To kick off Tasting Week 2016, we welcomed Chef Christy from Sur La Table to Juana Briones Elementary school. After introducing the kids to several new fruits and vegetables such as quince, rhubarb, radicchio, and jicama, she explained the process in creating the “umami” or “savory” taste. Umami is created when you break down amino acids into glutamate on your tongue – for instance when you brown meat, dry fish to make fish sauce, transform soy into soy sauce, or age parmesan cheese. The secret umami ingredient that chefs will never admit to using but that they use all the time? Garlic powder!

Then chef Christy set up two competing teams to make salad dressing. In any dressing you will need an oil, an acid, an emulsifier and flavoring. The first dressing was Asian, with grapeseed oil, rice vinegar, honey, sesame oil and soy sauce. The second one was European with olive oil, chocolate balsamic vinegar, mustard, and…garlic powder. The kids loved them both!