Friday, February 11, 2011

Understanding the Concept of Gourmet Food


A gourmet is someone who is an expert on foods and drinks.  Accordingly, when people speak of gourmet food, they basically refer to the art of preparing high quality and luxurious dishes.  Usually, this is the type of dishes that you would not get from McDonalds or KFC.  This is why it is also referred to sometimes as haute cuisine.  Preparing this kind of dishes involves elaborate and often intricate process.  Of course, the results are feasts for the gastronome.  This high-quality food is often decadent in preparation and presentation.  The truth is that it is as much as treat for one’s eyes as it is for the tongue.  Everything is meticulously planned, prepared, executed and presented.

People are often confused about what constitutes gourmet food.  What makes this different from regular ones?  Where do you get this?  What separates this kind of meal from a regular meal?  Is it the price?  There are some people who have a vague idea what these foods are – and they would accordingly make their own conclusion without having had experienced a full gourmet meal.  To each their own perhaps, but it is hard to understand an aversion to this kind of food.  After all, how can a treat to a connoisseur be distasteful?

There are actually numerous kinds of food that come under the label.  The list includes meats, condiments, desserts, drinks, cheeses, oils, fruits and a lot of other things.  But when people speak of gourmet foods, they are usually referring to high quality – and often expensive – foods like foie gras, truffles, smoked salmon, caviars and specialty meats.  Exotic condiments like Spanish saffron are also used in preparing gourmet food.  These condiments create a heady combination of flavors and aromas that embellish the already robust taste of gourmet cooking.

Cheeses that are used in this type of cooking are far from your typical cheddar cheese.  An example is the Agour Ossau-Iraty, a cheese that is made from sheep’s milk.  Another example is 34 Degrees Australian marinated feta.  This is made from goat’s and sheep’s milk.  This is usually produced in Israel.  Of course, these are just two of the many kinds of cheeses that are used in high-quality cooking.

Actually, there are numerous options when it comes to cooking gourmet foods.  For instance, if you will visit a store offering top-notch ingredients, you will find a huge selection of caviars from all over the world.  So as you can see, there are many choices when it comes to gourmet food and cooking.  This is why it is almost impossible for anyone to dislike this type of food.

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