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Heiko Antoniewicz is the taste inventor among the top German chefs.
Unlike his professional colleagues, he doesn't cook in a fine restaurant, but works in a cooking laboratory that is equipped with equipment such as centrifuges and Erlenmeyer flasks, which are usually used in chemistry classes.
His thirst for research has made him a trendsetter.
He teaches courses and writes cookbooks that have helped popularize cooking techniques previously reserved for high cuisine, including sous vide cooking and fermentation.
In his new book “Aromas” *, the Westphalian is now devoting himself to the variety of taste patterns - and the possibilities of producing them.
The instructions are deliberately kept comprehensible and tailored to domestic use, because his aim is not to overwhelm his readers with cumbersome recipes and complicated procedures, but to encourage them to use their sense of taste more consciously and to train them to grasp fine nuances .
In addition to various stocks, essential oils, tomato concentrate and soy sauce, he has discovered an explosive for his taste school that is usually consumed in a brewed form or at best as an aromatic kick for desserts such as tiramisu: coffee.
"Coffee is an all-purpose weapon for me and my kitchen," writes Antoniewicz, "because coffee potentiates taste and all of the taste images meet in it."
Up to 40 key aromas
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Depending on the variety, country of origin and roast, a cup of coffee has 40 key aromas from floral to caramel to fruity.
This diversity allows a multitude of combinations with other foods from cauliflower to duck to hazelnuts.
Roasted celery with coffee and glazed apple: The roasted notes of the coffee underline the meaty component of the celery
Source: DK Verlag / Vivi D'Angelo
For recipes such as “beetroot with raspberries, basil, gin and lime juice” Antoniewicz uses whole beans, which he adds to the cooking water as a taste booster.
With the "avocado cream with coffee and peanut vinaigrette" it can also be a cup of espresso, which is put in the blender along with two chopped avocados, a little lime oil and grated lime zest.
The dishes are also suitable for people who don't like coffee at all, writes Antoniewicz, because the coffee aroma is not in the foreground, but rounds off the taste of beetroot, for example, and gives it depth.
Apparently a little overzealous
Attempting to use this secret weapon in your own kitchen, however, shows that a certain precision and careful attention to the ingredients and quantities are required in order to achieve the desired effect.
Otherwise the bitter notes will quickly come to the fore - and the avocado cream tastes like guacamole with a dash of cold coffee.
"Flavors" by Heiko Antoniewicz
Source: DK Verlag / Vivi D'Angelo
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Heiko Antoniewicz: Flavors. The cookbook. DK Verlag, 28 euros.
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