New Ethnic
Entrees
July 1998 -- Cover Story
By: Susheela Uhl
Contributing Editor
American palates are proving more daring and adventurous. As the population desires greater novelty and variety in their foods, interest in new tastes and flavors from faraway places is increasing.
Thai lemongrass, Indian chutneys, Oaxacan moles, and Ethiopian injera are finding their way from specialty stores, neighborhood bodegas and ethnic restaurants to U.S. dinner tables. These foods contain strong flavor profiles, great variety and a healthful appeal.
New ethnic foods are arriving in American kitchens from several directions. First, cuisines from countries once considered unusual are becoming commonplace, such as the foods and ingredients of Southeast Asia, India and the Mediterranean. Second, regional variations of ethnic foods that are "old favorites" in America are evolving. Consumers no longer are limited to Tex-Mex when they want Latin cooking. Columbian, Ecuadorean and Oaxacan-Mexican foods and ingredients now are available. Third, "exotic" ingredients are infiltrating traditional American foods through fusion cooking and regional American fare, such as Pacific-Rim and Floribbean.
The desire for these foods isn't simply a passing fad. To the contrary, this trend reflects basic changes in Americans demographics and lifestyles.
Diversity: the driving force
America is becoming an increasingly diverse country. The U.S. Bureau of the Census reports that during this decade, the Asian-American population - the fastest-growing ethnic group - has increased by more than 30%, while the Hispanic-American population rose by about 20%. Also, Latin Americans soon will represent the largest U.S. minority, outnumbering blacks by early in the next century. But these statistics only tell part of the story. Ethnic groups are becoming increasingly diverse within themselves as well. It's not just that there are simply more Asian-Americans, but more Asians of Malaysian, Indian, Thai, Vietnamese and Korean descent. Likewise, the growing Latin American population includes people of many different ancestries, including all the nations in South America, Central America and the Caribbean.
Many Americans travel to Asian, Mediterranean and Caribbean countries. U.S. and foreign cooking schools are helping Americans learn about authentic ethnic ingredients and cooking styles.
Increasing demographic diversity and greater global travel and communication have prompted an increasing abundance and variety of Asian, Mediterranean and Latin spices, herbs and other flavorings on grocery-store shelves. The American Spice Trade Association's 1995 Spice Statistics Report states that today's hottest trend is the taste for hot spices, which have increased 71% in production tonnage since the 1970s, and now represent 40% of U.S. spice use.
New ethnic cooking is adding more than heat to our meals. Mainstream and ethnic supermarkets, as well as ethnic grocery stores, are introducing many ethnic items to mainstream consumers. Supermarket News (Nov. 3, 1997) reports a general increase in ethnic groceries, such as sauces, rices, noodles, beans, spices, seasonings and condiments. This includes mainstream supermarkets, such as Publix or Sedano, that are located near large ethnic communities and that prominently dedicate aisles to Hispanic, Indian, Thai or Vietnamese products. Yaohan, Ranch 99 and other ethnic supermarkets target marketing to areas with large ethnic populations, such as New York, Los Angeles, Nevada, Atlanta and Miami. They offer a great variety of ethnic products to the general public: rices, noodles, legumes, fresh produce, curry blends, canned tropical fruits, dumpling wrappers, sesame oil, soy sauces, chile-based condiments, and imported packed foods and aseptic drinks.
Consumers in major metropolitan areas also are turning to ethnic grocery stores and bodegas for specialized items, such as lemongrass, banana leaf or galangal. Consumers also can locate specialized authentic ingredients and prepared ethnic foods in gourmet shops, and health- and natural-food stores. Ethnic food distributors who have links to their native countries wholesale most new ethnic products.
Prepared foods offering new ethnic flavors also are experiencing greater popularity. Find/SVP's Packaged Facts (1996) reports that retail sales of Pacific Rim, Mediterranean and Caribbean packaged foods will increase at an annual growth rate of 7.1% over the next several years, reaching $383 million by 2001. Of this group, Pacific Rim foods are the largest and fastest-growing category.
Cultural and regional diversity and the increased availability of ethnic ingredients are making it easier for Americans to experiment. Creative food product designers can meet this growing demand and, at the same time, create widely popular dishes by toning down authentic ethnic ingredients or fusing them with more traditional American foods. To create successful excursions into ethnicity, more than just a sense of adventure is needed. One must understand the foods of the "new" cultures that have settled in the United States, as well as the authentic ingredients, preparation and presentation techniques. It's also important to know how these diverse cultures are influencing traditional eating patterns in different U.S. regions, and creating distinct regional and Pan-American entrees.
New World cuisines
How can we define new ethnic foods? They include the newer regional ethnic cuisines such as Malaysian, Vietnamese, Indian, Argentine, Salvadoran and Moroccan; fusion cuisines such as Caribbean, Pan Asian and Mediterranean; and finally, American regional foods. Consumers who want authenticity, something different yet familiar, a gourmet touch, or tasty vegetarian dishes are seeking these foods.
Americans are becoming more familiar with spices and more intense flavor profiles. Many of the newer ethnic foods, such as Thai, Malaysian, Indian, Oaxacan and Tunisian, possess the spicier and hotter flavor profiles Americans seek. Thai cuisine has become the No. 1 "hot" new food in America. It is popular not only in cosmopolitan areas, but also in smaller towns. For the gourmet consumer, it is the new mainstream ethnic cuisine, just as Chinese food is the more cautious consumer's choice. Thai cuisine features cooking profiles similar to Chinese, but often with spicier and more intense notes.
Some Americans need time to grow accustomed to Thai cuisine's stronger and hotter flavors. But as consumers become exposed to ethnic flavors and learn to enjoy them, they want to discover more ethnic tastes. This demand leads them to discover more unique flavors. For example, Chinese-American garlic sauces, chow mein and egg rolls are being replaced by Thai sauces with roasted-garlic and ginger flavors and, for the more adventurous, sauces with lemongrass and fish flavoring.
Thai cooking is marked by its wide range of tastes, textures, temperatures, and colors. In a green curry entree, the sharpness of the chiles and spices is toned down by the sweetness of the coconut cream and palm sugar. Thai dishes aren't served as individual courses, but all arrive at the same time. This way, one can take mouthfuls of green papaya salad, gaeng ped curry, or grilled beef in any order desired, giving rise to different dimensions of flavor at a meal.
Appearance is an important factor for consumers seeking new ethnic entrees, and is part of Thai, Caribbean and many fusion cooking styles. Thais "eat with their eyes" before they enjoy the flavors. Colorful sculptured fruits, chiles and vegetables sit on a backdrop of grilled chicken, fish, rice or noodles. In a Thai entree called "steam boat," a boiling, flavored broth is placed in the center of the table with dishes of sculptured vegetables and artfully presented seafood or meats for dipping.
Thai food's multidimensional flavors and more pungent, spicier notes are introducing Americans to more sophisticated flavor profiles. Consumers' knowledge and familiarity with exotic ingredients are growing. They are experimenting with these ingredients in foods they already enjoy to create more variety and excitement. Now, they seek the more intense and unique flavors of Vietnamese, Malaysian, Indian, North African, Middle Eastern and regional Caribbean cuisines. These will be the next wave of ethnic foods.
Southeast Asian cuisine, such as Thai, Malaysian, Indonesian, Vietnamese or Laotian, will prove the fastest-growing new cuisine category. Southeast Asian cooking combines flavors from indigenous cultures with Chinese, Indian, Arab and European flavors. The blending of contrasting tastes and textures for a successful flavor release is typical of a Southeast Asian meal. These cuisines also feature tremendous variety in ingredients, especially fresh herbs, fruits and vegetables, as well as some of the more healthful cooking techniques consumers desire.
The trend towards eating "fresh" and natural is fueling the demand for Southeast Asian leafy greens, herbs and preparation techniques, such as stir-frying, braising, grilling and steaming.
In Southeast Asian cuisines, texture is an important element, especially in vegetable entrees. Vietnamese cooking techniques bring out the fresh aromas, crispy textures and vivid colors of vegetables along with clean-tasting, pungent flavors. In addition to balancing tastes, texture conveys freshness. In traditional American cooking, vegetables often are boiled soft with unappetizing results. Now, texture descriptions are going to become important in the overall flavor perceptions of an entree, such as crunchy, crispy, slippery or firm.
The finished textures of ingredients in new ethnic entrees depend on preparation method and cooking techniques. The texture of tofu in Southeast Asian cooking varies with its preparation. It can be stir-fried, with vegetables for a slightly firm texture on the outside and a soft interior; deep-fried as a crunchy garnish; or deep-fried and used as a pocket for fresh-cut vegetables, giving a chewy and soft texture. Tofu also can be puréed, and used as a meat, egg or cheese substitute.
Garnishes are becoming important meal items because they add visual appeal and a final note of contrasting texture and flavor. Malaysian and Indonesian seasoned rices and noodles are never served without nutty roasted peanuts, caramelized crispy shallots or crunchy bean sprouts. Fresh herbs are important Southeast Asian garnishes, and provide fresh flavors, deep aromas and many textural variations.
In Southeast Asian cuisines, the concept of a main entree and side dishes sometimes blends together to form a one-pot or one-dish meal. A one-pot meal may be stew, soup or sauced noodles. Or, it may be fried rice containing onions, tofu, chiles, bits of meat, vegetables, or anything available in the pantry, served with a spicy condiment. However, the addition of these ingredients is not simply random. They are chosen and added to create a balanced system of taste and texture.
One-dish meals, such as laksas, phos or stir-fried noodles, enjoy popularity as lunches or quick dinners in Thailand, Malaysia and Vietnam. They come in many varieties, each with its own unique ingredients and flavors. Malaysian laksas, or curried saucy noodles, contain ingredients that balance each other in flavor, texture and color: fresh, citrusy lemongrass; pungent, fermented shrimp paste; sour tamarind; peppery chiles; sweet coconut cream; and bitter roasted garlic. Toppings of crunchy bean sprouts, fresh herbs, or shredded cucumber provide contrasting crispiness to the soft noodles.
Condiments play an integral part in Southeast Asian meals, whether teriyaki, sambal trasi, mango pickle or kochujang. They can be pungent, hot, sour, sweet or umami. Condiments perk up a dish, and provide added appeal to individual tastes on a meal table. Grilled foods or those prepared with moderate seasonings depend on side condiments of colorful cut or puréed chiles, herbs and spices to add heat, sourness or bite. One of the most notable aspects of Thai and Vietnamese cooking is the emphasis on condiments based on fish sauce, garlic, tamarind juice, herbs and chile peppers. A variety of side condiments, fresh herbs and vegetables form the basis of Vietnamese cuisine.
Variety is the hallmark of many new ethnic entrees and is derived through a range of diverse side dishes. In Korean cuisine, side dishes become the main meal. Korean-style eating incorporates grazing over the whole range of foods on the table, picking bits of this and that. A scoop of steaming, white sticky rice leads to a spoonful of bean curd soup. Crunching on fiery kimchi may be followed by soy-sesame-flavored greens, complemented by savory marinated barbecued strips of beef (pulgogi). One typical Korean meal, panchan, consists of steamed white rice with side dishes of kimchi, soup, spinach namul, toasted seaweed, pickled vegetables, meat or pickled seafood.
Cuisine with a cure
The current trend in using foods as nutraceuticals or healing tools will increase the growth of newer ethnic entrees with ingredients that boost energy, relieve stress or promote health. As part of this trend, an emphasis will be placed on using fresh herbs and toasted spices to cure ailments and prevent disease. Interesting entree concepts that combine taste and cure will evolve from authentic Indian regional cooking.
Asian Indians utilize spices to cure and prevent ailments, and provide healing to the body. U.S. consumers also seek the flavor depth and variety that different spices provide in Indian cuisine. Spices are chosen to offer variety, give balance in flavors and textures, and to provide the "hot-cold" food concept that is believed to create body wellness.
In an Indian meal, presentation of dishes for body harmony, as well as flavor balance, becomes important. The way dishes are served in a meal gives great insight into flavor concepts for developing new entrees. In a typical vegetarian meal, rice and/or bread (chappati, naan or dosai) are placed on a thali, or tray, with an array of tiny silver bowls. They contain peppery sambar (lentil stew); rasam (spicy sour broth); cool, minty raita (cucumber, tomato with yogurt); a couple of hot and spicy braised vegetables; and a crunchy mango pickle. In theory, the "cold" raita and lentils offset the "hot" spicy vegetables, thus creating "harmony" in the body. The crunchy mango pickle balances the soft, textured vegetables, while the hot stew perks up the plain bread or rice.
There is no one type of Indian flavor or curry blend. Indian cuisine possesses distinct flavors depending on regional and cultural preferences. In Punjab, creamy, milder flavors are preferred. Those in the Kerala region prefer hot, coconut flavors. In Goa, the Portuguese-influenced vinegary and tomato-based flavors enjoy popularity. Bengali flavors are sweet and mustardy, and in Bombay, a fusion of many spicy and sour profiles proliferates.
American acceptability
Americans with two different types of palates seek new ethnic foods. Some consumers are knowledgeable about ethnic foods and want rich and spicy profiles. For these consumers, the profile of new ethnic foods won't need changing. Food product designers simply need to be creative and develop interesting new products using authentic ingredients and recipes.
The second type of consumer is a little less adventurous. He wants variety and new tastes, but also desires to "hold on" to his traditional foods. These consumers include the traditional mainstream consumer seeking ethnic or new flair, and the assimilated ethnic consumer seeking Westernized versions of his traditional foods. For these consumers, it is important to create flavors that will prove acceptable upon initial tasting. Food product designers should introduce these "new" ingredients in a familiar product.
For example, new dishes can be created by taking traditional dishes, such as pasta, rice, potatoes or legumes, and adding something new. Try stir fries using traditional American vegetables or baked chicken with ginger or hoisin sauce. Soon, Americans may see tandoori chicken pizza (a very popular item in England), sambal-flavored pasta, or lemongrass fried chicken.
Ethnic consumers aren't just interested in foods from their country of origin. Food product designers might target second- or third-generation ethnic customers by adding nuoc cham or achiote seasoning to roasted chicken or mashed potatoes. Endless varieties can be created with fusion concepts to meet the needs of these quickly growing groups.
Consumers want meal convenience, variety and excitement. Some need partially prepared, prepackaged short-cuts in the kitchen, while others cannot cook, and want an entree prepared for them. Home-meal replacements can meet their needs, but aren't currently. More can be done with this format to provide variety, excitement and nutrition. Fusing ingredients from ethnic cuisines can be a great way of providing these qualities. Food product designers need to familiarize consumers with the new ethnic ingredients and preparation instructions when they create home-meal replacements with an ethnic twist. Providing suggestions on how to put a new ethnic meal together also would prove helpful. This can include adding ethnic ingredients to traditional American servings of meats, fish or vegetables to combine familiarity and novelty.
Food designers should look into ethnic condiments, side dishes and garnishes to add even more variety and excitement to prepared meals. For example, easy-to-use sauces, seasonings, condiments or chutneys can be packed with home-meal replacements for consumers who like to place a "finishing touch" on their meals. Ethnic, one-dish entrees can be appealing to baby boomers, college students, or busy professionals by providing a convenient, tasty and healthful quick-fix for lunch or dinner.
Fusion foods
The driving force behind fusion foods isn't new at all. The transformation of cuisines through fusing flavors, ingredients and preparation techniques has occurred around the world whenever two or more cultures have lived together. This is why many of these so-called "new" cuisines have such great appeal, since they are the product of many cultures. Two fusion cuisines that are gaining in popularity are Mediterranean and Caribbean foods.
Mediterranean food is becoming popular because of its light sauces, healthful ingredients and regional variations. Spanish cuisine isn't just paella and olives. It has distinct regional influences: Castillian, Andalusian and Catalonian. In the United States, tapas-style dishes are introducing us to typical Spanish ingredients and flavors, such as bacalao, roasted romesco peppers and sofritos.
The greatest growth in Mediterranean food will be the "other" Mediterranean tastes from Africa, such as Ethiopian, Egyptian, Moroccan and Tunisian flavors. At the last Fancy Food show, held in New York, African Heritage Foods, Jefferson Valley, NY, introduced its Afri-Q line of spicy sauces made with authentic Ethiopian spices and all-natural ingredients, which was a big hit with the tasters.
"Ethiopian side dishes, such as lentil salad (azifa), spicy lamb stew (yebez wet), or sautéed beef with clarified butter (tibs) will be growing in popularity," asserts Rachael Yohannes, president, African Heritage Foods. "They can be served with injera, which is a traditional, fermented flat bread made from a grain called teff, and which is popular in Ethiopia."
Caribbean cuisine will become more regionalized - Jamaican, Barbadian, Trinidadian, Guadeloupean and Haitian. Each region has its characteristic flavors, depending on the British, French, Spanish or Dutch influence, along with the indigenous and other ethnic groups such as Indians, Chinese, Africans or Arabs. Sorrel, habaneros and various fruits and vegetables typically are found in all these regions, yet flavors and cuisines differ depending on regional preferences. All Caribbean cuisines offer rice and beans, but the type of beans and the seasoning varies among the different islands.
The increase in ethnic populations, the availability of a variety of ingredients, and the adventurous spirit of American cooks has given rise to some creative regional American cuisines. The flavors emerging from these regions reflect the locally dominant cultural groups. Hispanics or Asians vary in their preferences for ingredients and seasonings, depending on where in the United States they reside. In Miami, Hispanics are predominantly Cuban, while Puerto Ricans and Dominicans dominate New York, with Mexicans the majority in Los Angeles. Therefore, when designers create Hispanic-style entrees with beans for niche markets, they need to understand regional preferences.
In regional cooking, fusion themes are now taken to new levels of visual appeal and creativity. Chefs in each U.S. region are becoming more adventurous and daring. They're using nontraditional ways of creating new regional foods such as Floribbean, Chicago-Thai, and Northwestern-Cantonese. In Miami, the population largely consists of Cubans, Central Americans, Haitians and African-Americans, and the cooking there reflects the influence of these groups. Yucca, black beans, habaneros or mangoes are combined with key lime, lima beans or potatoes to create a new Floribbean cuisine. In New York, new fusion foods such as Italian-Thai, Puerto Rican-Indian or French-Moroccan will reflect its global diversity of Europeans, Indians, North Africans, Hispanics and Southeast Asians.
Traditional American comfort foods are now being revived in new regional flavors. Baked beans, succotash, Virginia ham or chili will appear in many unique flavors and forms. A growing interest in Native American cultures in the Southwest and Midwest is creating an accompanying interest in preparation of game meat, corn and other native grains, chile peppers and beans. The growing consumer interest in holistic medicine also is prompting an interest in Native American cooking with its ingredients as traditional methods of healing and cures.
Meeting the demand
One reason new ethnic entrees are becoming popular is that they meet the growing demands for flavorful, healthful meals. Americans desire a more healthful lifestyle, but also want to indulge in tasty foods. Health practitioners are recommending grains, legumes, fresh fruits and vegetables in diets. Consumers know that they should cut back on fat and salt. The problem with traditional Western cooking is that when meat, fat and salt are removed, most of the flavor disappears.
The new ethnic cuisines have strong flavor profiles derived from spices and seasonings, not high levels of fat and salt. Many include nutritious ingredients: fruits, leafy vegetables, grains, legumes, spices and herbs. More exotic fruits, vegetables or spices can be used to create lighter and more flavorful dishes. Therefore, we can expect more diverse lentils (urad, masoor or channa), leafy greens (bok choy, choy sam or tatsoi), tropical fruits (lychee, longgan or carambola) and herbs (shiso, curry leaf or chepil) to emerge. They also can introduce the consumer to more highly seasoned vegetarian entrees that provide flavorful alternatives to meat dishes.
The strong flavor profiles of these cuisines are encouraging consumers to experiment with different varieties of herbs and spices. Americans are beginning to find out that the roots, leaves and stems of plants provide unique, more intense and pungent flavors. For example, the roots of the coriander plant give a more pungent flavor profile than the leaf or seed. Thais and Puerto Ricans add the chopped or crushed root to their red curries and stews to make them more pungent.
Some ethnic ingredients have achieved such popularity that they're now considered mainstream, such as ginger, soy sauce or sweet basil. Lemongrass, bird peppers, galangal or fish sauce and other exotic ingredients also are finding their way into American homes as they become more available in ethnic stores.
These emerging ingredients are the fundamental building blocks of new ethnic foods, creating their distinct flavors, colors and textures. But ingredients don't exist as separate entities. They interact in a system based on other ingredients, pH and processing techniques. So, food technologists need to have an understanding of the ingredients' culinary and technical aspects. They must know how to combine ingredients effectively to create the right flavor balance, promote health, or develop exciting new ethnic entrees while delivering a product that meets practical goals such as acceptable shelf life, cost and process parameters.
Authentic ethnic preparation techniques play a critical role in ultimate taste and texture of these entrees. Steaming, smoking, tarkaring or tumising of foods and spice blends create distinct flavors, colors and textures. When smoked, pickled, or toasted, spices (such as chile peppers, coriander seeds or sesame seeds) give different colors, flavors and textures. Steaming or grilling meats, rice or corn in pandan leaves or corn husks provides unique flavors and visual appeal.
Eating styles also affect the way flavors and textures are released, and will influence how entrees are seasoned, prepared and served in American meals. Noodles eaten with chopsticks, rice and dal served on banana leaves, tamales eaten from steamed corn husks, or condiments served as dips all contribute significantly to flavor perception of new ethnic foods. Side dishes and condiments are prominent in many ethnic meals. The hot, sour and crunchy flavors of salsas, chutneys, pickles, sambals or dals enhance or provide balance to the overall flavor and texture of the main entree. Or, they simply add zest to plain white rice or tortillas. Moreover, when many side dishes are eaten with the main entree, they produce totally different sensations as compared to when they're eaten by themselves or when the main entree is served without them.
The technical side
Entrees designed for supermarket shelves, delis, cafeteria steam tables, freezer cases or produce sections require different specifications for ingredients, processing, handling, packaging and shelf life. Quick-cook forms of rice, herbs or vegetables usually don't have the original texture, color and aroma of their fresh counterparts. Fresh ingredients have flavor volatility, textural and stability problems, especially under processing conditions (freezing, cooling or heating).
For chefs or food manufacturers who desire to develop these new ethnic foods, ingredient-availability problems exist. Some ingredients either aren't readily available or can be rather expensive. Whole black cumin, fenugreek, lotus root, fish paste, star anise, lemongrass or culantro are rarely seen outside of ethnic stores. Sometimes, many ingredients, such as galangal, lotus root or banana leaves, are sold canned or frozen. These don't have the same texture and aroma as fresh.
Cost also is an issue. Ingredients can be expensive since they haven't become mainstream and aren't available in large volumes. Most times, consistent and reliable sources don't exist for these new ingredients. Not all authentic ingredients are available in processed form, such as Asian leafy greens, galangal or ground fennel. If they do exist, they may lack the original flavor or texture profiles. Food designers have to substitute some of these ingredients with what's available, sometimes altering taste. Food technologists need the necessary tools to create authenticity, substitute successfully or tone down intense flavors.
To create great new ethnic entrees, food product designers need more than knowledge of these ingredients. To obtain true flavor profiles of these ingredients, the food technologist must rely on the flavorist. Unfortunately, extractives or flavors of many emerging spices or herbs have yet to appear. Essential oils or flavors with more exacting aromas and tastes need to be created soon to meet the rising need for these ingredients.
The food technologist also must be aware of spice properties before and after cooking. Different preparation techniques will yield different spice flavors and colors. Understanding the way spices interact and function in a food system is important for proper substitution of ingredients, whether due to availability, economics or toning down strong profiles or textures. To understand all this, one has to learn the basics of regional ethnic cuisines before compounding a flavor, or technically putting together a refrigerated, frozen or shelf-stable entree.
For example, creating flavors for Indian cuisines will prove challenging for flavor manufacturers because they require a great depth of taste and aroma, sometimes derived through cooking techniques. Flavorists must be able to duplicate these. They need to understand not only a spice's inherent flavor, but how different cooking techniques can create quite distinct profiles in many dishes. To give a toasted coriander flavor to an entree or to duplicate its finished flavor profile in a dish, the flavorist needs to study coriander profiles in many regional ethnic cuisines, its profile when whole or ground, or when toasted or cooked. Certain chemicals in a fresh, ground spice change, become more intense or are lost during cooking, thus giving different flavor sensations at the end.
The increasing diversity and exposure to many cultures and varied ingredients is creating a demand for unique flavors. Americans want to indulge in great-tasting foods that also can provide some health benefits. Multidimensional taste sensations and textures are becoming prominent in meals. Visual appeal and flavor depth are creating a need for experimentation with authentic ethnic ingredients.
Food creators need to understand the factors fueling the trend for new ethnic cuisines. They must know the changing lifestyles, diverse cultures and flavor origins of these cooking styles. Food product designers have to familiarize themselves with many of the necessary ingredients, their properties and how they're used in a recipe. In short, the basics of a new ethnic dish must be understood before beginning to formulate it into an acceptable packaged form for the emerging American palate.
Susheela Uhl is president of Horizons, a Mamaroneck, NY-based food consulting firm. She develops products (ethnic and fusion), provides information on spices and other flavorings, and gives presentations exploring culinary trends and the factors contributing to their emergence.
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