Whenever I taste, I always record my evaluations and then enter them into my electronic memory, which resides on my computer’s hard drive. I found out long ago that while I have a tendency to forget, my hard drive doesn’t. There are several reasons I tasted every day before I began consulting and now taste new items every chance I get.
First: It was a part of my initial training. L. Strasburger, my mentor, and I tasted two ingredients every day. He managed to taste every approved ingredient once every two or three years, and every newly approved ingredient as they became available. He stressed that added fl avor experience lets you see additional potential applications for any fl avor ingredient.
Second: I’m convinced that it is a great training tool. When a tasting group has several senior fl avorists and an assortment of technicians and apprentices, tasting every day gives everyone a chance to develop a common descriptive language and a great means to tap into the group’s fl avor experience.
