How to Use Sweet and Aromatic Flavors in Food

Sweet

Obviously, sweet foods can be an issue for those on a low-carb diet. But sometimes just a touch of something sweet can make all the difference. Whether using some form of sugar or sugar substitutes, it often doesn't take much to balance the dish. Chinese recipes might have a teaspoon of sugar (that's four grams) in a whole dish serving four people. It is not uncommon for me to put only a drop or two of Sweetzfree into a dish and find that it transforms the whole thing, countering acid or harshness, rounding out corners. The food won't taste sweet, just better.

Tip: Brown sugar is white sugar with molasses added. To cut down on sugar, use a sugar substitute for most of the sweetness, and a small amount of highly flavored molasses. Or use a very small amount of B or C grade maple syrup, which is more intensely flavored.

Besides sugar, molasses, honey, etc., the following can add sweetness to a dish:

• Onions, cooked long and slow to caramelize the sugars
• Roasted red Bell peppers have a subtle sweetness
• Fruit
• Sugar-free syrups
• Sugar-free jams
• Artificial sweeteners - liquid forms tend to blend more easily

Aromatic

Every cuisine in the world has their favorite aromatic ingredients. These ingredients give a depth of flavor to almost any dish. Many cuisines have "trinities" of aromatics. The French use onions, celery, and carrots (mirepoix). For the Cajuns, it's onions, Bell peppers, and celery. The Caribbean sofrito has onions, garlic, and peppers at its base. Many Asian cultures include ginger along with other ingredients. Aromatics are usually sautéed in oil near the beginning of cooking the dish - flavoring the oil in this way flavors the whole dish, and it usually only takes a small amount. Here are some aromatic ingredients to use in your cooking:

• Onion
• Garlic
• Shallots (the flavor is sort of a blend of onions and garlic)
• Celery
• Sweet peppers, such as Bell
• Ginger (or galangal, its Thai cousin)
• Lemongrass
• Hot peppers are also aromatics, but I will speak of them separately, in the "spicy" section

Additionally, these ingredients can be thought of as aromatics, though they are often (but not always) added more near the end of cooking:

• Citrus zest - the colored part of the peel of citrus fruits. This is highly flavorful as the essential oils reside in the zest. When removing the zest, be careful not to get the bitter white part beneath. A Microplane grater does this very well.
• Kaffir lime leaves
• Aromatic herbs - parsley, rosemary, thyme, oregano, mint, etc.

Finally, there is another category of aromatics which I can only call "fishy". The main examples are Vietnamese and Thai fish sauces, and anchovies. People are often turned off by the idea of these flavors, but those same people probably wouldn't notice if I skilled chef put them in a sauce without telling them - they would only say "yum", becuase this background flavor really adds depth. Anchovies from a can "melt" into a sauce and aren't recognizable in the finished dish.