‘Weeds from the yard’: a seasonal salad

‘Weeds from the yard’ is a seasonal dish that has recently been introduced to the menu at Worton Kitchen Garden (WKG), an organic kitchen garden situated on the outskirts of Oxford. This spring offering was created by the chef to draw the attention of diners to some of the nutritious plants, herbs, and specifically weeds, that surround us but which few people currently consider as a legitimate source of nutrition. The dish, provocatively called ‘weeds’ rather than ‘herbs’, connects to the recent growth in the popularity of the foraging movement, as well as to the historical basis of food in Britain (and elsewhere) for the rural poor who would once have regularly foraged from the local hedgerows, woodlands, and fields. The eye appeal of the dish was enhanced by the addition of some colourful seasonal flowers. At the same time, however, it is important to recognize how tasty and aromatic many weeds are (i.e., over-and-above the sustainability angle). Taken together, the hope is that the gastrophysics approach can be used to help reintroduce the public to some of the nutritious plants that surround us via a tasty and visually-attractive dish composed primarily of what are commonly, though not uncontroversially, classed as weeds. Doing so will likely require some work to get consumers to think about weeds in a different way

On the manipulation, and meaning(s), of color in food: a historical perspective

While there has long been public concern over the use of artificial/synthetic food colors, it should be remembered that food and drink products (e.g., red wine) have been purposefully colored for millennia. This narrative historical review highlights a number of reasons that food and drink have been colored, including to capture the shopper's visual attention through to signaling the likely taste/flavor. Over the course of the last century, there has, on occasion, also been interest in the playful, or sometimes even deliberately discombobulating, use of food coloring by modernist chefs and others. The coloring (or absence of color) of food and drink can, though, sometimes also take on more of a symbolic meaning, and, in a few cases, specific food colors may acquire a signature, or branded (i.e., semantic) association. That said, with food color being associated with so many different potential "meanings," it is an open question as to which meaning the consumer will associate with any given instance of color in food, and what role context may play in their decision. Laboratory-based sensory science research may not necessarily successfully capture the full range of meanings that may be associated with food color in the mind of the consumer. Nevertheless, it seems likely that food color will continue to play an important role in dictating consumer behavior in the years to come, even though the visual appearance of food is increasingly being mediated via technological means, including virtual and augmented reality

Cognitive influence on the evaluation of wine: the impact and assessment of price

Price is one of the most important product-extrinsic factors influencing the consumers’ response to, and presumably experience of, wine. This is ironic inasmuch as the research tends to highlight either no, or else even a slightly negative relationship between price and liking in typical consumers when they taste wines blind. Nevertheless, providing price information, especially when it is high leads to enhanced taste ratings, especially for low to mid-priced wines. Similarly, bottle and label information (that makes a wine look cheaper or more expensive) has also been shown to influence the evaluation of wine by regular consumers (i.e., non-experts). Indeed, product-extrinsic information often appears to outweigh the product-intrinsic sensory attributes of wine in people’s hedonic (in not necessarily in their sensory-discriminative) ratings. Such findings therefore highlight the importance of cognitive as compared to direct sensory cues in the evaluation of wine. This narrative historical review critically reviews and evaluates the published experimental literature that has examined the impact of price on wine ratings

The ghost train: a disappearing fairground entertainment

The Ghost Train on the fairground connects pre-mechanized ghost shows (such as the Phantasmagoria and Dr. Pepper’s Ghost type illusions) that had been popular in Britain in the latter half of the 19th century, with the increasingly mechanized rides that came to dominate the British fairground circuit during the 20th century. Intriguingly, although customers were moved along a track, the showmen themselves considered the Ghost Train to be a “show” (shocking the paying public by the unexpected multisensory stimulation of their eyes, ears, and skin), rather than a ride (the latter providing primarily proprioceptive pleasures and kinaesthetic thrills). The heyday of the Ghost Train on the fairground was during the middle decades of the 20th century. Nowadays, those interested in giving themselves a fright are more likely to seek their entertainment in a physically thrilling ride (such as a rollercoaster) or else at the cinema (a medium that also emerged out of the late 19th century ghost shows)

Garlic: tracing its changing popularity in British cuisine

Garlic, which was originally used medicinally, has become increasingly ubiquitous as a culinary ingredient in recent years. However, its popularity in British cooking has risen and fallen repeatedly over the centuries. While some commentators, perhaps most notably Mrs. Beeton, once described it as smelling ‘offensive’, other commentators nowadays claim that it imparts a gorgeous flavour to both savoury and sweet foods. Various explanations for garlic's mixed culinary fortunes are discussed, including the antimicrobial hypothesis, the perception of garlic as a ‘foreign’ ingredient (at least by those living in Britain), the malodour (garlic breath) long associated with those who have recently consumed this pungent allium, and the contemporary perception of it as a functional food. Given that it is difficult to assess whether the availability of different cultivars may have resulted in those living in Britain simply being exposed to less pungent varietals nowadays than previously, it remains uncertain just how much people's tastes (i.e., preferences) have changed as the years have gone by versus whether today's commercial alliums are simply less pungent than once they were

Sweet basil: an increasingly popular culinary herb

Sweet basil (Ocimum basilicum L.), of the Lamiaceae family, has long been a popular culinary and medicinal herb. However, the composition of the essential oil varies markedly between different varieties, meaning that the aroma/flavour profile can also vary significantly from one cultivar or hybrid to the next. Some of the key aromatic volatiles in basil essential oil include eugenol, methyl eugenol, linalool, methyl chavicol (also known as estragole), and methyl cinnamate. As highlighted by this narrative historical review, while fresh basil is nowadays often associated with tomato-based dishes and sauces in Italian cuisine, it was rarely used as a culinary herb in countries such as the US, Britain, or even, in fact, Italy prior to the twentieth century. The herb is consumed fresh, dried (though lacking the perfumed top notes), and as a paste (i.e., in the Mediterranean pesto and pistou). Sweet basil may also be one of the few herbs/spices to have been integrated into cuisine simply because it tastes good (i.e., because of its highly-pleasant aromatic flavour profile). There are also a number of important non-culinary uses for basil, based on its highly fragrant aroma, not to mention its antimicrobial properties, including in a ritualistic setting in countries such as Greece and Bulgaria

Nutmeg and mace: the sweet and savoury spices

Nutmeg, mace (the membrane of the nutmeg seed), and cloves have long been considered as exotic spices in European cuisine. Nutmeg and mace come from the same tree, Myristica fragrans Houtt. (Myristicaceae), and share a large number of aromatic volatiles. The aroma/flavour of these spices is described as fruity, citrus, floral, herbal, roasted (mace)/green notes (nutmeg), woody, and spicy. Nowadays, nutmeg is found in many popular spice mixes, such as quatre épices, garam masala, pumpkin spice mix, and mixed spice. However, the vast majority of nutmeg (c. 90%) is added directly to processed foods, such as sausages and terrines, where it likely serves an antimicrobial function. At the same time, however, nutmeg also appears to complement milk-, cream-, and egg-based dishes particularly well (as in béchamel sauce). Nutmeg and mace are somewhat unusual amongst spices in being associated with both sweet and savoury dishes and drinks. Although relatively late arrivals to the European table, fashionable Europeans (in the 17th and 18th centuries) would once carry their own personal nutmeg graters around with them to season their food and drink at the table. However, while nutmeg and mace are called for in a large number of the dishes in Robert May's 17th century cookbook, pepper and chilli have nowadays become far more popular (at least by volume sold)

Crying over food: an extraordinary response to a multisensory eating experience

Recent years have seen a growing awareness of the extraordinary responses that can sometimes be elicited in diners by food. One such response is crying, and it was this unusual behaviour that chef Federico Rottigni anecdotally observed in response to one of the dishes on his recently-introduced Ayuhuasca menu. In particular, something about Serendipity, the seventh course on a nine-course tasting menu currently served at the restaurant in Milan makes some diners want to cry. This is the first of three dessert courses, and consists of a small bowl of rice pudding covered with white wafers which are broken onto the dish in front of diners at the point of service. But why do a number of the diners spontaneously break into tears during this course? Several factors that may be contributing to this extraordinary emotional response are outlined. Importantly, rice pudding can be considered a nostalgic comfort food associated with childhood for many people. The dessert is accompanied by a complex multi-element soundscape consisting of a school bell, the voice of a female school teacher talking in Italian; Later in the recording, a spatially discrete voice of an old woman reminiscing in English is also heard; At the same time, a simple, almost hypnotic, ascending and descending musical riff is played repetitively, while a music track with sustained low frequency notes appears to help draw people's attention to their own body (bodily sensations). Together, and possibly synergistically (superadditively), these various multisensory elements, both on and off the plate, contribute to delivering what can be classed as an extraordinary multisensory gestalt dining experience for a number of the guests