Long an indispensable flavoring ingredient in beer, hops famously have one of the most complex aromas of any botanical ingredient. Hop experts I know suggest that there are at least 700 known terpenoids in hops, and that’s a conservative estimate. And as you can see from the chart below, there are many other chemical types contributing different characters to hops’ amazing aromas.
As someone with a creative bent, I want to make sure I have access to the widest possible range of flavors to work with, just as an artist would want to have a lot of colored paints at hand. Some seasonings have very specialized uses and stay in the cabinet, but others are used so often I keep them on a rack right above the cooktop. Most herbs and spices are best suited either for savory foods or sweet ones. A few, like ginger, have shape-shifting characters that lets them do dual duty. Of these, coriander is the king in my kitchen.
It’s obvious that we human beings are all pretty different from one another—in appearance, experience, attitude, gender, and countless other attributes. Each of us has things that come effortlessly and others at which we struggle. It goes without saying that these differences affect our abilities as tasters. But how, exactly?