The Wall Street Journal is speculating about the future of flavor. As flavors that were uncommon 10 years ago - and
virtually unheard of before that - are now in mainstream venues like fast food restaurants and packages of potato
chips, chefs are now looking beyond these flavors to find the next hot item for their menus. In some cases, chefs are
even turning away from the "natural" trends so popular right now and using artificial (chemical) flavorings
to bring out unusual sensations, like the menthol crystals that Wylie Dufresne uses in a raw fish dish at wd-50 and the
flavorings of oak, pine and leather that Heston Blumenthal incorporates at The Fat Duck. While menthol crystals are
unlikely to appear in your local market, ready to be sprinkled on your sashimi, WSJ speculates that it could be one of
these ten flavors to make it to the big time: Thai basil, tamarind, musk, shiso,
pomegranate, guava, leather, pine, florals
and/or molé.
Personally, I'm skeptical about musk because it is a relatively common flavor in other countries that has not proved to be popular in the US to date. I know that I am not a fan of it at all. But I must say that leather flavoring seems just a bit less likely even than musk....
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