Gourmet is a connoisseur of dishes, a lover of unusual combinations of tastes, a connoisseur of cooking and drinks. Being a gourmet means being able to enjoy a small amount of food, while defining the taste and all the flavor notes.
Tasting, gourmet notices and evaluates the combination of products, determines the subtleties in cooking, ascertains compliance or non-compliance with culinary traditions and rules.
The first rule of a foodie is to be hungry. When a person is hungry, their taste buds in the mouth are most receptive to different tastes. If a person is full, then the taste buds, as it were, “fall asleep”, so it is almost impossible to feel and define the subtleties of various tastes.
The second rule of the gourmet is not to rush. Taste points on the tongue sense the smallest flavor details of a product, dish or drink. Therefore, tasting the dish should take a lot of time and absolutely does not pursue the goal of eating your fill.
The aesthetic side of the prepared and served dishes is also important for the gourmet. The design, smell, appearance and appetizing appeal make the very first lasting impression, and only then the taste of the dish.
The third rule of the gourmet is to fix all the nuances, to be able to “formulate” them. Conclusions about a particular dish or drink are made according to all sensations (external, internal) – taste and aesthetic.
Tasting is serious business
When tasting drinks, the specialist or taster should also be a little hungry for the taste buds to work better. A true gourmet, for a start, admires the color of the drink, examines it in the light, enjoys the smell, catches in it subtle notes of spices, color and other barely noticeable ingredients. Then the drink is already tasted – in small sips, so that all taste buds in the mouth can feel its taste.
*** It is curious that in France the word gourmet means, first of all, a lover of rich and tasty food, while a connoisseur who understands the intricacies of gourmet food is called a gourmet (fr. Gourmet).