The third milestone for the FFT class was to do a taste test of homemade foods versus restaurant foods. The two that I reviewed were a homemade chocolate chip cookie and veal parmesan from Sabatino’s in Irving Park. When I conducted my reviews of these two foods I found very many tastes and consistencies that sometimes surprised my tastebuds. I had a very good time eating these foods because it gave me the opportunity to touch my iron chef side and be a food critic. I also really enjoyed doing this project because it gave me the opportunity to eat some delicious foods!
The first taste test that I conducted was the home made one. I ate a home made chocolate cookie and it was very different from a chips ahoy cookie. The first taste that I had with the first bite is one of crunch, the home made cookies are a lot more crunchy than the factory made. The second taste that I had was a sweet sugary taste, and the factory cookies are definitely the ones with less taste. The last taste I had was that the factory cooked cookies did not have an aftertaste of an oven, but the home made cookies did. The homemade cookies contain more sugar because they are very much sweeter than other cookies. Whenever I eat these cookies I always think of coming home after school. My mother would make cookies for dessert on week nights occasionally and I recognize the smell of her cookies because it is very specific. Whenever I eat her cookies I think of how industry has changed the taste of foods because my moms cookies are more naturally sweet rather than nabisco’s tasteless food.
I went to Sabatino’s Italian restaurant in Irving Park for my second taste test. I ordered the veal parmesan for the course of the meal that I was reviewing. When the food arrived, the portion was very large, but I was eager to taste it. The first bite entailed a warm sauce and veal held together by melted parmesan cheese. The veal is very tender and my teeth are given just the right feeling of consistency in the meat. The sauce is not clumpy at all and is still very coagulated. The parmesan is perfectly melted into the breaded meat. The meat was very sweet, with a salty mix of sauce and cheese. The combination of these two dominant flavors gives a delightful taste to your tongue. Whenever I have veal parmesan it reminds me of going to Rosebud on Taylor St. on the south side of Chicago. Whenever I go there I order the same thing because the taste it offers is irresistible. What I found to be true from the readings in class is that the food that has natural ingredients is definitely tastier than one without due to the processing of the food.
