From: Paul Snow (pyspas@bath.ac.uk)
Date: Thu 05 Jan 1995 - 16:00:32 EET
Tasty, Tasty
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> While fish sauce sounds disgusting, and tastes rather strong,
> I contend nonetheless that a teaspoon or two added to dishes lends an
> _excellent_ flavor. Anyone who's eaten Thai or Vietnamese food has
> certainly had fish sauce unknowingly. There's no reason that the
> Roman fish sauce, while strong-smelling too, would have tasted much
> different when used in dishes. Though there are reports that the
> Romans used to souse their food in heavy doses of liquamen, which is
> not done by most modern fish-sauce-users.
>
I half remember that there is a theory that there is an extra flavour sense above sweet/sour/bitter/salt. I can't remember the name of this flavour but I think it is the Japanese for "tasty". This flavour is associated with mushrooms and some of the flavours of Thai cooking. I think that the flavour enhancing effects of adding worcestershire sauce to dishes is a way of adding this extra flavour. Sorry to be so vague. Does this factoid ring any bells out there?
Paul
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