Part 12 (2/2)

TASTE BUDS: The group of cells on the tongue and in the mouth that possess receptors for sapid molecules.

TEMPERATURE: A value indicated by a thermometer, which must not leave the kitchen because its use is so helpful in cooking. The higher the temperature of a substance, the more the molecules in this substance are agitated by rapid, random movement.

TENDERNESS: A term used for meat; different from human tenderness but resembling it.

TERPENES: Odorant molecules from plants.

V.

VANILLIN: The molecule princ.i.p.ally responsible for the aroma of vanilla. Exactly the same molecule, with exactly the same atoms in the same positions, is found in vanilla beans and in the test tubes of chemists, but the synthesized one costs much less. This does not mean, however, that the odor of vanilla is the same as the odor of vanillin, as vanilla contains many other odorant molecules.

VINAIGRETTE: A fairly stable emulsion of oil in water. It lacks the surface-active molecules of egg yolks that would turn it into mayonnaise.

VISCOSITY: A fluid is viscous if it flows with difficulty. Certain sauces, such as bearnaise, have a viscosity that depends on their rate of flow. Very viscous when it is immobile, bearnaise sauce takes on a sublime fluidity when it enters the mouth. My mouth is watering at the very thought of it.

W.

WATER: It is ubiquitous in food. There is the story of the oenologist who, while tasting wine with his eyes blindfolded, was given a gla.s.s of water without knowing it. ”Hmm! This one doesn't have much odor or taste. I can't seem to identify it, but I can a.s.sure you that it won't sell.”

Y.

YEAST: A wonderful microorganism when domesticated to make bread, kugelhopf, ...

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