The workings of herbs and spices
Hello. I am not a food scientist, but a brew master, and am looking to explore herbs and spices as used in cooking. I know plenty about hops, and how to achieve the desired bitterness/flavor/aromoa, and I want to extend that to herbs and spices in the kitchen. Example: when I make tomato sauce for pasta, I have 4 additions of black pepper. One when I sauté the onions and other vegetables, one when I add the herbs, one halfway through simmering and one at the end. Each addition adds to the complexity, and I notice if I forget one. But what is happening behind the scene? I know it is the cooking off of volitiles, and maybe the change of certain compounds. But what is going on? If I make a beer and want a firm hop note on the aroma, I know I need about 100 ml of oil per hectoliter of wort, added in the last 5-0 minutes in the boil. Is there any good literature on the function of herbs and spices and their flavor impact? Like why does raw cinnamon taste horrendous but you toss a stick in at the beginning and it is beautiful. And a lot of times I use spices that you cannot decern in the final dish, but without them the flavor is flat, one-dimensional. And I know, you could probably do a PhD on the flavor development of caraway toasted vs. untoasted in certain dishes. But a bit more insight would be great.