Adding More Flavor to Food

Adding flavor to food is critical for people as they grow older.  Seniors often have get as little as 1/12th of the flavor out of food that youngsters do.  Consequently, subtle food flavors often disappear and food becomes bland.  When food is no longer enjoyable, the tendency is to not bother to eat.

To a degree and for some people, there are benefits to this so long as nutrition is maintained.  The bad news is that as we age, it also becomes more difficult to pull nutritive value out of food.  Consequently, many otherwise healthy seniors are malnourished.

Adding flavor to food

Flavor can be added to food in a variety of ways, but not all of them are healthy ways.  Many food manufacturers and restaurants opt out for the easy way of adding salt, fats, sugars and starches to foods in order to increase their flavor.  The additives increase the flavor of the food dramatically and can make the person want to eat more.  There is an unhealthy tradeoff however, for using cheap flavor enhancers. 

Such additives can also trigger problems with people who have high blood pressure, high cholesterol, or diabetes.  They can also block absorption of other nutrients, cause gastric upset, and cause the eater to feel more full than they really are.  

Changes in food flavor

Aside from the general aging process, a couple of things should be considered up front when it comes to improving the flavor of food.  

Medicines can change the way we taste food.  Some people complain that all food tastes metallic with certain kinds of medications.  If this is the case, talk to your doctor about changing medications to come up with one that doesn't destroy the flavor of food.

Lack of water - Water is used to digest food but digestion starts in the mouth when we chew the food and saliva moistens it.  The benefit we achieve from doing this is taste.  

Many seniors do not get enough water in their diet.  Not only does this inhibit the production of saliva, it can decrease the ability of the body to properly digest the food they do eat.  The good thing about water is that it is hard to get too much.  

Drinking a full glass about a half hour before dinner and another glass during dinner can improve all these and a whole lot more.  Soda, tea, and coffee are not adequate substitutes for water.  

Nasal congestion - it sounds strange, but how good we smell makes a difference in how good food tastes.  When a person is suffering from nasal congestion or dryness, many food flavors will not be picked up on.  An example of this is an apple.  With your nose blocked off and eyes closed, few people of any age can tell the difference between a slice of raw apple and a slice of raw potato.

Adding flavor

Adding flavor can be fun and it doesn't have to be expensive.  Here are some ways to increase flavor that aren't harmful and in some cases can even improve health:

Garlic - Raw minced garlic can be added to a wide variety of foods to improve food flavor.  It doesn't have to take over the food, just accent what's already there.  Garlic has also been linked to improved cardiovascular health.

A great example of where to use a small amount of powdered/granulated garlic is in scrambled eggs or omelets.  A small amount picks up the flavor of the egg and it's often not even noticeable.

Vinegars - Most people are familiar with white and cider vinegar and only use it so far as salads are concerned.  There are a wide variety of other vinegars that are less potent but carry wonderful flavors such a malt vinegars, red wine vinegars, white wine vinegars and balsamic vinegars.  Others may also be infused with flavors such as orange, tamarind, or tarragon.

Adding vinegars to foods should be done in moderation and with care as you don't want to be serving pickled food.  But a few sprits of vinegar here and there can add some sparkle and surprise.

White cheeses - Use cheeses such as Parmesan, Romano, brick, or other white low-fat cheeses to bump up the flavor.  When pan frying pieces of chicken or pork, trying melting a small amount of butter in pan right at the end of cooking.  Then add a 4-1 mixture of bread crumbs and parmesan cheese, mix and brown the food.  Now you have instant bite size pieces of chicken parmesan.  

Add a bit of steamed broccoli, toss over the top of some pasta and lather with spaghetti sauce.  Now that's a meal!

Butter - no it's not the greatest fat in the world, but it is better than others and a little can go a long way.  Most people really enjoy the taste.  The difference is in HOW you cook with butter.  If you are cooking veggies for instance, put it in right at the end instead of starting with the butter.  It sits on the outside and you can get a lot of flavor with just a little bit of butter.  

Extra virgin olive oil - Now THIS is a great fat.  You can overdo with anything, but it's hard to have a bad dish made with extra virgin olive oil.  It lowers cholesterol, improves the function of many bodily functions, and it adds flavor.  Some people think it's not such a great fat for frying with, but it's can easily be used in many frying applications so long as you keep the heat down a bit.   Extra virgin olive oil is also great as a dressing on salads, dip your bread in some as an alternative to butter, and try mixing it with some spices for a great garnish.

Sugar substitutes - There are several great sweeteners out there and with Splenda and it's store brand counterparts, you can bring a lot of sweet back into your cooking without adding calories or health risks.  Splenda even cooks well, though when baking, still consider using just a bit of sugar.  Splenda is about the only one that cooks well, but it doesn't brown well.  

Liquid smoke flavoring - Adding to eggs or tomato sauce can effectively add a bacon type flavor that is very powerful, only without adding the fat, salt, and nitrates.

Cinnamon, clove, allspice, nutmeg, and ginger - All are wonderful spices that not only taste good but smell good and are called aromatic spices.  For people who have a hard time tasting food, adding these to appropriate foods will make food come alive.  

Don't just limit them to traditional uses either.  Ginger is great in stir-fry and allspice is a great addition to any food that you use vinegar in as an ingredient.  Try it in chicken.

Fruits - Try adding pungent fruits and fruit products to your cooking.  A little lemon juice can sparkle up many foods, and orange juice can add multiple levels of flavor.  But count the sugars if you are preparing dinner for a diabetic.  Alternatively, orange peel will add the orange flavor and more without having to count it into the calories.

Just about any spice can perk up food and most foods can afford a bit of perking up.  Americans by and large eat pretty bland food.  

If you are cooking for a senior, avoid the salts, fats, and sugars as much as possible, but start to gradually increase the spices.  Not everyone can tolerate every spice.  Some will cause gastric upset and it's better to break it in slowly.

When possible, consider cutting reserving some of the spices that you use to apply at the end of the cooking cycle or just before serving.  It can double the flavor while still not being overwhelming.  

Affording spices - Let's face it, a filled spice cupboard is expensive.  You will probably have to buy some of them in a typical grocery store, but consider getting some of the more popular ones at a large box store like Costco or Sam's.  Even though you have to purchase a large size and might even end up throwing out half of it, it's still far cheaper than buying the ridiculously expensive ones offered by supermarkets.  

Most people will happily use spices more if it doesn't feel like they are making a financial commitment.