Basic Texture Profiles/Components

robert.c.brown15

Hi All,

So we all know there are five basic flavor profiles (salty, sweet, sour, bitter, and umami). When I create a dish I try to hit on a balance of all 5 of those flavors to give the dish, what David Kinch calls, complexity.

My question is, does there exist basic texture components that you should try to hit within a dish? The mixture of different textures resulting in a dishes mouthfeel?

I say yes, but have been trying to put together a list and haven't gotten very far.

I also didn't get very far because I first wanted to ask in case there was a reference I could be pointed to or there is a list of established textures.

The first two textures I wrote down were crunchy and smooth/silky. I guess soft would be another one apart from smooth/silky?

Thanks for the input!

Brendan_Lee_56950

IMO, unlike flavor, I don't think EVERY dish needs to have a certain set of textures. That being said I do like some variation in texture in a complex plated dish.

I think of textures in reference terms. So crunchy has a bunch of different references (i.e. potato chip crunchy, rice crispy crunchy, pork rind crunchy, etc.) that all mean crunchy to me but have varying degrees of crunch. I do that for most other textures like for a puree I may reference ketchup, mashed potatoes, stock, pudding, etc. to get varying levels of a smooth puree with different mouth feels. I also refer to "hard" or basic nut/seed textures which are related to crunchy but typically don't have the sound associated with them and are a bit softer and coat the tongue more because they typically have a lot of fat content. Then there is soft like very tender root vegetables or very lightly cooked fish.