Food Autism

I have been accused of food autism. I’m not entirely sure what that would be if it were an actual condition. Perhaps I’m being accused of savant-ism to a certain degree. I would at least like to pretend however that cooking is not my only skill. There is no need to correct me on this matter if I’m wrong.

The ‘food autism’ emerges regularly in conversations lasting more than a few minutes. It also emerges when I have time to think about food or eat food or in any way interact with food. It was at its strongest in London where an hour underground on the way home thinking about what to make for dinner gave great scope for the process. Arriving home I would announce to whichever roommate was about “I had this idea for a dish on the way home” as though it had never happened before.

That said, I think that there is a basic approach to cooking that people miss and makes the whole experience entirely more successful. Begin by imagining flavors. Ginger, garlic, herbs… anything. How they might combine with each other, in what proportions and what was it that was missing? And keep imagining until the combination that tastes exactly right comes clear. Balance the textures and colors. It all has to work together. And more than texture and color and flavor it is also chemistry. Because the combination of what you put together works and binds together to make an end product that is more than the sum of it's parts. It is never more apparent than with baking, but even an omelet is chemistry. What you add to the egg changes it's consistency while cooking. So pay attention. When substituting one thing for another, make certain it fills all the needs of what is being replaced.

And because what it tastes like is the most important part, always taste it in the last minute of cooking to make sure that it has every bit of flavor that it needs. Because a recipe is fixed but ingredients aren't. Sometimes ingredients are stale, sometimes it's a batch that just has a little less flavor than you're used to.