Healthy Conversation with taste professor Peter Klosse
Is healthy food also good food? Yes, says taste professor Peter Klosse in this episode of Healthy Conversation. The problem is, the food industry has hijacked our taste buds, and maybe even screwed them up. The good news, however, is that we can learn new flavors and make healthy food as tasty as we want it to be. On one condition: that we never cook our vegetables again.
Between the pots and the pans
Peter Klosse grew up among the pots and pans of De Echoput, his parents’ hotel/restaurant in Hoog Soeren. As a little boy, he was already a lot in the kitchen and restaurant, and conversations about food and cooking were the order of the day. Later he took charge of De Echoput himself. He is the founder of the Academy of Gastronomy. In 2004 he obtained his doctorate in Taste at the University of Maastricht, at the Faculty of Health Sciences. He is the author of several books, such as The Trial Bookthe wildlife bible and even a culinary novel: “A clever thing† If there is anyone in the Netherlands who really knows a lot about taste, it is Peter Klosse.
You can argue about taste
Many people think that taste is something personal, something that cannot be disputed. You either like something or you don’t. Klosse does not agree with this at all: “Taste is not subjective, but objective. You can describe it, analyze it and research it and therefore you can also substantiate why a dish is tasty or highly flavoured. So you can certainly argue about taste. , and we need to, because it’s important to think about taste, because it helps us understand what people eat and why they eat.”
Tasty is very important
On his website, Klosse writes: “We need to know more about ‘tasty'”. Why is that important? Klosse: “Because tasty is the driving force behind our food choices. Consciously or unconsciously, we choose the food and drinks that we like best. It would be nice if these were also the healthy products, but unfortunately that is often not the case. the supermarkets are largely unhealthy, but we eat them because they are seasoned by the manufacturers to exactly the right taste. made in such a way that you can’t stop eating it. A head of broccoli can’t compete with that.”
Forbidden to cook
“Although? Broccoli can also be delicious,” says Klosse, but prepared the right way. “Who buys a tender steak, then puts a pan of water on the fire and cooks that steak in it? Right, nobody. But we do that with vegetables. We lose so much flavor and vitamins from our vegetables! Roast, bake, stew vegetables, eat them raw with a dressing, but never boil them in water.” If we knew more about products and about cooking ourselves, we would reach for those ultra-processed products in the supermarket less often. “Our tastes change very well,” says Klosse. “If you start eating differently, for example cooking more yourself, then at a certain point you no longer appreciate the taste of the ultra-processed products. Then we start to appreciate the natural flavors much more, and we need much less salt and sugar to make our food.” to flavor it.”
Tax on processed products
According to Klosse, the power system has to change. And many scientists and policymakers agree with him. Unhealthy food is too cheap and widely available, while healthy products are often very expensive. Klosse argues in favor of a tax on ultra-processed products: “That is better than a tax on a certain product category, such as meat. I would like it if no VAT is levied on products that come directly from the farm. Then we give the makers thereof a direct advantage and more people will get their food from the source. Then we can levy a low VAT rate on lightly processed products in the supermarket, such as milk, bread, canned pulses or cheese. a high VAT rate, because they do nothing good for our health, and because they are also harmful to the environment and biodiversity.”
Taste and children
Klosse himself, of course, has the perfect background to become a taste professor, with his youth among the pots and pans of the Echoput. But how can you raise children with good, healthy taste? “By involving them in the meal. I know of daycare centers where children bake their own pizza or grow tomatoes in the garden. So it happens that a four-year-old says: “Shall I cook tonight?”. But that is also possible at home: cooking together , talk about food, enjoy the food.”
You can listen to the podcast about taste and health below.
