The drive home – just over an hour accompanied by the lull of humming tires – scattered thoughts and fragments from the day often morph together forming new clusters of contemplation that make for the most interesting conversation. Such was one that David and I had last week about the connection between the notes of flavor, color and music.
It started with my explanation of flavor notes. We had just had a great dinner at Morey and Margie’s and were dissecting why it was so satisfying. I believed it was because the meal contained all the flavor groups in one dish – sweet, sour, bitter, salty and Unami [savory]; so it hit all of our taste buds – and the conversation spun off from there.
It went something like this…
High, bright and sharp flavors …like high notes on the music scale?
Explain sharp. Something that makes you pucker?
When a color is bright is it a high note?
What is a low note in flavor? Smoke and bourbon?
And low wave length colors; navy blue, brown, black?
Why do flavors pair together? To balance each other out; like dark chocolate and cherry. The bitter of chocolate against the sweet of cherry; low notes with high notes.
Woa…. these are the nuances of trained sommeliers and Noses (perfumers).
As a creative exercise I made the following chart to express the concepts of this conversation. Is this synesthesia? Or is it simply another idea for a series of art canvases? Lets continue this conversation; please comment.
I always think of flavors as notes, from the high pitch of acidic lemon to the low bass notes of bacon!
YES! Exactly! And interesting how the color corresponds to those two you chose!
Fascinating to think about these interactions and (perhaps) unconscious pairings that we make in our minds, Jane. Perhaps that’s why I think of a great meal as a “symphony” of flavors! 🙂
So well said Lori. This brings up another whole thought…do we subconsciously always recognize the harmony of creation because we are part of it?
I’m glad our dinner was inspirational for you! This was a fun post.
Glad you liked the post and you guys are always an inspiration to me! Good friends… 🙂