong sour taste is usually undesirable because it is used to warn us of spoiled food

Bitter• Bitter used to be generally an unwanted

flavor in modern cuisine as many people didn’t have a strong tolerance to it.

• Now enjoying bitter flavors is usually considered the sign of a mature palate

• Bitterness compliments fruitiness and acidity thus giving your dessert profound dimension and harmony

The Temperature Dynamic

• In general we encounter the most intense taste perception from food that are about

68-95 degrees• So the lower the temperature the lower

the taste perception. We have very low acknowledgement of foods below 32 degrees

• High temperatures increase release of aroma components and taste intensity

Mouth Feel

The better the food coats the

tongue and the more liquid in

consistency the stronger

the taste perception

Liquid textures easily

dissolves on the taste buds and increase

aroma release

High density textures-lot of taste buds are

covered because of the coating of the

tongue

DurationThe longer the time on the tongue

the stronger the taste

perception, eating food more slowly

will aid in this

Age• As one gets older the amount

of taste diminishes

• Children have three times a stronger perception than adults especially to bitter undertone like those found in vegetables

Chemical interaction• Consuming drugs, coffee, alcohol and

pungent dishes and cigarettes before eating will result in a loss of flavor perception

• Certain prescription medicines and medical treatments can have the same effect

3 steps to Create a Successful Dessert

Step 1 Flavor-combining

Step 2 Mouth feel –combining textures and temperatures

Step 3 Appearance-combining visual elements

Combining Flavors

The following slides are from Albert Uster Imports auiswiss.com• This will help you with the age old

question of what goes together• Many Pastry Chefs struggle with this

and until they get a better idea of what works create some really awful desserts with combination that don’t work

Using the charts

Dark Chocolat

e Almonds Chipotle

Chilies Port Cherries

Dark Chocolate, Almonds, Chipotle Chilies and Port will all pair well with cherries creating a interesting and pleasing dessert combination

The flavor profile includes the 9 attributes

1.Bitter

2. Cocoa

3. Sweet 4. Fruity

5. Acidic

6. Nutty 7. Salty

8. Spicy/Herbal

9. Others

Combining different tastes

Sweet and SourSweetness is full and round and an overly sweet dish is overwhelming

and cloying

Sour is sharp and has the ability to cut trough overwhelming sweetness without detracting

from the full round flavor

With a pungent sour dish a little sugar will soften it up

Sweet and Salty

These two components work well together to make an addictive treat when use in the correct proportions

Bitter and

Sweet

Each taste enhances the other

Bitter

can help

to cut

the

cloying

and

overwhel

ming

sweetnes

s in a

dish

Salty and Sour

May sound strange but the

work well together

In small amounts acid

enhances salty flavors

In large amounts acid seems to diminish salty flavors

Mouth feel Profile

1. Smooth2. Liquid3. Light4. Soft5. Crunchy6. Solid7. Heavy

Appearance EvaluationColor• Are there multiple colors or hues of the

same color to provide visual interest• Do the colors work well together• Do the colors represent the flavors of

the dessert

Shape- Does the shape(s) convey the overall style of the dessert

Size- is the size appropriate for it’s attended use and environment

Proportion• Are the elements in the dessert in good visual

relationship to one another

• Dose the relationship of height, width and depth create a pleasing presentations

• Does the serving plate make sense with the dessert

6 Plating Styles• Classic- familiar dessert with

memories, picture Gateaux St. Honore

•Minimalist- small portions very little décor-precise detail and high quality is a must for this style

• Naturalist-similar to minimalist, relies on organic shapes, sizes and colors

• Contemporary-leans toward abstract, layers of colors , contrasting textures and geometric shapes

• Theatrical-evokes emotion, sets a mood, playful , dramatic, surprising and chaotic are examples

• Molecular Gastronomy- breaks all the rules by the use of specific techniques

Plating Musts• Variety of shapes• Size- does it make sense• Proportion of components• Style -pick one and carry it through

the dessert• Skill- everything made well and truly

well crafted• Focal Point-show me the money• Texture

Summary

• What are the five sense involved in eating • List the 4 tastes• Describe 5 important fact about tastes• Describe the factors in Mouth feel• Describe 4 important fact about smell• Describe 4 important factors of sight and/or

visual perception• Why is our hearing important

Summary

• List the 3 steps to create a successful dessert• List some common flavor combinations• Describe 5 of the mouth feel profiles

• Use the complimentary flavor chart• List 3 factors in appearance evaluation• List the 6 plating styles• List the plating musts