January 25

We started today with three type of El Ray Chocolate. The Bucare was a 58% dark chocolate that was sweet, milky, and fatty, with not much overall taste. Then we moved onto the Mijao (61%) which, again, did not have much taste at all. Then we moved onto the Gran Suman (70%) which was chalky but sour, nutty, earthy, and bitter. I honestly could not say which one I liked the most.

We then move on to tasting different kinds of cinnamon. We started with Ceylan which is technically the truest form of cinnamon. It tasted a little bready and burnt but with spice and smoke. The next three types are actually cassia which is technically not even cinnamon. However, it is what most Americans are most familiar with as cinnamon. The Chinese cassia was milder with less overall flavor. The Saigon Cassia was more spicy, but with the same fundamental cinnamon taste. Finally there was the Korintje cassia which was sweeter and the closest to what I am used to. To test out tasting ability, we were given a Cinnabon cinnamon roll and asked to guess what kind of cinnamon/cassia was used to make it. My guess was the Kointje which seemed to be consistent with most of the class (although I’m sure we will never find out what it really is).

Finally, we moved on to Blue cheeses which I can say, with all honesty, that I didn’t like. The Valdeon was musty, smoky, possibly herbaceous, and lasts an extremely long time on the palate. Then there was the stilton which was extremely salty and chalky. In my personal opinion, it tasted exactly like drywall. Then there was the American which was not bad and had the same fundamental flavor as the stilton, but without the salt or the chalk. If I had to choose a favorite out of the four, this would probably be it. And finally, there was the Cambozola which was creamy, smoky, and musty, but not as intense as the Valdeon.  

January 23

Today's chocolate tasting featured four chocolates from around the world. The first was a Caracan chocolate made from Trinitarian beans and smelled much different from  the others. Even when I was chewing on the chocolate, I could smell in my nose at the same time. The taste itself was slightly bitter and fruity but not acidic. The second type was a Venezuelan Trinitarian which smelled like a floor cleaner. It too tasted fruity but more acidic with a grassy and earthy tone. The third type was the Indonesian Criollo which was acidic and sour but was notably minty and fruity. It was also acidic to the point of astringency. Then there was the Madagascar which was very sour. The wrapper said that it was supposed to taste like wood and mushroom, but I never got those. Instead I got a strong p-nutty flavor. The final chocolate we tasted was a mystery chocolate. It was extremely bitter and astringent but had a coffee flavor to it. We found out later that it 100% dark chocolate with cocoa nibs added . . . . That explained a lot! Even though this class has taught me not to be afraid of (and even to like) some dark chocolates, I still can't handle 100% dark.

The next test was olive oil, of which there are four types: delicate/mild, olivey/peppery, leafy/green/grassy, and fruity/fragrant. We were given four different cups and told to match each with the category to which it belonged. I found that the Bertoli was olivey and peppery, the L'Estornel was leafy, green, and grassy, the Masserie di Sant'eramo was delicate and mild, and the Badia a Coltibuono was fruity and fragrant. We were then told by the teachers that the Bertoli was actually fruity and fragrant, the L'Estornel was actually olivey and peppery, and the Badia a Coltibuono was actually leafy green and grassy. I personally think that I was right. The only conclusion that I can reach is that my cups must have gotten mixed up. I tried each cup several more times, and each time I became more certain that my answers were right.

After the olive oil tasting, we went straight into tasting olives themselves. We started with the Kalamate which was salty and olivey. The next was a ripe black which was slightly bitter and salty but more mild than the first. Next, we moved on to the Nicoise which was just plain olivey. The Queen Olive was salty and sour to the extreme! And finally there was the Manzanilla which was just salty. They were all olivey and salty, but I could taste individual differences between each. After we had tried them all, someone pointed out that most of them tasted like boiled peanuts, and I could definitely taste some truth to this claim. While I could taste the differences, I had no way of describing those differences. Personally, it didn't bother me too much anyway because I didn’t like any of them anyway. So its not like I'm about to go out and buy them. Even though I didn't like them, I am glad to say that I tried them in the spirit of being adventurous. Besides now I can explain my reason why I don't like olives instead of just saying "I don't like them".

After the olives, we moved on to tasting different types of Cheddar cheese. The Vermont, I thought, was the driest and had the least taste. Then there was the Boar's Head which was bland but was slightly fruit. My second favorite was the Kerry Gold which was astringent and sour/bitter but good with a sharp taste. Finally my favorite was the Cabot which was smooth with a mild, but unique taste. It was a little sour but also had hints of wood and butter. A fact to part with is that apple cider is the traditional drink match for cheddar. I just thought that was interesting.

January 20

Today we started by tasting three different types of Santander dark chocolates. The first type was a 70% dark chocolate which had a bit of a burnt taste. However, the smell was much closer to the 53% which also smelled dark and rich in cocoa. The difference was that the 53% tasted very milky and sweet; very close to a milk chocolate. On the other hand, the 65% dark chocolate smelled like shaving cream and was more sour and fruity than the others making it more astringent. Others in the class said that it tasted like raisins, but I was never able to pick up on this.

After the chocolates, we moved into cheese tasting. The first type was parmesan which was super intense and astringent. But really, it was just a drier and more intense parmesan. The second type was pecorino which tasted like some sort of pepper or spice (I never could put my finger on what kind). And finally, there was the Myzithra which both tasted and felt like cardboard with a rancid aftertaste. These are three cheeses that I have no desire to ever try again.

Then we moved on to the vinegar tasting. We started with a red-wine vinegar which had a very pickly taste. Just like all the others, I was able to taste the sourness and acidity which are characteristics of vinegars. The second type is Balsamic Vinegar which was more mildly acidic but had a bolder flavor. The third type we tried was a cider vinegar which tasted almost exactly like green apples, but with a little more of a pickly taste. When we started the tasting I was sure that I was not going to like vinegar. i had tried it so many times in the past that one more time wasn't going to change my preference. And I was right.

After the vinegar tasting, we put a small pill of miracle fruit extract on the tongue and let is dissolve there. It was amazing the effect that it had on taste perception! It made eating lemons and limes taste like plain candy (like a gummy bear or something). I also tried the vinegar, and the acidity was gone, but I still didn't like it. This told me that it was the taste of the vinegar, and not the vinegar sting that I didn't like. I noticed that the taste difference seemed to be a little more pronounced in some of my classmates than myself, and I started to wonder if I had gotten the full effect. I do know that I was experiencing at least some difference, because my lips and the back of my mouth, where the pill had not reached, were tingling as if getting the full effect of the sourness. When I tested its effects again at lunch 20 minutes later, I found no effect at all. Our conclusion was that the bread of the sandwich had wiped the extract off of the taste buds.  At least it was really cool while it lasted.

January 19

Today I was one of the lucky class members who got to show up at noon and eat the great lunch that had been prepared for us. I had no idea what to expect because we didn't know what dishes were being cooked. However, I have to say that I was pleasantly surprised! The dish I was probably the most skeptical about was the eggplant parmesan. As you might guess, it was because of the eggplant. As it turns out, the eggplant parmesan was delicious! I was delightfully surprised that you couldn't even taste the eggplant. The texture of the eggplant was kind of weird mixed with the fried part and the marinara sauce, but all of the flavors mixed really well. Another great dish was the four cheese lasagna. I am used to eating lasagna with meat in it, but this lasagna was so good, that I found myself not even missing the meat. The cheese buns were another favorite. They were so good, that I almost couldn't put them down. If I hadn't left when I did, I might have exploded because I couldn't get myself to stop eating the rolls. I was also skeptical about the fried goat cheese salad because we had had a sampling of goat cheese in a previous class, and I had not liked it. This time, I did like it, but it was not my favorite. It did make it better that the cheese was on a salad, but I found that the sourness of the goat cheese stood out too much and overpowered everything in the salad. Finally, there was the tiramisu. It was really good, but I think someone might have added a little too much rum. Don't get me wrong, it was still really good! However, we were supposed to concentrating on the blending of the different ingredients, and this was made much harder because there was so much rum that it overpowered everything else. Overall, this was a great meal, and I enjoyed all of it! 

January 18

This was yet another day packed full of tastings. I was so distraught the whole class because all of my tastings were off. This was because I burnt my tongue so bad on the soups yesterday. I can, however, say that I learned something very valuable from this: because my tongue was burnt, I had to move the substance around to all areas of my mouth to find the taste buds that weren't as affected. Even if you can only taste with the back of your tongue, then you may learn even more because, at least with me personally, I never concentrate on the tastes on the back of my tongue. Overall, because the front of my tongue was burned, I found that I was able to pick up more subtle tastes, and agree with the rest of the class more because I was forced to use more regions of my mouth, and concentrate more on the flavors that I was able to pick up. 

We started the class with a tasting of four different types of pralus chocolates. The first type we tried was the pralus fortissima made of criollo and trinitarian beans from Ecuador. It tasted strongly of chocolate, but was also very sweet for a dark chocolate. It also had a bit of a sour taste. The second type we tried was the prelus Chuao made from criollo beans from Venezuela. It was a little more bitter and sour, but not as sweet. I did like it, and would describe the overall taste as quality. It just had a richness, and elegance about it. The third type we tried was the chuao Brasil made from forasterio from Brazil. This chocolate had more of an earthy tone with the most acidity and fruity taste of the three. The final type we tried was the mystery chocolate. It came off as immediately familiar. I knew that is was an herbal taste, but I couldn’t place it. We were then it was peppercorn (which we tried last week) and I had a resulting duuhh moment. While some people really liked it, I had one bite, and that was more than enough. 

After the chocolates, we had a salt tasting. I was extremely disappointed that I couldn't taste well today because salt and bacon are my favorite flavors of all time! Making do with what I had, we tried the Maldon first. To be honest, it just tasted like regular salt. The black diamond also tasted like plain salt. This was very disappointing for someone who loves salt so much. But I could tell a bit of difference in the Kavai Guava Smoked. The only difference was that it was a little smoky, as the name suggests. I feel confident that I would have been able to place this flavor better with a full set of taste buds. These first three were tasted off of cucumber. Although peculiar to me at first, I found this to be a good medium for tasting. The second three salts were tasted off of buttered bread. Surprisingly, I didn't think this to be a good medium because it was harder to separate the three flavors. To me these three flavors just naturally go together, so it is harder for me to separate them. With that being said, the next salt we tasted was the Fleur de Sel which tasted like plain salt, but more intense than the first three. The next type was the Mololeai Red, which knocked me on my but. Up until this point in my life, I thought there was no such thing as too salty. However, I learned at this point that I was wrong. The final type of salt we tried was the Sel Gris. I would say that it had a bit more of a spicy taste. This gave it a little more individuality over the other types. After multiple tastings, I couldn't narrow down the flavor any more than that. One thing that I did notice is that the size of the grain had a lot to do with the taste. Simply put, the larger the grain, the more salty it tasted. Hopefully someday I will get the chance to try these again with a chance for more discriminability. 

Finally, we couldn't leave without trying some more cheeses. The first type we tried was the Asiago Fresio. It was very cheesy and sweet, and could possibly be my favorite of all the cheeses we have tried so far! I am most definitely going to wait four or five days, and then go get some to confirm this. The second type we tried was the Raclette Raw. This type was good, but not as much as the Asiago. It had more of a smoky taste to it. And finally there was the Borough Market Cheddar. It started off tangy and then got really sharp. It was sour and had a consistency that I can't quite put my finger on. I would definitely give it a second chance though.

January 17

Today was another kitchen day for Team A. We started out learning how to make stocks, broths, and soups from the stocks. The first step was to cut up the chicken. This is something that would be easy enough for me to do on my own but, personally, I'm going to get out of it if at all possible. For some reason, I have no idea why, I have an aversion to fat on my chicken. This is a very weird quirk on my part, but it has bothered me since childhood. With this being said, of-course it was me that got selected to strip the fat off the chicken and stuff the seasonings in-between the fat and the chicken . . . . Thanks Dr. Nowatka! Joking aside, it really wasn't as bad as I thought. And it tasted great at the end! The fat was so crispy and flavorful that I really couldn't tell that it was fat. Furthermore, the meat under the fat was juicy and tasty as well. I am glad that I learned that technique because I am so picky about chicken that it is hard for me to find new dishes. 

The second pair of chickens were cut up and thrown into hot water to make the stock. We started the clear stock but never finished it because it would have been many more hours before it was finished. But the other stock was used to make the chicken and dumplings and chicken and rice soups. Even though I am from the south, I think this was my first experience with chicken and dumplings. It is my grandmother's favorite dish and the world, but I have always refrained from trying it. However, this time I tried it and loved it. The liquid part of it was thick and tasty (almost like a gravy) while the dumplings were both tasty and had a great texture that I can't even describe. I am so excited to go home and make this recipe for my grandmother! The chicken and rice was very good too. This was a dish that Anson and I made, so I'm a little biased, but I thought it came out really well. It was a very simple dish were we added rice, stock, chicken, carrots, and celery, and let it stew until the rice was done. The final dish was the beef and barley stew. I had no idea what barley was until I tried this dish but it was really good! I'm not sure how barley is supposed to taste, but it was a little crunchy (I think it was just served early because of the time restraints). The soup overall was really good because of the blend of flavors and the flavor of the beef. 

It all came together nicely into a great meal. It was almost a shame that no one from team B showed up to sample our work. But then again, it didn't bother me much because there was more for us! The only downside to today was that I was stupid and burnt my tongue really bad on the soup. This must say something good about our food if I still thought it was outstanding despite the fact that I couldn’t feel my tongue! I learned a lot from today and thought than these were definitely dishes that I plant to make again, and that I can make my own variations to them.

January 16

Today we started by tasting four different varietals of dark chocolate from different regions of the world. The first type was the Ambanja from Madagascar, which is made from Criollo beans. Its flavor seemed to be combined of elements of milk chocolate, vanilla, coffee, and cocoa. I also thought it tasted fairly bitter and fruity with a strange resemblance to apricot. The second type we tried was Chicuri which is from Columbia and made from the trinitarian bean. It was milky and smooth with a bitter/fruity taste. More specifically, it had hints of banana with a more mild intensity, while maintaining a stronger flavor. The third type was the Sur del Lago from Venezuela which is made from a blend of trinitarian and Criollo beans. Most notable was the strong presence of the cocoa, while also tasting flowery and fruity with a smooth texture. The final type we tried was the Quevedo made from the Forasterio bean. The nuttiness jumps out the most, but equally present is the pound cake like taste. It also had slight hints of vanilla.

We followed the chocolate tasting by cupping coffee, a process of tasting that I had never heard of before. The first step is to put the beans in a cup and pour boiling water over them. As the steam diminishes, a crust will form at the top. The crust is broken is with a spoon. WHILE breaking the crust, keep the nose close to the top so that your nose can catch the steam. You have to make sure that the beans are ground into large enough pieces so that they sink to the bottom of the cup. After breaking the crust and smelling the steam, use the spoon to skim the crust off the top. While cupping someone asked if there was a perfect temperature at which to brew coffee. We were then told that there was no perfect temperature to brew it; it all depends on preference. If cooked too hot of too long, it may develop a burnt taste, but then again, some people prefer that taste. I just thought this was an interesting tidbit worth mentioning. The next step of the cupping is to forcefully slurp the coffee off the spoon. The first thing that one tastes, when coffee tasting, is the fruitiness or acidity (if there is any) and then the body (if there is any).

After watching a video on this whole process, we tried the Sumatran, Guatemalan (Antiguan), and Kenyan blends. The Sumatra was very mild and had a little bit of an earthy, smokey, and especially herbal flavor. The Kenya has more of a chocolaty smell but a nuttier-earthier taste. It was a little sour and light, but could best be described as Juicy. Finally, the Guatemalan is almost the same as the Sumatran, but more intense, with a peppery and burnt, and spicy flavor. The smell of both the Sumatran and Guatemalan drove me crazy for at least 10-15 minutes. The smell was very nostalgic, and I finally placed it. These coffees smelled almost exactly like my friends beach house. Very Weird.

The next test was the PCT test. This was also weird for me because I had never been able to taste the PCT test for myself. This time, I could actually taste the PCT, and it was extremely bitter and sour at the same time. The other odd part is that, while I could definitely taste it, it didn't seem as intense for me as as it did for those around me. The other odd part is that the "taster" gene is only prominent in 4-5 percent of the population. But only about 4-5 percent of the class were "non-tasters".  One possible reason for my being able to taste this time, and not last time, is because this time, I had a blank strip to compare it to.

Finally, we taste three different types of stinky cheeses. The first type was Fromage de Chavot which smelled exactly like a cheesy porta-potty. It was very salty and sour but overall, it was good. Based on the smell, I was thinking it would taste just as horrible,  but this was not the case. It is not a cheese that I would actively seek to taste again, but I am glad that I tried it. The second type of cheese we tried was the Fromage de Chavre which smelled exactly like a porta-potty. The texture was very powerful and felt like play-dough on my tongue. It has a cheesy aftertaste, but it doesn't taste very bad. Again, I was pleasantly surprised at the contrast to what I was expecting. The third type we tasted was that Ribola which smelled so bad I almost vomited. In this case, the taste actually was as bad as the smell. As vulgar as this may sound, it tasted almost exactly like vomit. unlike anything else we had tasted in class, the sensation was so strong, I could not pick out any individual flavors. Not to mention that is was so bad, that I was unwilling to try another taste. Probably won't ever try Ribola again.

January 13

Today, we tasted a variety of things such as types of dark chocolate, honeys and more cheeses. The first type we tried was an 82% dark chocolate that had a very sharp snap. When I put it in my mouth, I felt more like I could smell the chocolate rather than taste it. When It was just sitting on my tongue, I really could hardly taste anything, but when I chewed it up, I started to get a little bit of a sour sensation. the next type we tried was the 70% dark chocolate, which also had a good snap to it but still had very little taste. There was less overall sourness than the 82%, but this time I could taste the sourness before chewing. The third type we tried was the 62% dark chocolate which had a little milkier texture, but a whole lot more taste. Just sitting on my tongue, it was a little sour, but also a little sweet as well. This time I could actually taste the chocolate flavor as well. The final flavor of chocolate did not even have much flavor to me because it was so spicy. it was a 77% dark chocolate which was banana and Cayenne flavored. As soon as it touched my lips and mouth, they began to tingle and then hurt. although I couldn't taste anything but the pepper. I could distinguish the distinctive flavor of the the Cayenne.

We also tasted three types of natural sugars. The first type we tried was the dextrose which was a very fine powder (but not quite as fine a confectioner's sugar). It had a a clearly sweet taste that could barely be tasted.The second type we tried was the Fructose. It was the sweetest of all three types we tried, almost to the point of being sour. Physically, Fructose had also had a more grainy texture as well. Sucrose, the third type, was in between the first two types on all counts. It was not as sweet as fructose, but sweeter than dextrose. Similarly the texture was not as grainy as fructose, but more grainy than dextrose. I can't help but think there may be some sort of correlation between the two. 

Next we began tasting different types of honeys. The first type we tried was buckwheat which was sweet but had a distinctive flavor of tobacco. More specifically, it tasted like a sickeningly sweet cigar. This type was good, but tasted very bad when eaten on bread. i had buckwheat crepes when I was in France, this time last year, but they did not taste anything like this. The wildflower honey was again distinctive. It started out not tasting like anything at all, but then it came on gradually into a full flavor and left a strong aftertaste. It was almost like a flower blossoming on your tongue within the span of about two seconds. It had a very flowery-earthly taste to it. It wasn't real good, but it wasn't real bad either. I'm still not really sure how I feel about it. The orange blossom honey tasted a lot more like plain honey, but the orange flavor was still evident. I enjoyed this one a lot because the orange flavor couldn't be avoided, yet it did not overpower the honey itself. Finally, there was the tupolo which had a much more subtle taste compared to the others. The flavor was much more like peppermint or Cinnamon (I detected both elements within). I don't think I did an adequate job of uncovering the taste I was trying to identify, but I do know that it, undeniably, brought back the nostalgic feelings of something I eat around Christmas time.

Finally, we ended the class with a couple of cheeses and then a movie. The first type, the Cambert, did not have much taste to me. It had the eve so slight cheesy taste with a melted cheese texture in my mouth. I really liked it. The second type was the Brie, which was also really good. It too had a subtle taste, but not as subtle as the Cambert. It had both the texture and the taste (though less intense) of a Kraft single. Although I don't think I like these two as much as the types we tried on Wednesday, I do think that I would enjoy tying them again; but perhaps next time with a different type of bread or cracker. We ended the day by watching a video on the Mole that James and I made the day before. I'm actually glad that we watched it after, and not before, we cooked it because I'm pretty sure it would only have made me more confused. However, I did learn more about the dish, and learn some ways that I could try and change it to make it my own the next time I am attempting to cook Mole.

January 12

Today was another cooking day for team A. I don't really know much about the other dishes in the meal because I spent all of my time concentrating on the Mole and the chicken. The mole was really hard and took almost all day. We messed up at a couple of points like forgetting to add the chocolate and adding a little extra pepper. We also made some calculated changes like knocking 30-45 minutes off of the simmering time of the Mole. This was in order to make sure that the dish was finished by the time the meal was served. Even with these mistakes and changes, the chicken in Mole still seemed to be a big hit and I personally was pleased with it. I am curious to see what changes would have arisen from adding the chocolate, and simmering the the correct amount of time. But maybe I will try again someday and find out. However, what is just as important as learning how to make it, is that the next time I come across the dish on a menu, I will not be afraid to order it, because I know what it is and how it should taste.

I also learned a whole lot in terms of cooking skills. One thing that was hard for me was judging whether the color of the sauce and the ingredients matched the description in the recipe. Also, I have never used an over for anything other than bread, cookies, and cakes, so baking chicken was a new experience. Then there was other, much smaller things, like peeling a clove and practicing the knife skills that we learned about in class. The one thing that I can look back on and wish that I had done differently, is that I wish I had been tasting everything as I want along. As it was, I just tasted the chili juice and the end product. But I wish that I had tasted each component (like the tomatillo sauce, the chili sauce, the two combined, the sauce after simmering etc.) The chili sauce and the end product were so completely different that I was left stunned and couldn't figure out what had happened to change it as we went through the process. Thus, when I am cooking from now on, I will be tasting all along so that I can begin to understand the subtleties and the processes better. I'm sure that there were even more, and they will, undoubtedly come back to me when I'm back in the kitchen.

As for the other dishes, I loved some, and was presently surprised by others. The steak, the Coke cake, and the baked beans which  were all extremely delicious, and I will most definitely be trying to make those on my own sometime in the near future. There was also salad which I'm pretty sure had pears in it, which was really good! I was actually expecting to like that salad, but not the eggplant. I had never liked it before, so I was not expecting anything to change. But I did like it. It did not have much taste, but what taste it did have was mild and sweet, which was a surprise compared to what I was expecting.

The best part was that there were so much of all of the dishes that I could eat all I wanted and almost had to be rolled out of there. Overall, Team A did a great job on all counts and I now have six new dishes that I can try to make one my own.  

January 11

Today we tasted four different types of white chocolate. I was excited about today because white chocolate is by and far my favorite type of "chocolate". There has been some debate over the last week as to whether white chocolate can technically be considered chocolate. My answer: I don't really care if it's chocolate or not, I just love to eat it!!! Today, we tried four different types of White Chocolate (WC): Michel Cluizel, Green and Black, El Ray, Amedel. The Cluizel was a little more bland and less flavorful than most WCs I've had in the past. It was soft and had a slightly bitter aftertaste, but was way sweeter than both the milk and dark chocolates that we had tasted in previous classes. The Green and black had a great snap to it and was way sweeter then the Cluizel but didn't have the bitter aftertaste. The El Ray had a very peanut buttery taste to it. It was much more similar to milk chocolate in that it had a more chocolaty/buttery taste. It seemed that the consensus of the class was in favor of the El Ray, but I was not a big fan. The final brand was the Amedel which had a very soft texture and much less taste than the others. It tasted a little milky, but also very, very, fatty. I did not like this chocolate at all.

From there, we moved on to cheese tastings. All of these types of cheeses I did not think I was going to like because of the names. The odd thing about my family, is that I am so different from them, that If they tell me I am going to like a food, I am generally going to think it is gross (and vice versa). This concept especially goes for cheeses! So over the years, I have evolved a distrust of any new form of cheese that I have not tried before. So imagine my surprise when I am presented with four exotic sounding cheeses (exotic to me) and come to find that I truly liked all of them! The first type we tried was Gouda which was very good! It did not have much taste at first, but then had a bit of a bitter, cheesy, taste at the end. The second type, Havarti, also had a slightly delayed taste, tasted sharper and slightly more acidic. Overall, it tasted a lot like Swiss. the third type was Fontina which was softer and more unique tasting, but was still very good. it was a little more fruity and acidic, but still tasted alot like Swiss. The third, and final type of cheese that we tasted was Manchego. It had a fruity smell, was harder than the rest, and tasted a little more bland. It too had a more unique taste which made it really stand out when eaten on bread. Overall, I liked all of the cheeses and plan on trying them all again, on my own.

January 10

Today we simply showed up and baked some cookies. The cookies my partner and I made were the peanut-butter cookies. They were extremely simple, but this was a good exercise to start the class with as it would help prepare us for what was coming down the road. It has been so long since I have made cookies from scratch that I had forgotten, so I enjoyed the opportunity to do it again and refresh my memory. I also learned a few little tricks along the way that I'm sure will serve me well in the future. Normally, I am not a huge fan of peanut butter (because I eat so much of it in high-school) but I really like the cookies that James and I made. I don't think we placed them right in the oven because some came out a little more done than the others. But overall, I was pleased with the result. My favorite was the really chocolate cookie. I'm not sure what it was called, but it had more of the consistency of a muffin or a small cake. We haven't been given the recipes so I can't remember all of the types or their names. I can however say that I also enjoyed the oatmeal cookies and the butter cookies. The chocolate chip cookies were really good too (although that is a given). It would have been interesting to see the difference if the second had turned out as it was intended (one was intended to be smaller but taller, while the other bigger but flatter). I do remember the sugar cookies being quite delicious (but chocolate chip will always win that battle!). And finally there were the cookies with the jelly on the inside. I could only imagine that those would be the toughest to make, but they were worth the effort because they were so Delicious. There may be a couple more that I am forgetting, like the snicker doodle, but I can say with all honesty that I enjoyed the whole bag!

January 9

Again today, we tasted several types of milk chocolate. The first was the Green and Black (an organic chocolate) which was very sweet and milky. But it also had an ever so slight hint of a fruity taste. The next type is the Michel Cluizel which was physically softer to the touch but also had a much smoother taste. The only words I can find to describe the taste are “less intense” and a more “calm” taste. Next was the El Ray which was a harder chocolate that had a very crisp snap when bitten into. It was a little bitterer than the rest and had still less taste than both the Green and Black and the Michel Cluizel. When allowed to melt in the mouth, it could still be described as smooth: even after the initial snap. The final chocolate was the Amedel which was also very soft and very smooth overall. The unique aspect about this chocolate was its distinctive milky taste. The milky taste was very distinctive, but at the same time, was not as sweet. This is interesting since it is almost contradictory.

Then we moved on to the "Pepsi challenge" or "Coke challenge" (choose your bias). This is a very popular test where the subjects are given samples of both coke and Pepsi and asked to identify which is which (or in our case, which of the three cups was different from the other two. I, like most other people, was highly disappointed to find that my extreme preference for Coke did not translate into the results of the test. I was able to tell that one was Coke and the other was Pepsi, but I failed to recognize that the third cup was Pepsi. While I was able to get two of the three cups correct, I was more guessing than anything else. When I tried really hard, I could almost detect the difference in smell that others were talking about. I could, however, easily see the difference in carbonation.

Finally, we did some more testing on three more types of cheeses. The goat cheese was by far my favorite of the day, and was so good that I even eat it plain. It tasted very familiar, almost like an American cheddar. The Feta cheese I almost couldn't bring myself to try because it smelled  so bad. However, once I did try it, it wasn't so bad. There is only a hint of taste when you first put it in your mouth, but about a full second later, it hit me like a wave. At first, it was a little sour, and acidic, but that melted away into a bitter cheesy taste. Finally, the goat cheese was very soft and sour. It is not a cheese that I could see myself eating alone, but In the future, I will not be scared away by a dish, or snack that contains goat cheese. In contrast to the feta, The taste of the goat cheese hit you immediately. It is sour enough that even your lips tingle if they come into contact with the cheese. The sourness of the goat cheese is comparable to the lemon sample, with the difference being that the cheese lacked the fruity taste of the lemon. However, when the cheese was combined with the honey, it was extremely delicious. It is a very unique sensation that is nearly impossible to describe. However, I can say that the honey dialed down the sourness of the cheese. The sweet honey and the sourness of the cheese blended perfectly so that they tasted like a single entity. It truly loved it!

January 6

Heated dark chocolate - bitter and sour. Also tasted very acidic. I don't think that there was much effect because it was almost cold by the time it got to me. The room temperature chocolate, that had been allowed to breath,  was still bitter and sour, but not as intense as the heated chocolate. And the chocolate left in the wrapper was still less intense than the other two samples. Again, it is worth mentioning that my results are probably skewed because I don't like dark chocolate.

On the other hand, I do like milk chocolate. The heated milk chocolate was again cold by the time that it got back from me. The milk chocolate had much less taste, overall, than the dark, but was still sweeter. The room temperature milk chocolate, that had been allowed to breath, had more taste than the heated milk chocolate. And finally the chocolate left in the wrapper did not have as much taste as the room temperature, but as much as the heated milk chocolate.

In terms of the cheeses, the ricotta that James and I made was very good. I love salty foods, so this was right up my alley. However, the foe ricotta was not any good at all. I did not like the slimy texture, whereas the real ricotta, held together much better and was a little dryer. Neither of these cheeses I have ever had had before. The neufchatel was was also good and thick. It was a little sour, but fatty tasting. The fresh mozzarella was too slimy for me, but I generally like mozzarella. Overall, it really did not have much taste.

The mascarpone was by far the best out of all the cheeses. It's soft consistency gave it much more flavor than all the rest. When just a little pinch of salt was added, it became even better tasting. it tasted just like mozzarella, I even though it was, until I was told differently. This cheese was even better when spread on chocolate. However, only milk chocolate,. Dark chocolate was not as good of a mix.

Most of the cheeses were good when eaten with milk chocolate, but when eaten with the dark chocolate, the tasted gross, or worse. On the other hand, all of the cheeses were also good, or even better when spread on bread. Overall, the mascarpone (with salt) and the over salted ricotta were my favorites by a large margin.

January 5

M1 was sweet, smooth, and milky. I preferred this type the best. M2 was a little sour which covered up a lot of the taste. M3 was a more subtle taste and a little more bitter.

The 100% dark chocolate was extremely bitter and acidic, and not very appatizing. But I could still taste the "chocolate". The 60% chocolate was much sweeter but without the normal acidic taste. Normally I associate dark chocolate with a bitter taste, but the bitter was much less present in this type (but it was still there). The white chocolate is, and always has been my favorite. It is hard to describe because it is so different from the other types of chocolate, but is almost tastes like sugar mixed with a really fatty milk. I tried the dark and white together as suggested. However, they would not blend in my mouth. I could only taste one or the other depending on what I was concentrating on.

The Cocoa bean was ever so slightly bitter, But I couldn't taste anything unless I concentrated really hard. I couldn't taste anything from sucking on it, only when I was chewing it. To be perfectly honest, I couldn't even tell a difference between the bean and the nibs.

The regular cocoa powder, by itself, was very bitter and the chocolate flavor came as an after-taste. When added in equal parts with sugar, much of the bitterness goes away, both together and separately if thought about. The Dutched cocoa powder did taste different. The taste was less intense and the taste was more delayed. But there was more character to the flavor, and could almost be described as fruity. When sugar was added, there was a similar effect as above. But the Dutched + sugar is still better then the regular powder +sugar.

My original guess about the taste of the coriander seed was that is was 90% smell. However, after we tasted holding out noses, I could definitely understand why is was 100%. My guesses to it's taste components were that is contained elements of sour, bitter, and umami . . . but not fat, sweet, or salty.

When we were originally handed the jello, my first instinct was to write down cherry. But I only made it half way thought the word cherry, before I made myself stop and rethink the taste. After thinking about it carefully I realized that it was actually Lime flavored. The class voting then confirmed my original suspicions. However, after we were told that it was actually lemon, my tongue was still convinced that the flavor was lime (even when I tried it again). This phenomenon left me feeling a little confused.