The Plate Palette: Variety IS the spice of life

So I want to talk to you about variety and how key it can be in taking your meal from good to remarkable. 

You know what puts the Wow! factor in a meal when you go out to a nice restaurant?  Okay maybe the exorbitant price at first...but other than that, it starts with presentation, followed by aroma, and then taste, and the gradual discovery of how each item on your plate both stands out and works together with everything else.  It engages all your senses and makes your meal an eating experience.

And that's not just a happy coincidence.  Someone put thought into making that happen for you.  A variety of texture, consistency, form, flavor, temperature and color, these are the elements that will engage your diner and keep them coming back for more.

Texture/Consistency -- crunchy, smooth, creamy, raw, rough, runny (like a sauce, not a nose), thick, thin, flakey.  These are the types of different textures and consistencies you can incorporate into your meal. Cooking style and method will contribute a lot to the final texture or consistency of your foods.

Form -- small and round, long and thin, thick and beefy, slices, stacked, flat.  You want to avoid having all the same shaped foods on your plate.  Don't be afraid to get a little height in there too, something like those finely sliced deep fried onion crunchies stack really well and high without seeming like they're taking over the plate.

Flavor -- spicy, subtle, zesty, warm, sour, cool, bitter, sweet, zingy, bland (to provide a base for something more taste-attention-getting on your plate), herbed, fruited, citrusy.  Mix it up a bit.  You know a fruity sauce will help cool down a super mouth-burning taste, and sweet and sour always makes a great combo.

Temperature -- don't be afraid to serve something hot with something room temperature, or something warm with something cold, the difference in temperature will provide a nice contrast and add some interest to your plate.

Color -- red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple, brown and white.  There are so many articles these days about incorporating a variety of colors in your food choices because each one provides a different benefit (mostly health-realted) and it's also a great way to add some contrast and variety to your meal.  There's nothing I find more disappointing than to look down at my plate and realize that I made food that was all the same color or in the same tonal range.  It's amazing the difference it can make in how your meal looks and makes you feel by making a small adjustment or two to the palette.

So when you go to make your next meal, keep this in mind. Do some experimenting and remember that some foods may fall in several categories.  I think you'll have fun with it.

For the next couple of posts, I want to do a little more digging into the color food groups and bring you some info on what they can do and why they are good for you.  And then find some tasty recipes to feature them in.