Lately, sheer laziness and a good cook has conspired to make my attempts at culinary innovations a fairly rare occasion. It's unusual at this time of the year - usually the brightly coloured vegetable barrows in winter are a sheer temptation to try my hand at something new.
Several friends, at the receiving end of new experiments, often ask me, where do you get ideas for all this? They usually have a look of martyred resignation, steeling themselves for bouts of nausea, food poisoning, diarrhoea or worse. Only when they find themselves to have miraculously survived another sunrise do they trickle back to ask for the recipe.
At such occasions i am strictly truthful, even to the point of admitting a modification to a published recipe. Over the years I have admitted:
(1) Recipes that have come in dreams (Honestly!!!),
(2) Reverse engineering from food at restaurants,
(3) Sneak peek at someones kitchen,
(4) Sheer random exuberance
But this time I have taken professional help. During a development of a fairly bitter concoction I briefed all the well known flavour houses - IFF, Firmenich, Givaurdan Roure and Symrise. And they have come out with brilliant combinations that will persuade the sweet little kiddies not to spit out what mamma spoons into their mouth.
One of the flavours that failed has, however held me spellbound. Forget Lily the Pink's Medicinal Compound. This flavour - a combination of alfonso mango, peach and vanilla is a shoo-in for the next icecream to be made during the week end.
The flavour house, which I shall not name, has thoughtfully provided the individual flavours - none of them are as good as the three of them put together. Even a small deviation in the percentage of the flavours takes away the entire charm.
So what is the combination? Sorry, that's the secret that stays in-house. After all, I did take the trouble to brief the flavour house. To the victor goes the spoils, doesn't it?
Never mind! Friends are always welcome to visit during the week-end! Advance warning (in the form of a telephone call) is a must...
Several friends, at the receiving end of new experiments, often ask me, where do you get ideas for all this? They usually have a look of martyred resignation, steeling themselves for bouts of nausea, food poisoning, diarrhoea or worse. Only when they find themselves to have miraculously survived another sunrise do they trickle back to ask for the recipe.
At such occasions i am strictly truthful, even to the point of admitting a modification to a published recipe. Over the years I have admitted:
(1) Recipes that have come in dreams (Honestly!!!),
(2) Reverse engineering from food at restaurants,
(3) Sneak peek at someones kitchen,
(4) Sheer random exuberance
But this time I have taken professional help. During a development of a fairly bitter concoction I briefed all the well known flavour houses - IFF, Firmenich, Givaurdan Roure and Symrise. And they have come out with brilliant combinations that will persuade the sweet little kiddies not to spit out what mamma spoons into their mouth.
One of the flavours that failed has, however held me spellbound. Forget Lily the Pink's Medicinal Compound. This flavour - a combination of alfonso mango, peach and vanilla is a shoo-in for the next icecream to be made during the week end.
The flavour house, which I shall not name, has thoughtfully provided the individual flavours - none of them are as good as the three of them put together. Even a small deviation in the percentage of the flavours takes away the entire charm.
So what is the combination? Sorry, that's the secret that stays in-house. After all, I did take the trouble to brief the flavour house. To the victor goes the spoils, doesn't it?
Never mind! Friends are always welcome to visit during the week-end! Advance warning (in the form of a telephone call) is a must...
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