Launching Today. Tasteology: source, chill, heat and experience

Launching today! Tasteology – a new documentary series uncovering the essential steps to the ultimate taste experience

Tasteology is the name of a new AEG-initiated documentary series uncovering the four steps required to achieve cooking results that are multisensory, sustainable, nutritional and delicious all at once. The four-episode series invites viewers on a culinary journey around the world to gain inspiration and knowledge far beyond TV cooking shows. Insights are gathered from different kinds of experts, such as a psychologist, a chemist, a food waste activist and a famous Instagrammer, who all share their answers to questions traditionally posed to chefs. Tasteology launches on May 25 and is available to watch on YouTube and at www.aeg.co.uk/tasteology

Tasteology seeks out the answers to the ultimate taste experience from new angles and expert perspectives. The ambition of the film series is to look far beyond traditional cooking programmes and to guide the viewer towards new paths in search of the ultimate taste experience. 

Recipes and cooking methods may get the most attention when it comes to preparing food, but that’s only part of the picture. AEG’s mission is to look beyond this step to explore different aspects and levels of taste, as well as how to achieve its full potential. The result is a portrait of the four essential steps to better food: source, chill, heat and experience. Each episode of this documentary series is dedicated to one of these aspects, digging into culinary traditions and unconventional innovations in order to uncover the processes to achieve the perfect taste. It’s about finding new ways to cook and eat food that is both tasteful, multisensory and sustainable. Hands-on cooking tips are mixed with cultural, societal and scientific reflections.  

Why rather than how  

While many educational resources focus on how to cook a meal, often step by step, instructed by chefs, Tasteology takes this one step further through seeking out expert knowledge on why certain methods, circumstances and tools create exceptional taste experiences. By gathering insights from new and different kinds of experts, Tasteology brings new perspectives to an area that has long belonged to traditional chefs.  

An eight-month journey and handpicked experts from three continents

The film crew travelled to a large variety of destinations over an eight month period collecting insights from the world’s premier taste experts. Mentioning just a few, the team met with ‘the father of molecular gastronomy’ Hervé This who invented ‘the perfect egg’, food waste activist Tristram Stuart who wants to change society’s attitude towards wasting food, and the famous Canadian Instagrammer Chef Jaques la Merde, who makes beautiful, plated creations out of food from the nearest gas station. These experts have a wide range of backgrounds and hold knowledge within different fields, but are united around their insatiable curiosity for taste. 

The four themes: source, chill, heat and experience
Each of the four themes cover essential steps in the process of creating an exceptional taste experience. Here is a sneak peek at the story of each 15-minute episode:  

‘Source’: Watch the episode here 

How does one source the best ingredients in order to take taste further? And how is taste affected by the lost nutrients of today’s mass produced food? Is it true that food cravings are our natural way of making sure that we get the nutrients our body needs? Explore these questions and learn about foraging, a trend that goes back to basics, respecting the ingredients’ true, original taste. Meet with foraging trendsetters and chefs Satchiko and Hisato Nakahigashi, who own a Michelin starred restaurant in Kyoto and explain the meaning of ”Tsumikasa” – a Japanese word for respecting food. In this episode we also meet with Mark Schatzker, the American author of The Dorito Effect, a book exploring what artificial flavours have done to our eating habits. 

‘Chill’: Watch the episode here 

Perfect taste starts with respect for the ingredient and the knowledge of how to handle it correctly. While the world continues to amass huge amounts of food waste, few people have discovered the key to reducing it – storage. And what’s the point in investing in good ingredients if you don’t know how to store them properly to achieve maximum taste? Meet with the British food waste activist and author, Tristram Stuart, who has devoted his life to decreasing the amount of foods being wasted. We also meet with the German chef and Wagyu cow breeder Ludwig Maurer for insights and expertise on how to store ingredients in the optimal conditions to enhance taste and reduce waste. Finally, we meet Culinary Misfits - a Berlin-based duo doing what they can to campaign against the increasing waste of fruit and vegetables that are thrown away just because they do not fit within the measures of cosmetic standards.  

‘Heat’: Watch the episode here 

Get to know how cooking a dish in the best conditions can take taste further. Using humidity in cooking is a thousand-year-old trick that spreads heat evenly and makes food more succulent and flavourful. Learn about the importance of precise heating in various cooking methods, the benefits of using steam or sous vide, and what it takes to create the ‘perfect egg’. Meet the French gastro-chemist Hervé This, the man who taught the world how to boil an egg in a dishwasher. Finally, we meet Catalina Vélez, one of the world’s most influential Latin-American chefs. After digging deep into traditional Columbian food culture, she discovered that steam was the main ingredient of great taste.  

‘Experience’: Watch the episode here 

Good food is more than just a good recipe. It’s about the whole experience. How much of the eating experience actually comes from taste? How do colours, sounds, the weight of cutlery and the shape of the plate affect our overall taste experience? Meet Professor of Psychology, Charles Spence, who shares his research on how the brain helps us to understand what the food is likely to taste like before actually tasting it. He also shares knowledge on how to play with surrounding influences such as sounds and colours to affect our taste experience. Charles Spence works closely with Jozef Youssef, author, chef patron and founder of the gastronomic project Kitchen Theory. Together, their united mission is to understand the full taste experience. 

Tasteology Experience: Charles Spence

‘I think a lot of people ask if science gets in the way of creativity and then you have those who say ‘doesn’t the creativity get in the way of science?’ For me it’s all about understanding how to compose the colours, sounds, smells and atmosphere into a complete harmonious taste experience. In order to do that I need to strike the perfect balance between science and art,’ says Jozef Youssef, author, chef patron and founder of the gastronomic project Kitchen Theory. 

In this episode, we also meet Chef Jacques la Merde (also known as Christine Flynn), a famous chef and popular Instagrammer with over 125k followers who makes beautiful plate creations that looks like fine dining, but in reality the food comes from the nearest gas station. 

The documentary is initiated by the home appliance manufacturer AEG with the mission to explore different aspects and levels of taste and inspire the viewers on how to take it to the next level. The film series is produced by the award-winning production company House of Radon.

Press release

Hops and Glory at LITFEST16. Seven IPAs after breakfast.

Seven IPAs on a Sunday Morning

Hops and Glory at LITFEST 2016

Pete Brown

“Canning has moved on enormously,” declared beer expert Pete Brown as the Litfest 2016 beer tasting got underway in Ballymaloe last Sunday morning. “It's the freshest way to keep beer”. The session was named Hops and Glory, after one of Pete's books, and he was accompanied on the panel by Caroline Hennessy, co-author of Slainte.

Our first beer was a can of the Yankee White IPA by Rascal’s Brewing. Caroline was happy with this Belgian style IPA: “It’s a lovely food friendly beer, ..feels lighter than five per cent!” Pete says it is now a very popular style. “Every new brewery starts with an IPA”.

Worthington’s White Shield certainly got Pete going: “One of my five desert island beers...not a modern IPA but the only true survivor of the old style that was shipped on 6-month voyages to India and drank like mother’s milk…. This is very hoppy, also very malty, a wonderful balance...gets better with time”.

Caroline is part of the 8 Degrees Brewing Company and their Full Irish was next. She stressed the importance of local. They used local barley, malted in Togher (In Cork City). “It is a single malt beer and made to showcase the malt. First made in 2014, it was Beer of the Year in 2015”. Pete noted the hops on the nose, the good balance and equally good body.

Another can followed: the marvellous Ironmonger from Metalman, first launched in 2011. As readers of Slainte will know, Caroline regularly looks for the food angle and praised this as food friendly. “There is a huge change in restaurants,” she said, noting that local food is now being matched with local drink (including beers and spirits).

Pete again admired the body and said he hadn't come across Metalman before but had been enjoying it at the bar in the Big Shed next door. In general, he remarked that one of the best beer tastings you could have is a cheese matching: “Great fun with a small group! Just get a few beers and a few cheeses.” Caroline surprised him when she said she found Crozier Blue and the full Irish a very successful pairing.

Caroline

On to the next one: Black Lighting from 9 White Deer in West Cork, a style that they agreed involves some “messing with your head”. After all, IPAs are not meant to be black but both agreed it is a wonderful style, Caroline adding that it was a “very American style IPA”.

A little discussion on hops followed. Pete said the character changes from place to place, the influence of the terroir. Caroline advised trying some of the single hop beers available, a good way “to build your knowledge”.

Beer Number Six, the citrusy/grapefruity bottle-conditioned Boundary Pale Ale, came from a Northern Ireland cooperative brewery. Caroline has noted a rapid advance of craft beer in the area, and more: “I would recommend a visit to Belfast...good food and drink.”

Pete was on a cloud nine as we finished with Cloudwater DIPA v3, a special edition: “This is the most hyped beer, the most hyped brewery..the best brewery in Britain right now….so much juiciness, so much fruit character..all from the hops”.

This weighed in at 9% and Caroline explained how high ABVs can come about. “If you have lots of hops, you need lots of malt to balance. Malt means more sugar and that means higher ABV”.

So applause all round as our expert duo brought the curtain down on an entertaining and informative beer session.

See also, from LITFEST16:

Irish Craft Cider. A Litfest16 Event

Irish Atmospherics at John Wilson Tasting. Mediterranean Island Wines in Spotlight. LITFEST16

Taste of the Week. Ummera Hot Smoked Rump Steak

Taste of the Week. 
Ummera Hot Smoked Rump Steak

Always something new out of the west. In Ballymaloe for the Litfest, I met up with Anthony Cresswell of the Ummera Smokehouse at his stall in the famous Big Shed. And he had something new for me, indeed I got the very first bite of his Hot Smoked Rump Steak.

He tried cold smoke too but eventually settled on the hot; it is then marinated and allowed rest for a couple of weeks. The smoke and the rump seem made for each other, great flavour and texture, gorgeous stuff and our Taste of the Week.

Ummera, operating on the banks of the little river Adrigeen in Timoleague for close on forty years, is licensed to smoke both fish and meat and the products are exported worldwide. Anthony smokes salmon, chicken, duck (I got an early taste of that beauty too a few years ago!) and bacon and you may buy them all and more online. Very Highly Recommended.

Ummera Smokehouse

Timoleague

Co Cork

Tel: +353 (0)23 88 46644

Email: info@ummera.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ummera 

Twitter: @ummera 

Irish Craft Cider. A Litfest16 Event

Irish Craft Cider

A Litfest16 Event

Pete Brown, author of the World’s Best Cider, said the Irish craft cider scene is one of the most exciting right now. The ciders have “high juice content” and the makers “love their apples”. One of the most exciting yes, despite rankling under a very unfair tax regime that would seem to be designed to stifle innovation rather than encourage it.

Take Longueville House Cider Mór as an example. Because producer William O’Callaghan has added a wee spoon of brandy to his basic cider, the tax on Mór is five times the normal. Leslie Williams has raised the general issue many times, saying the current rebate system, which is very good for craft beer makes, is unfair on cider makers. The producers of an excellent wholly Irish product are being punished.

Leslie

So that's the sour notes out of the way. The rest of this panel discussion, the opening one in the Drinks Theatre at this year’s Ballymaloe Litfest, was focussed on five delicious ciders, five quite different examples, none of which would have been available just a few short years ago.

Pete Brown was joined on the panel by Leslie and by Caroline Hennessy, author of Slainte. 

They and the audience were welcomed to the “tractor shed” by Ballymaloe’s Colm McCan as we gathered to hail cider, the drink of the common people for perhaps 2,000 years, according to Pete.

Pete

Producer Simon Tyrrell introduced his Craigies 2013 Dalliance. Simon, well known for his wine background, says with Dalliance “we try to express the vinous side of cider”. He mentioned the terroir (Cappoquin Estate, sandstone). The apple blend is fifty fifty between Ekstar and Falstaff, both eating apples, and it spends 15 months on its lees.

Bright fresh fruit with extra creaminess here and you’ll note some cloudiness from the yeasts. Pete Brown said Dalliance proves you can make cider out of eating apples. And this is a good one.

“We use no chemicals at any point” said Rod Calder-Potts as he introduced his organic Highbank Proper Cider 2014. “We encourage microbial activity to counter any malign organisms...Cider makes itself..no sulphites...we put it in a barrell..local yeasts do the rest.”

This was bottled just last week by Con Traas, is 100 per cent apple and naturally dry. Pete loved the contrast between the first two ciders and confessed to being obsessed by yeast, at least with how the yeast converts sugar to alcohol! Leslie reminded us that, compared to beer makers, cider makers get just one chance per year.

And now Leslie introduced yet another type of Irish cider, Cockagee from County Meath. He did mention that there was “devilment” in the name but didn't go into the details. It is keeved, a process common in Brittany and Normandy and explained here on the Cockagee website.

Caroline

Pete said you can only shake your head with wonder that a process from the 14th or 15th century can still produce a “beautiful natural cider. In a blind tasting, I would class this as Breton and it would be a perfect match with crepes”. Caroline agreed but their hints for crepes went unheeded!

William O’Callaghan, as he introduced his Longueville Mór, disclosed that the first apples in their orchard, planted 25 years ago, were intended for apple brandy rather than cider and that their micro-distillery was the first such in ireland. William, a chef who trained in Normandy, started the move to cider there about two years ago.

The Mór is their regular cider with a drop of apple brandy that “gives it a nice little kick”. It fermented naturally with local yeasts and produced with no sulphite. It went down very well indeed and William is proud of it, quite rightly, “but that tax is a pain!”.  Caroline asked him what food would pair with it. On its own or maybe with cheese was the answer. I had it a week or two ago at a cider evening in Electric with fish and chips. Caroline herself was thinking Lemon tart!

The Ballymaloe five. Dead men.

We finished with the limited edition (6,000 bottles) Stonewell Tawny 2014. Daniel Emerson told us all about it: “it is a chapitalised dry hop cider..the natural sugar is supplemented with additional sugar and this raises the ABV… minimum aging is 12 months and there is an extraordinary range of flavours over the 12 months”. Lots of tasting, no doubt!

At the end of the process, the cider is “very sweet, like an apple ice-cider”. They decided to counteract this by passing it through Eldorado dry hops. The result was very good and the Tawny has “proved remarkably successful.” And we could all see why. Pete was delighted with it saying it reminded him of a Canadian Ice Cider, “beautiful’.

Overall, it was a great reminder of how far Irish Cider has come in a few years. Perhaps next a tasting of these five might be arranged for the Dail bar and a few home truths delivered at the same time, in the nicest possible way of course!

See also: Hops and Glory. Seven IPAs before breakfast. Only at LITFEST16
Irish Atmospherics at John Wilson Tasting. Mediterranean Island Wines in Spotlight. LITFEST16

Beaujolais: Wines of Character. Gamay and Granite good for each other!

Beaujolais: Wines of Character.

Gamay and Granite good for each other!

Liam Campbell (standing)

Did you know that the Gamay grape is an exile? In 1395, it was outlawed by Royal decree as being “a very bad and disloyal plant”. Sixty years later another edict was issued against it. And so it was pushed out of Burgundy and south into neighbouring Beaujolais where it has thrived on the granite based soils. Wonder what those royals, Philippe the Bold and Philippe the Good, would have made of last week’s Beaujolais masterclass in Cork’s L'Atitude 51.

Indeed, I was wondering a bit myself in advance, not knowing very much about the region other than the famous Nouveau and the Villages and a few crus. But I needn't have worried. Liam Campbell, who took us through the masterclass, had no less than 14 examples of the Beaujolais wines and very impressive they were.

Given the Beaujolais bias toward Gamay, it is not surprising that Beaujolais Blanc is little-known. Just two per cent of the crop is Chardonnay. Liam had just one example and the Domaine du Vissoux was a fresh and unoaked beauty, an immediate favourite with me. “Very versatile,” he said. “Good fruit and acidity and moderate alcohol, a great house wine in a restaurant”.

Best drunk young. And best young too applied to the Chateau de Grandmont Rosé 2014, crisp and refreshing, but not available in Ireland, seeking distribution. Liam emphasised the acidity of both these openers. Acidity is good - “it makes your mouth water.” Tannins, on the other hand, “dry the mouth” but “they are great with meat”!

Seven down, seven to go!

Onto to the reds now and a “basic” Beaujolais: Domaine Dominique Piron, Les Cadoles de la Chanaise 2014 (a good year!). Pale ruby with a nose of summery red fruit and a palate that was dry, with gentle tannins and that essential acidity again!

Moved on up then to a Beaujolais Villages, Domaine Moillard 2013. This was a very agreeable wine, again with lightweight tannins and excellent acidity and Liam reckons there is better value to be had at this level as against the general Beaujolais.

Ten Crus, the “flagship wines”, remained and here, for me, it was the finish of the wines that now began to take the attention. The Crus come from the granite hills of the northern part of Beaujolais.

Before I go into a little detail, it might be no harm here to quote from Grapes & Wine (2015 edition): “Good Beaujolais is delicious: mineral, focussed, with fruit of raspberries, black pepper, cherries; it's never overstated or blockbusting, but it has character, balanced acidity, lightness and freshness”. Reckon Oz Clarke and Margaret Rand got it more or less correct there

Jean Bourjade, MD Inter Beaujolais, speaks at the event. Nouveau? They don't
promote it anymore in Ireland....But do in some of their larger customers, such as Japan.

Chiroubles, Domaine Patrick Bouland, Vieilles Vignes 2015, seeking distribution

Liam remarked that this might need another six months. Will be worth waiting for - “2015 was a gift from the gods; 2010 and 2005 were also very good”.

Saint Amour, Maison Jean Loron, Domaine Des Billards 2011, €23.99 Classic Drinks.

The Saint of Love is the most northerly Cru. Colour is a youthful ruby - “..plenty of fuel in the tank”.

Fleurie, Maison Louis Jadot, Poncereau 2014, €19.99, Findlaters

One of the most recognizable of the Crus, grown on pink granite. It has spent 8 to 10 months in oak and “is a little bit young yet”. “This is more of a marathon runner than a sprinter. Keep for a year.”

Régnié, Domaine Rochette 2012, €17.50 James Nicholson

On the other hand, this one, which has seen no wood, “is much more concentrated, great balance and very lovely now.” Régnié is the most recently created cru.

Brouilly, Chateau du Chatelard 2014, €19.25 Karwig Wines

Brouilly is the largest Cru and this bottle has concentrated aromas and flavours. Liam found a little sediment so advised to decant it. Got a bottle of this the other day myself so looking forward to a longer acquaintance!

Jean Bourjade
As the Macon overlaps Beaujolais,
 many white wines made in northern Beaujolais
 are sold under the better-known Macon appellation.

Côte de Brouilly, Domaine de Terres Dorées, €21.15 Wines Direct

“Very savoury aromas..not typical,” said Liam. But it is rich, great balance and a great finish. One of my favourites of the class.

Juliénas, Domaine de la Conseillère 2012, €20.95, O’Brien’s

This is pretty much faultless: expressive fruity aromas, well rounded, ripe fruit, long finish.

Chénas, Paul-Henri Thillardon, Les Carrières 2012, seeking distribution

This was a “challenging vintage”, according to Liam. Jean Smullen, the event organiser, emphasised that Beaujolaise has ageing potential. “And this is an example.”

Morgon, Domaine Jean Foillard, Côte Du Py 2012, €36.95 Mitchell & Son

Côte Du Py comes from a single vineyard in the 2nd largest cru area. It is a natural wine, a risky operation, which partly accounts for the high price. Liam noted that the wine was “slightly cloudy, it is a  natural wine but, on the palate, you're in for a treat folks.” And we were. This was a higher level, great red fruit flavours, an outstanding wine. Five star. Maybe six!

Moulin-a-Vent, Didier Desvignes, Close les Charmes 2010, €23.95, Le Caveau

“This is the most regal of all the crus,” declared Liam. From crumbly pink granite soil, come some of the most intensely flavoured and multi-layered wines of the entire region, according to the Le Caveau listing. And this organic beauty was a terrific example. “Look at the colour,” said Liam. “Totally ruby, not a hint of aging. On the palate, it is very rich, dry, great flavors, long finish, a great food wine.” It was one my stars here. A great finalé.

LitFest: A sampling from this sunny morning in Ballymaloe

Ballymaloe's LITFEST Up and Running
In the sun, of course!

Just a quick sample of what's on offer in the 2016 LITFEST at Ballymaloe. Early start at the Irish Craft Cider event in the Drinks Theatre and then a ramble around, especially in the Big Shed. See the full programme here. Better still, call down or call up and enjoy. 

Amazing cheeses from Toons Bridge.

Colm McCan (left) introduces the Irish Craft Cider panel at 9.30am!

Rocketman!

Even the bamboo is from the Highbank estate. Julie (left) and Rod

Gubbeen

New Irish tonic!

Lolo's cool kitchen!

Amuse Bouche

Champagne has about the same alcohol content as other French white wines, but its alcohol becomes effective more quickly because the dissolved carbon dioxide in the wine goes straight to your bloodstream. Your circulation reacts by speeding up, just as it does when you are running, to exchange carbon dioxide for oxygen. So a faster bloodstream carries the alcohol around your system. You giggle sooner, but the effects pass off more rapidly.

From How To Enjoy Your Wine by Hugh Johnson (1985)

Cahors and its Marvellous Malbec. And an Argentinian Gem

Cahors and its Marvellous Malbec

And an Argentinian Gem

A meander of the Lot

This little piece was originally intended to put the spotlight on the under-rated Malbecs of Cahors (France), often regarded as the home of the grape. I had picked up two excellent examples, one organic, in Bradley’s, North Main Street. And then along came the outstanding Bousquet (also organic), from Argentina, where Malbec has found a new and very agreeable home. To read more about Cahors, check out this article in wine-searcher.com

Cahors was famous for its “black wines” even before Bordeaux became established as a producing area. It has had its problems, including phylloxera in 1883-1885. There was a rebirth for Malbec with the founding of the Parnac Coop in 1947. But trouble again in February 1956 when frosts wiped out almost all the vineyards of the region, which thus needed to be replanted en masse. In this replanting, Malbec became more dominant than it had been before. Cahors was awarded AOC status in 1971. Most of the vineyards are planted close to the River Lot as it winds its way west.

While Argentina led the major Malbec breakthrough in the United States, Cahors also made big strides there, once the Americans were informed that it was Malbec in the bottle! Quality Malbec too as you can see from the two below. Next time, you see Cahors on the label, have confidence!

Domaine Bousquet Malbec Reserve 2012 (Tupungato Valley, Mendoza, Argentina), 14.5%, €18.80 Mary Pawle

Colour here is a deep violet, close to black and there are intense jammy dark fruits on the nose. The palate is full of flavour, dark fruits, even a hint of coffee, very intense, strong but not at all heavy, excellent acidity and amazing length. A more mature number than either of the Cahors and Very Highly Recommended.

The blend here is Malbec (85%), Cabernet Sauvignon (5), Merlot (5) and Syrah (5). Aged in French Oak for 10 months. They say it is ideal with red meats,sauces, cheeses and pasta dishes.

Got lost up in this area, even the Sat Nav got confused!

Chateau Leret Malbec Reserve 2012 (Cahors, France), 14.5%, €16.95 Bradley’s Offlicence

This is a favourite in Bradley’s, a rich wine, intense, tannic, with great mouthfeel. Merlot and Tannat figure in the blend (up to 20% between the two possible). A wine to keep and when opened to enjoy “with game and complex dishes”.

This has a ruby red robe (well supported - love those Google translations!).The mix in the aromas is of black and mainly red fruits, jammy. There is a lovely balance of juicy fruit (some spice) and good acidity, fine tannins are gentle in the mix, and it all ends in long dry finish. Highly Recommended.

In 1947, a few growers founded this cooperative in Parnac. Their goal was to revive the Malbec , the grape of Cahors. They succeeded and were still going strong a few years back when I called.

Chateau du Cedre 2012 (Cahors, France), 13%, €18.95 Bradley’s Offlicence, Le Caveau

Another excellent wine from the land of the Lot. The blend here is Malbec (90%), Tannat (5) and Merlot (5). It has spent 22 months in a mixture of Troncais oak (⅓ rd new) and the winery is certified organic by Ecocert. Would you like to see what the certificate looks like? Check here.

This purple wine has aromas of dark fruits, some savoury notes too in there. Dark fruit too on the palate, ripe, rich and rounded, yet this medium-bodied wine, thanks to a lively acidity, has a youthful engaging aspect. Highly Recommended.

By the way, if you've bought a lot of this, don’t worry. Stored correctly (at 10/15 degrees and with an air moisture of at least 70%), the winemaker will “guarantee the quality of this cuvée for the next ten years”. Just saying.

Still lost