Cold food is sensational

I never took chemistry in high school beyond the basic requirement. I was more of a physics and biology girl. And now that I am following my vocation as a food hound, I wish I had explored the realm of chemistry more extensively.

The "why" behind the human pallete and cooking is intriguing to me. A TV show on the Food Network once learned me that most of our taste buds lie in our noses, not on our tongue. Fascinating. It seems almost intuitive, though. When we have a stuffy nose, we can't taste our food as well. As a child, I would pinch my nose closed when drinking or eating something that was outrageously disgusting at the time. Perhaps this is why consuming hot foods blurs the senses more than refrigerator-cold leftovers because the steam and head dominate the senses moreso than the flavors of the food. At least in my case, eating hot foods doesn't give me the same pungent experience as when I munch on something cold (or room temperature for that matter). While eating steaming fresh corn on the cob is one of life's most simple pleasures, I think eating it cold is slightly better. I can taste the natural sugars in the corn as each little kernel bursts. It just seems more...awake than it does when it's steaming. Albeit, I'm more awake when the steaming corn scalds my gums and the roof of my mouth, but I don't need to be any more freakishly-alert than I already am when I'm eating.

From a chemistry perspective, I will hazard some guesses as to what's going on here. When food is cooked, a lot of the goings on (my fancy way of saying "cells") of the food itself are broken down. The heat alters the chemical makeup of the food. As far as taste goes, it is sometimes intensified and sometimes dulled. Take cheese, for example. A raw chunk of cheddar has much more of a bite than the melted version. As I absolutely love both versions, I am thinking of testing the taste of a chunk of cheddar cheese coated in melted cheese. Is that wrong? If it is, I don't want to be right. Cold pizza? Another true winner.

I will say that cooking is good for marrying a variety of ingredients and creating magical aromas in the kitchen, but I most appreciate it for the textures it chemically creates. As I finish writing this, I am mentally preparing to go heat up some leftover mac and cheese. This goes against my preference of cold leftovers over hot. But today I am more concerned with experiencing the creamy texture of the cheese rather than relishing the taste. The ear of corn will stay cold and be eaten in all it's cold, sensational glory. Yum.