Here is a guest blog from our Women, Wine & Wellness - Lowry speaker for February, Sherry Hess, owner and creator of Living Flavor Revolution/Legendary Spice.
I love this question. It’s such a great conversation starter.
Food, and flavors have so much responsibility to us as humans. It is our sole source of fuel, it heals, rebuilds, energizes and sustains us every day. It also brings us emotional responses and can spark a memory out of nowhere. As simple as the question sounds, the answers that I have gotten over time have varied greatly. I find great joy in hearing stories about flavors, and particularly the WHY’s of what puts a flavor at the top of someone’s list.
Take a moment here and decide for yourself. What is your favorite flavor, and why? No judgement here, there are no parameters around what the definition of flavor is. Someone once asked me, “Is ‘taco’ a flavor?” Yes, of course! When I ask this question to start the conversation, anything goes!
Do you have your flavor in mind? Now sit with your “why?” Is it a childhood memory, like drinking grape soda at family picnics that makes you love everything grape? Or, does a particular flavor make you feel something physically like the heat of a jalapeño? Is it simply the flavor you reach for every day that goes with everything? Whatever the reason I’d love to know your why.
The first time I asked this question in a group, I was fascinated with the responses. They seemed to be affected by culture, memories, simplicity of eating as well as simple pleasure. Sometimes it was a flavor category and not tied to a specific food item. I loved that too. There didn’t seem to be a common thread and it intrigues me. Like I said, it’s a great conversation starter.
When the question circled the room and it came to me…. I couldn’t answer! Can you imagine? Here I am the flavor expert, posing contemplative questions and I froze! I think it’s because I know too much about all of the pros and cons and beautiful combinations various flavors can make. It’s like asking an artist to pick their favorite color on their paint palette. It’s practically impossible because every color responds differently when it’s mixed with or adjacent to every other color. How do you choose just one?
But, eventually I did. It’s butterscotch. It’s hard to find now because everyone thinks salted caramel is a better gig. I disagree. My "why" is about both the experience in my mouth and the memories it evokes. Butterscotch is buttery, savory, soft, rounded, with a hint of salt, plenty of sweet and that magical complexity of “scotch” hidden inside. And, well, it’s what I craved during my entire pregnancy with my son. I love the flavors AND it reminds me of nurturing and growing my beautiful boy.
Share with me! What’s YOUR favorite flavor and WHY?
Contact Sherry: https://legendaryspice.com | [email protected] | 302-593-7866
I love this question. It’s such a great conversation starter.
Food, and flavors have so much responsibility to us as humans. It is our sole source of fuel, it heals, rebuilds, energizes and sustains us every day. It also brings us emotional responses and can spark a memory out of nowhere. As simple as the question sounds, the answers that I have gotten over time have varied greatly. I find great joy in hearing stories about flavors, and particularly the WHY’s of what puts a flavor at the top of someone’s list.
Take a moment here and decide for yourself. What is your favorite flavor, and why? No judgement here, there are no parameters around what the definition of flavor is. Someone once asked me, “Is ‘taco’ a flavor?” Yes, of course! When I ask this question to start the conversation, anything goes!
Do you have your flavor in mind? Now sit with your “why?” Is it a childhood memory, like drinking grape soda at family picnics that makes you love everything grape? Or, does a particular flavor make you feel something physically like the heat of a jalapeño? Is it simply the flavor you reach for every day that goes with everything? Whatever the reason I’d love to know your why.
The first time I asked this question in a group, I was fascinated with the responses. They seemed to be affected by culture, memories, simplicity of eating as well as simple pleasure. Sometimes it was a flavor category and not tied to a specific food item. I loved that too. There didn’t seem to be a common thread and it intrigues me. Like I said, it’s a great conversation starter.
When the question circled the room and it came to me…. I couldn’t answer! Can you imagine? Here I am the flavor expert, posing contemplative questions and I froze! I think it’s because I know too much about all of the pros and cons and beautiful combinations various flavors can make. It’s like asking an artist to pick their favorite color on their paint palette. It’s practically impossible because every color responds differently when it’s mixed with or adjacent to every other color. How do you choose just one?
But, eventually I did. It’s butterscotch. It’s hard to find now because everyone thinks salted caramel is a better gig. I disagree. My "why" is about both the experience in my mouth and the memories it evokes. Butterscotch is buttery, savory, soft, rounded, with a hint of salt, plenty of sweet and that magical complexity of “scotch” hidden inside. And, well, it’s what I craved during my entire pregnancy with my son. I love the flavors AND it reminds me of nurturing and growing my beautiful boy.
Share with me! What’s YOUR favorite flavor and WHY?
Contact Sherry: https://legendaryspice.com | [email protected] | 302-593-7866
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