Sensory Fatigue During Barbecuing: The Scientific Explanation


 
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Chris Allingham

Chris Allingham

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I'm slowly making my way through On Food and Cooking by Harold McGee, and I think I've come across the scientific explanation of why smoked foods taste better and more smoky to the chef on the day after cooking than on the actual day they're cooked.

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Adaptation and Fatigue

A final word about an aspect of sensory physiology common to both taste and smell, and for that matter to the other senses as well. If the receptor cells are exposed continuously to a particular stimulus, the intensity of the cells' response to that stimulus gradually diminishes, with the result that an even larger stimulus is needed to trigger any response. The sensory system, then, adapts to an everpresent stimulus by reacting less and less to it: we "get used" to the smell or taste and eventually fail to notice it. Exposure to very strong smells results in an even more dramatic kind of adaptation called "fatigue," which can occur in a matter of minutes and take minutes to recover from; in the meantime, those receptors are completely incapacitated. We can generalize about these phenomena by saying that our senses are so designed as to be most sensitive to change, rather than to continuity or monotony. (p. 574) <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Regards,
Chris
 
This sounds straightforward - and is certainly true of curries and other spicey dishes - the first mouthful blows one's tastebuds away and subsequent tastes then become apparent. Presumably your theory is that the constant smell of the cooking smoke dulls the senses by the time the food is actually sampled, though it certainly works up the appetite.
Perhaps this is just a context issue, I find most leftover foods taste more intense than the original but perhaps those are the foods I select to eat as leftovers. There is something great about sitting at work with a smokey lunch - it means I'm almost back home in my garden instead of at my desk.
I'd love to hear your conclusion once you've read more. Perhaps a controlled experiment is in order - cook, shower and whisk the dish off to another location for (unsmokey) tasters to try!

All the best
James
 
I continue to believe the smokey flavor does intensify, with some foods more than others, when placed in the frig in an air tight container over a couple of days. I've definitely found that to be true for chicken. My wife, who does not venture near the WSM but enjoys the products, agrees. Chris' article is interesting and I believe true in so far as the one who tends the meat on the smoker.

Paul
 
I think there are two things at work. One is that some foods do just taste better the next day, and maybe barbecue is one of those foods.

The other thing is that I have a hard time sensing and enjoying the smokiness of food on the day I cook it. However, the next day when my Significant Other is reheating some brisket for a sandwich, I come running downstairs saying, "What the heck smells so darned good?" and it's my brisket, and I can really enjoy the smoky flavor. It's this second point that I think is explained by McGee's writings.

Regards,
Chris
 
Fascinating.

So what this implies is when we serve BBQ the same day we cook it, it actually tastes better to our guests than ourselves.

Never realized I was so self-sacrificing.
 
Maybe I am reading this different . . .

We cook for 5, 8, 15, 20 hours at a time without tasting the Q. We eat at the appropriate time and we taste a flavor of X (out of a 1-10) scale.

Next day we re-heat and eat and the flavor is X+Y, correct?

If we nibbled throughout the cook, I can understand the flavor being steady.

I love fresh Q, but really like the impact of the smoke flavor on day 2+.

I recently participated in an competition and was around smoke on day 1, went home showered and showed up for day 2 and was popped in the face by the beautiful aroma of hickory which tempered over the day. Probably still as strong, but not as notiecable.

I guess what I am trying to say is I agree with the smoke (inhalation) side of this, but not necessarily the tasting side.

~ Sean
 
Even though the McGee article refers to the "sensory system", what it's really talking about is the sense of smell. Remember that sense of smell is as big a component to the taste of a food or drink as is the actual sensations on the tongue. The fatigue, therefore, occurs whether the food is being tasted during the cooking process or not.
 
Thanks Doug -

My wife is not near the WSM during a smoke and also gives the day 2 smoke flavor a higher intensity than fresh out of the smoker.

~ Sean
 
I don't typically hang around the WSM very much while it's cooking, since it holds temp as well as it does, so I hope that I am not really experiencing this so much. I do have to say, though, sensory fatigue or not, that I particularly always find chicken smokier the next day, sometimes to the point of unpleasantness-- which is why I use almost no smokewood on it.
 
I think it has to do with the molecular chemistry of my brain a/k/a anticipation. I prepared it, and cooked it. I tasted it and it was good. Realization! There's more for tomorrow....<<brain chemistry ~ anticipation>>.....the next day.....food goes into mouth. Joy.

AR
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Paul G.:
I continue to believe the smokey flavor does intensify, with some foods more than others, when placed in the frig in an air tight container over a couple of days. I've definitely found that to be true for chicken. My wife, who does not venture near the WSM but enjoys the products, agrees. Chris' article is interesting and I believe true in so far as the one who tends the meat on the smoker.

Paul <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

McGee isn't talking about the flavor of a dish intensifying (or changin) over time -- such as sitting in the fridge for a day or two. He's talking about the effect on the nerves during constant stimulation.

For example, when you first sit down on your chair, your body will be conscious of the chair against your butt and back. Taht that quickly subsides because your body is capable of "ignoring" the constant signals. Same thing with clothes. Imagine if you were constantly aware of the clothes you're wearing?

So, if you're standing by the smoker, continuously exposed to the aroma, you're going to be less and less conscious of it.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Brian Albin:
How difficult / dry is the writing in this book? I have a similar book (Cookwise) and I read it only rarely. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
If you've had difficulty getting through Cookwise, then you'll have an even harder time getting through On Food And Cooking. There are some parts that are so technical in subject areas that I'm not interested in that I just skimmed them. But overall it's a really informative read, especially the part about meat.

Regards,
Chris
 
Thanks Chris,

I like to read James Beard style of books. He has a great way of describing both the food and the cooking process.

p.s.
I have way to many cook books, but not enough BBQ books. I'll take any and all suggestions.

Brian Albin
 
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