424 Nutrition & Wellness for Life Copyright Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc. Temperature Most people enjoy a balance of hot and cold foods in their meals. Consider a breakfast of scrambled eggs, toast, warm fruit compote, and hot chocolate. These foods are all hot. Changing the fruit compote to a chilled fruit salad and the hot chocolate to cold chocolate milk adds temperature variety and interest to the meal. Whatever foods are on your menu, be sure to serve them at the proper tem- perature. Few people enjoy tepid (lukewarm) soup or milk that is room tempera- ture. They prefer their soup to be piping hot and their milk to be icy cold. Besides being more appealing, foods are safer when served at the correct temperatures. Keep hot foods hot, above 140°F (60°C), and cold foods cold, below 40°F (5°C). This will help prevent growth of bacteria and other pathogens that can cause foodborne illness. Shape and Size The shape and size of foods on your plate affect the visual appeal. Think about a plate filled with strips of pepper steak, French fries, and carrot sticks. These foods are all long, thin pieces. The plate would be more appealing if you served a baked potato and sliced carrots with the pepper steak. Creating food in fun shapes is particularly appealing to children. The size of foods should also vary. For instance, a tuna and rice casserole is made up of little pieces. Green peas and coleslaw would not be good accompani- ments for this casserole. They are also little pieces and would provide no contrast with the casserole. Snow peas and a salad of sliced tomatoes might complement the casserole better. EXTEND YOUR KNOWLEDGE The Fifth Basic Taste Until recent years, the following four basic tastes were recognized: salty, sweet, bitter, and sour. In the year 2000, a fifth basic taste, umami, was officially established. Nonetheless, the lack of official recognition did not prevent umami from being appreciated in many food preparations. People have enjoyed the taste in stocks, broths, aged cheeses, protein-rich foods, tomato products, dried mushrooms, and more. The flavors that umami elicits are described as savory, full-bodied, and meaty. The umami taste is the result of interactions between your taste buds, aroma receptors, and specific compounds found in foods. Although these compounds occur naturally in many foods, some foods require processing of one form or another before the umami taste can be experienced. For instance, dehydration, fermentation, and aging help to liberate the umami taste. Niradj/Shutterstock.com Robyn Mackenzie/Shutterstock.com Jiri Hera/Shutterstock.com