The Elements of Taste Author:Gray Kunz, Peter Kaminsky Wine lovers have long had a rich vocabulary to describe the complexity of wines, but gourmands have had no such lexicon-until now. To capture the ineffable experience of eating good food, and to explain why certain taste combinations work so well together. Chef Gray Kunz and Peter Kaminsky have identified the essential elements of great taste. E... more »ach of Kunz's 130 recipes builds upon the 14 fundamental taste building blocks and embodies the basic principles of great cuisine. The 14 tastes are divided into four categories: tastes that pull out flavor (i.e. salty, sweet), tastes that push flavor forward (i.e. tangy, spiced aromatic), tastes that punctuate (i.e. picante, bitter) and platform tastes (i.e. meaty, oceanic). Grasping these food fundamentals will enable readers to think like chefs and create masterpieces of their own.« less