I would venture a guess that — at least for this particular crowd — eating is a highly sensual experience, as evident by the many comments on my recent post on favorite cooking scents & aromas.
But how could we forget about how food can wow us almost immediately simply by its appearance?
Chomping down on my usual brekkie of yogurt & fruit I was struck by just how stunning pomegranate arils are… those deep, dark garnet gems bejewel almost anything.
A lot of fruit are gorgeous (fat blueberries, golden kiwi, bright orange mango), but I also find a slick, well-plated pasta dish pretty sexy.
Trout roe comes to mind, too, or the vivid orange flesh of a nice piece of cured salmon. A well-roasted chicken or a perfectly grilled steak.
How about you? What foods do you find irresistibly pretty? Pics absolutely welcome
I love pomegranate, blood oranges, and all the beautiful different colors, shapes, sizes, and textures of the many kinds of winter squash (especially turban) and chicories…radicchio, endives… and of course, peppers.
Although I am fully aware that I sound like a broken record with my incessant references to Japan, I truly feel that much of Japanese food is meant to be eaten both with the eyes and the mouth.
This page is an excellent example of how beautiful it can be and how important presentation is to Japanese food.
Just look at this single photo of sushi!
I will say, though that I’ve had a few too many Japanese meals that I left feeling hungry because the focus was too much on presentation…including my one and only kaiseki meal in Takayama, Gifu, Japan. It was an hours long meal that I was taken to by a friend’s parents and their best friends. Although I did enjoy everything I ate and that it was extremely kind of them to treat me (I don’t know what it cost, but I’m sure it was very expensive), I was hungry for hours after the meal and couldn’t possibly say that I was.
So many, and right now I’m appreciating the look of baked goods, as I watch the early Great British Bake Off episodes, but I also find tomatoes beautiful.
I’ve been, but not for a very long time. Sadly, my aunt who still lives in a Tokyo 'burb has dementia to the point where she no longer knows who I am, but I do have extended family I haven’t seen since the early 70s there. Mrs ricepad and I are planning to plan a trip. We just need to pull the trigger on it, and soonish, because there are things on my wish list that are getting less and less likely with each passing year.
I’m reading your excellent OP as referring mostly to the beauty of whole, unrendered ingredients or constituents in a dish. I don’t think you meant plating, yes?
I would much rather sit down to a box of whole, plump, shiny, pristine strawberries at their peak deep color, flavor and texture than have the same berries served to me processed into something, no matter how beautifully it’s plated. Even stemming strawberries diminishes the experience for me.
