The Search for Authenticity

 

      Is it the real thing?  Does it taste the same? Is it authentic? What one person claims as authentic someone else may see as a sad imitation.  How do you take the food from one culture and location and cook it in another?  

        Taste the food.   Eat good food from restaurants that don't cater to tourists.  This means fewer meals out and a selective choice of restaurants when we do eat out.

        Play with the food.  I buy ingredients from markets and grocery stores and regional cookbooks from local bookstores.  I cook, experiment, and taste.

        Bring  it home.  Armed with a recipe and the memories of flavors and aromas I set out to create something similar at home.  I may read several different recipes for the same food and compare and contrast the ideas.

        Find the best ingredients.  Sometimes this means buying top quality produce from a farmer's market or growing it in my own garden.  It may mean a trip to an Italian grocery store or ordering something on the internet.

        Experiment.  What does it smell like?  How does it look?  What does it taste like?

        Eat it up.  Really eat it.  Smell it.  Taste it.  What flavor is predominant?  Is there a flavor that could or should be enhanced? 

        Tweak it.  What would make the dish taste better or more close to the original?  Can it be regularly repeated?