The same mixture tastes sweeter when warm and less sweet when cold. The sense of taste weakens in the cold; the tongue does not perceive the sugar in an ice-cold mixture as strongly as it does in a warm one. That is why ice cream and chilled cream mixtures taste overly sweet in the bowl but feel balanced after freezing. Adjust the sugar in a dessert by tasting it at the temperature at which it will be served, not while it is warm.
The sense of taste is sensitive to temperature. In a warm mixture, the receptors on the tongue perceive sweetness more strongly; as the temperature drops, that perception weakens. Of two bowls with the same amount of sugar, the warm one tastes noticeably sweeter. Aroma works in the same direction: fewer aroma molecules rise into the air from a cold mixture, so the nose misses part of the flavor too. Together, these two effects make the difference even more pronounced. The same rule applies to savory dishes; a cooling soup tastes undersalted, and you may try to salt it again.
This is most obvious with ice cream. When tasted while still liquid, the ice cream mixture seems too sweet to many people; after freezing, the same mixture has a balanced sweetness. That is why you should not reduce the sugar based on how the mixture tastes in the bowl. The same applies to chilled cream desserts and fruit purées; a dessert that has cooled in the refrigerator tastes less sweet than when it was made. This difference is even more pronounced in fruit purée, because the fruit’s own acidity stands out in the cold.
The reverse is also true. A dessert served hot tastes heavy if the recipe contains too much sugar. A milk dessert fresh from the oven or a hot sauce does not taste the same as it does after cooling. That is why you should taste and adjust the sugar in a hot dessert while it is hot. The tasting rule can be summed up in one sentence: taste the mixture at the temperature at which it will be eaten. Setting aside 1 small spoonful for tasting and cooling it quickly makes the decision easier. Dip the spoon into a bowl of ice water, and it will approach serving temperature within a few seconds.
In cold desserts, sugar does more than add sweetness; it also serves a purpose. In ice cream and sorbet, it lowers the freezing point, leaving part of the mixture liquid; that is what allows a spoon to scoop into it. If you reduce the sugar, both the sweetness diminishes and the texture becomes firmer. That is why reducing sugar in cold desserts changes two things at once, and any reduction should be tested in small steps. Salt and lemon are also used to balance sweetness; they change how sweet it tastes without reducing the sugar.
Serving temperature also determines the result. Ice cream straight from the freezer is rock-hard and its flavor is muted; after a few minutes, it becomes scoopable and its flavor opens up. A dessert taken from the refrigerator should not be served immediately either. The same idea works in reverse for syrup-soaked desserts: a dessert that has firmed up in the refrigerator regains both its texture and flavor when it reaches room temperature. Syrup-soaked desserts are also served warm for the same reason: warm syrup tastes more pronounced.
Comments (0)
No comments on this tip yet. Be the first to write one.