Inconsistency in food taste due to psychology or ingredients/ cooking methods?

[caesar]

Is the inconsistency in the taste of food due to what is in our heads and our psychological state, or inconsistency in ingredients, or inconsistencies cooking methods? Or something else?

 

[Kal Rubinson]

Is the inconsistency in the taste of food due to what is in our heads and our psychological state, or inconsistency in ingredients, or inconsistencies cooking methods? Or something else?

I would choose "All of the above."

 

[mep]

What food are you talking about? Stuff you cook at home or stuff you eat out?

 

[caesar]

What food are you talking about? Stuff you cook at home or stuff you eat out?

I think both. I go to a great rib joint fairly frequently and the ribs come out very differently all the time. Likewise with things like smoked salmon, even the best stuff from NYC.

McDonalds, however, tastes the same every time.

 

[garylkoh]

Ribs, salmon, eggs, they are all natural ingredients. Two different fish, two different cows, they will be different. The good chef knows that a medium-rare steak is not 6 mins - even two rib-eye cuts from the same cow will cook different. It will also depend on thickness of cut and temperature you started out with as well.

McDonalds, that's not natural ingredients. But even there, there are good outlets and bad ones. For example, there's a McDonalds near Amir's store that makes the best Angus burgers of any McDonalds I've been to - we'll drive all the way there whenever the kids want a Happy Meal.

 

[RBFC]

There are large inconsistencies in the harvesting, processing, shipping, and storage of many foods. The average time between picking a fruit or vegetable and the time you actually eat is about 10-14 days. Considering that the condition of the food on the plant is variable when it is picked (same for the condition of meat while still on the live animal), it's a wonder that we've been satisfied with the food delivery chain as it's been for nearly a century.

Lee