Blinded by the bite
A food-loving panel puts the delicacy of their taste buds to the test.
Thu Dec 6 2007
Photograph: Beth Levendis
Love may be blind, but what about taste? Can a tongue do its job without help from the eyes? To test the raw talent of three professional palates and one rookie, TONY enlisted four panelists—a chef, a food blogger, a restaurant critic and an average eater—in a blindfolded battle royal to see who could identify the most ingredients in a given dish. The quartet spent a fall morning at the French Culinary Institute, sampling a menu from chef and vice president of culinary arts Nils Norén—a spice-heavy, three-course tasting gauntlet—on the clock. Giving them no more than eight minutes to taste and five minutes to take notes per course, we tested their gustatory mettle.
THE DISHES
Photograph: Beth Levendis
Appetizer: Curried carrot soup
Six ingredients: orange juice, coconut milk, smoked salmon, cilantro, curry powder, carrot
“This soup has lot of powerful flavors that you can detect,” said Norén. “It should be an easy one to get.”
Photograph: Beth Levendis
Entrée: Braised short ribs with an apple-celery root puree and dill-pickled cucumbers
Eight ingredients: short ribs, star anise, apple, celery root, ginger, cucumber, vinegar, dill
“This course has distinct flavors that will be easy to pick up on,” remarked Norén, “but the dill is a little more subtle. It’ll be intriguing to see if people can identify the apple in the puree.”
Photograph: Beth Levendis
Dessert: Apple sorbet atop white-chocolate-and-fennel cream
Four ingredients: apple sorbet, white chocolate, cream, fennel
“People don’t usually associate fennel with dessert,” Norén mused, “so this ingredient might be difficult to pick out.”
Average eater: Alita Edgar, Jane-of-all-trades
Photograph: Beth Levendis
Curried Carrot Soup
Alita found the soup “velvety, fresh and unexpected,” but she mistook carrots for squash and coconut milk for cream. 2/6
Braised short ribs
Our amateur misidentified her “spongy and juicy meat” as pork, called the cucumber potato and was clueless concerning the puree. 0/8
Apple sorbet
Though Alita’s not “usually a dessert fan,” this was her favorite dish: “kiwi sorbet” atop “dulce de leche or hazelnut cream.” 0/4
Critic: Jay Cheshes, TONY contributor, former Gourmet reviewer
Photograph: Beth Levendis
Curried Carrot Soup
The critic nailed the orange juice and smoked salmon, but he called this “tomato soup” “silky,” and packed with chives and cream. 2/6
Braised short ribs
“The roasted lamb was very tender”: Jay improperly guessed the entrée and “carrot” puree, but picked up on the cucumber, dill, vinegar and ginger. 4/8
Apple sorbet
Jay missed the cream and fennel, but he still got the apple and chocolate—one more flavor than anyone else. 2/4
Chef: Anne Burrell, executive chef of Centro Vinoteca
Photograph: Beth Levendis
Curried Carrot Soup
The chef nearly named every component of this soup despite the “hard-to-tell main ingredient”: She assumed squash or pumpkin instead of carrot. 4/6
Braised short ribs
Anne thought the puree was potato, but she still nailed most components of this “Asian-inspired” meal, even identifying the subtle star anise. 5/8
Apple sorbet
“The creamy stuff under the apple sorbet was delicious,” Chef Burrell said, certain that it included brandy, caramel and condensed milk. 1/4
Food blogger: Joshua Stein, Gawker
Photograph: Beth Levendis
Curried Carrot Soup
Gawker’s food scribe rocked the carrots, orange juice and cilantro, liking the soup’s “light, citrus flavor,” though he called the salmon “raw tuna.” 3/6
Braised short ribs
The blogger pinpointed the ginger, cucumber and vinegar, before faltering on the puree: taro root or parsnip, he guessed, with “unicorn magic dust.” 3/8
Apple sorbet
“Even without a blindfold I’d be totally lost,” Joshua confessed, taking a stab at a “star-fruit granita” paired with “lime cream.” 0/4
NEXT: OUR TASTERS’ REACTIONS
The reveal:
What did our panelists think of the tasting once the results were in and the blindfolds were off? Their impressions, as told to Joshua M. Bernstein.
The critic: Jay Cheshes
What was the biggest surprise?
How poorly I did.
What was hardest part of the exercise?
I don't think there were enough distinct flavors. But the meat was the most difficult. I couldn't even imagine that it was short ribs. In my mind, short ribs melt in your mouth, but these were chewy. The texture threw me off completely.
What did you learn about your tasting abilities?
I was surprised by how many things I didn't get. I also learned what a big role visuals play in picking out ingredients.
The blogger: Joshua Stein
Biggest surprise?
Honestly, that this wasn't just a fun stress-free gorge fest! Also, how much actually thinking about identifying each ingredient affects how much more intensely you taste them, and also how enjoyable it is to be analytic about food.
Hardest part?
Sitting next to Anne Burrell and having no clue what I was eating and knowing that in a few minutes, our blindfolds would come off, and I would have identified what she would have correctly recognized as star anise as unicorn dust.
What did you learn about your tasting abilities?
Sorely lacking, sadly. My taste vocabulary isn't very literate at all. Also, watching Top Chef does not a gourmet make.
The chef: Anne Burrell
Biggest surprise?
Definitely the white chocolate—I never eat it.
Hardest part?
It was difficult to eat soup and cut meat with a blindfold on!
What did you learn about your tasting abilities?
I learned that I can trust my palate.
The civilian: Alita Edgar
Biggest surprise?
The biggest surprise was the salmon in the soup. I had no idea.
Hardest part?
Hardest was identifying even basic ingredients without seeing the color; I never realized how important a clue color is.
What did you learn about your tasting abilities?
I learned that even when I'm sure I'm right, like with the dessert, I can be deceived.
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