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Why do artichokes make food taste funny?

Richard Cornish
Richard Cornish

Be wary of pairing artichokes with your best wine. They interfere with  the balance of flavours.
Be wary of pairing artichokes with your best wine. They interfere with the balance of flavours.Natalie Boog


Why do artichokes make everything taste funny? J. Macmillan

There's a compound in artichokes called cynarin. It is good for you. It's an antioxidant and lowers cholesterol. It is so good for you that it quite possibly could be elevated to the Super Food Halls of Justice by a cartel of celebrity bloggers. Cynarin also inhibits your taste buds' ability to detect sweetness. But your next mouthful of food or drink will wash off the cynarin and suddenly the taste buds will detect sweetness again, making any food in your mouth taste unusually sweet. This is OK if you're eating more artichokes but no good if you're washing it down with expensive wine.

When is it acceptable to use one's fork with prongs pointing up? Gina

Please don't think I am a snob. I really don't care about table manners. They are simply the grammar of the meal. Just as no one really cares if you use an apostrophe to denote a plural object, as in "cappuccino's", you won't see people chastising you for cutting your meal with your fork and scooping it up like a front-end loader into your gaping maw. Not to your face. So when is it acceptable to use one's fork with the "tines" facing up? When one is in America, and when one is eating food that doesn't need to be cut, such as peas and rice.

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Where can I buy durian? J. Kilmartin

Sorry. Wrong question. "Why would anyone buy durian?" is the correct question. They stink. A study by scientists from the German Research Centre for Food Chemistry has found 50 different compounds in this pointy tropical fruit that make it smell somewhere between cadaver, ripe blue cheese, rotting onions and very old socks. Some of these compounds have been discovered in just a few other foods, such as roast beef, leeks, yeast extract and dried squid. The same compounds also give the durian its attractive aromas, such as almond blossom, honey and ripe banana. Those who have spent time in Bali might have heard locals say not to drink and eat durian or you might die. This is because durian also inhibits the body's ability to produce the enzyme aldehyde dehydrogenase, which the liver uses to break down alcohol. The reason nature invented such a fruit? The chemicals attract animals (even tigers in Malaysia) that eat the fruit and spread the seed. Durian, however, does have an amazing supple, luxurious texture and an exotic flavour that belies its odour. I have had incredibly delicious durian cheesecake and ice-cream in the Philippines. You can get frozen imported durian at Asian grocers in suburbs such as Cabramatta, Bankstown and Chinatown in Sydney and Footscray, Springvale and Victoria Street, Richmond, in Melbourne. The big supermarkets sometimes carry durian in these areas. Durian aficionados suggest you ask for the Musang King variety from Penang.

Send your culinary conundrums to brainfood@richardcornish.com.au or tweet to @Foodcornish

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Richard CornishRichard Cornish writes about food, drinks and producers for Good Food.

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