November 2011 - Sensory Nutrition

Holiday Baking – Developing Flavor Notes in Cookies

As part of our Holiday Baking series of blog posts, today the focus will be on ways to develop more flavor notes in cookies to increase your sensory enjoyment of them. A variation of a sugar cookie that so many people enjoy is some version of a chocolate chip cookie. Everyone has their favorite variation of the classic recipe, however, not everyone may be making the dough 1-2 days ahead of time before baking it off. Why make and refrigerate dough 1-2 days in advance then of when you plan to bake the cookies? Read on to find out the

Holiday Baking – Does Your Choice of Flour Really Matter?

In the culinary arts, there are “formulas” or “ratios” for preparing baked goods that are the basis for any category of product. To create different varieties of cookies, for example, the basic formula of ingredients is tweaked. This series on holiday baking will focus on some of those ingredients and how they affect your sensory perception of the finished baked good product, starting with cookies. Today’s blog post will look at one key ingredient: flour. With so many flour options on the market, you may wonder if your choice of flour really might matter when it comes to baked goods in

Holiday Baking Pointers & Tips Series Kickoff

Who doesn’t love the smell of something yummy baking in the oven? The sensory impact of cookies baking is one many of us can remember fondly from childhood if anyone in our families baked regularly or if we just walked by an open bakery door. Today’s blog post will kick the work week off by focusing on an overview of cookies and their ingredients and mention where to find a wonderful sugar cookie recipe worth making.

Good-for-you Qualities of Spices and Herbs

When it comes to spices & also herbs, potency is everything! As a rule, the higher the potency of the spice, the higher the price it can command in the marketplace among knowledgeable commodity buyers. Think of aromatherapy and how you can have an immediate change of mood when affected positively by soothing aromatherapy. Well, potency of spices can also provide an element of satisfaction with a much smaller ingestion of an actual food item–thus you get more bang for your calorie buck. Another way in which good-for-you qualities of spices & herbs can be measured might

Sensory Perception and Wine Pairing with Food

The key purpose of pairing wine with food is to increase your enjoyment of both. Demystify all the mystique surrounding wine pairing with food choices by simplifying it all down to one simple concept of balance.

Herb & Spice “Holiday Check-Up”

A blog reader sent in an email and asked, “How can I tell if I need to replace any herbs and spices before I start doing more cooking and baking during the holidays?” So I thought just in case anyone else would like to do an herb and spice “holiday check-up” of their collection, I’d offer some suggestions to help anyone do just that to make the most of any holiday cooking and baking efforts. Time to especially use your senses of sight, smell and taste!

RECALL: Smucker’s CHUNKY Peanut Butter 16 oz size

Smucker’s CHUNKY Peanut Butter 16 oz size RECALL Details were posted this afternoon on my Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/sensorynutrition

Sensory Perception and Wine Evaluation

Since we are about to head into the Holiday season, it is quite likely that you might be considering food and wine pairing when planning any holiday meal(s). It seemed like this might be a good time to share some thoughts about sensory perception and wine evaluation as you start thinking ahead to any Thanksgiving Celebration and beyond. Local wine stores or perhaps actual wineries (if you happen, like me, to live in or near a wine growing region) may feature special holiday tastings and celebrations. You can taste a variety of wines and make notes about any tastings and then decide

Silky Smooth Pumpkin Pie

Pumpkin Pie or pumpkin custard is a classic ending to a holiday meal. The perceived textures of the pumpkin pie or custard as well as its perceived flavor profile can vary enormously from recipe to recipe. Several factors beyond whether the pie or pumpkin custard is served warm or cold will influence those sensory perceptions. The actual pumpkin source used, whether or not there is any grated carrot, etc. in the recipe, the ingredient choices creating the custard filling, as well as the specific spice choices made including the age and pungency of any ground spices used will all affect the

Sweet Potato Souffle

This recipe dates back in time to before I was married and is proof that moderation is key and a little bit of a treat is sometimes worth having–the key is a little bit! At the time, I had just completed my M.S. degree elsewhere and was working as the assistant to the State Extension Specialist in Food and Nutrition in the State of PA and we had received inquiries for some new recipes featuring sweet potatoes and/or yams. One of the other Extension Specialists actually loved to cook, whereas my boss did not really enjoy spending time in the