In writing about food, we realize that certain foods are boring and subtle in flavor, like an aimless road tripper that relies on others for direction and a plan. Take pumpkin for instance. Most think of cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice—the spices that are used with pumpkin, more than the actual flavor of the orange-fleshed sweet mild flavored gourd that conjures farms and food-laden holiday tables. Instead of seeing quieter food personalities as a disadvantage, food writers can seize the moment to create clever culinary descriptions. Here are tips to describe foods that are lackluster in flavor.
Top Tips for Describing Boring Foods
When faced upon a food (or really anything!) that you’re struggling to write about, try these different approaches for inspiration:
1. Ask People
Ask people around you. Conduct an on-the-street type of interviewing and ask:
- How would you describe X?
- What does X taste like?
- When you think of X, what do you think of?
Back to pumpkin, you’ll likely get answers like “pumpkin spice,” “nutmeg,” “cloves,” “soft,” “mellow,” and maybe “Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Latte.”
Instead of denying these strong associations, really pump up the descriptions and flavor of pumpkin with those spices and sweeten up your writing with maple syrup.
Use pumpkin more as a vehicle to describe the flavors that accompany pumpkin.
2. Compare with Similar Foods
If you know what a similar food tastes like, compare it with ingredients you’re writing about. Is the taste stronger/weaker? How does texture compare? Are there differences in viscosity? Starting with a familiar food will give you a point of comparison and get your vocabulary aligned with your senses.
Using pumpkin as our example again, you may be more familiar with pumpkin than say kabocha, a Japanese hard winter squash. In this case, you could use your experiences with pumpkin to compare the flavor and texture with other types of lesser-known gourds.
3. Create a Scene
When describing the dish, recreate the scene when you made, shared, or ate the dish. Who was there? What did you feel? Why did you make it?
For many, it wouldn’t be Thanksgiving without pumpkin. You could write about why the tradition is important for you and why you want to continue tradition through pumpkin, whether as a traditional pumpkin pie or more savory dishes like Pumpkin Gruyere Gratin or Creamy Pumpkin Lasagna.
4. Research
Do some research to the background of the food. You can go various directions, from talking about the food’s history, etymology, traditions, to current trends in cooking with it.
Pumpkin’s most trendy form is as a drink. We hardly need to mention this again, but Starbuck’s most popular seasonal beverage of all time, the Pumpkin Spice Latte (PSL), marks the start of autumn for many. On the premise of ‘research,’ treat yourself to a PSL the next time you want to write about pumpkin and may the words flow.
The espresso may help too.
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