Christian Sepulveda’s Blog

What makes a good meal?

November 20th, 2005

I have neglected to post anything about food on my blog, though it is a topic I have much interest in. Anyway, I recently held a 4th of July dinner and made a promise to some of the guests that I would start posting recipes and my culinary thoughts.

A topic we discussed during this dinner is one that I am constantly exploring, which is what makes for a good meal? I have this theory about the balance among the dishes necessary to satisfy its consumers. The theory goes something like this:

There are certain basic flavors that the tongue detects. I think they are salt, sweet, sour and bitter. Furthermore, we are generally quite sensitive to spice (heat) levels, acid and fat concentration. In order for a meal to be successful, a balance among these basic flavor components must be maintained.

Have you ever had a meal and felt that you wanted something else? Maybe something sweet? Maybe a cup of coffee? In these cases, the balance wasn’t achieved. Hopefully you have had the opposite experience, where you finished a meal and were just content; you had no wish for anything else to eat.

This impression is the goal of any meal, in my opinion. It not is simply a question of quality ingredients or cooking proficiency, though lack of these two components will make it very difficult to achieve this balance. I have had many a meal where individual dishes tasted quite good, but I was ultimately unsatisfied by the meal as a whole. Something was missing. The chef missed the bigger picture and failed to see how each of his dishes contributed to an overall culinary vision.

Achieving this balance is not that easy, but there some tried and true combinations that work well. These come from specific ethnic cuisines. For example, if you buy a cookbook full of recipes from southern Italy and select appetizer courses, main entrees and desserts, you will probably have a good resulting meal. Similarly, get a Hunan (Chinese) cookbook and arrange a meal based on selections from it. You probably are still okay. But don’t, mix tiramesu with fried rice. Though I love the two dishes, I would never serve them together. They don’t complement each other. Complimenting elements are key ingredients in achieving this balance.

I believe that the cuisines of different ethnicities have evolved with this balance in mind. I think this is why many attempts at “fusion” cuisines, though trendy, are mistakes. However, some work well and I think it is because the chef, implicitly or explicitly, had the goal of balance in mind; she selected different elements that would complement each other as a whole.

There is a lot more I could write about this balance and guidelines for achieving it, though my thoughts are half baked and not well articulated, so I think I will wait till a future posting.

Entry Filed under: Food