Food can arouse people's good feelings and increase their appetite. Color matching is an important means for chefs to beautify dishes. Color matching means that chefs beautify dishes by using raw materials, seasonings and cooking methods, thus bringing artistic enjoyment to diners.
The color, aroma and shape of dishes are the main factors reflecting the quality of dishes. The color and shape of dishes first enter the diners' senses. Beautiful and bright colors can arouse people's good feelings and stimulate people's appetite. China's cooking techniques attach great importance to the collocation of dishes' colors. A table of banquet dishes, chefs skillfully choose the true colors of various raw materials, use cooking improvement and use seasonings and plant colorants to match colors, so that a table of banquet dishes appears red and green, yellow and white, forming a colorful picture.
The color types of dishes can be divided into primary color matching dishes according to the source of color; According to the number of colors, it can be divided into monochrome dishes, two-color dishes and multi-color dishes. According to the color, it can be divided into red vegetables, white vegetables, green vegetables, pickles, yellow vegetables and so on.
In cutting and collocation cooking, the methods of color matching of dishes usually include:
1. Use the natural colors of raw materials to match colors. The raw materials used in cooking are rich in natural colors. Using the natural color of raw materials is the most widely used color matching method for chefs. For example, chefs often use white fat, cooked protein, Lysimachia christinae, white lentils, fresh mushrooms, fresh bamboo shoots, sago, macaroni, cauliflower, Sichuan bamboo shoots, bean sprouts, Chinese cabbage, white radish, white fungus, white chrysanthemum and other raw materials, and use pickled lean meat, ham, sausage and chrysanthemum. Use the green color of spinach, cabbage leaves, leeks, garlic sprouts, shallots, green peppers, lettuce, bean sprouts, cauliflower, cucumber, celery, parsley, green beans and fresh river leaves, use the yellow color of leeks, fresh day lilies, cooked egg yolks, yellow carrots, ear buds, winter bamboo shoots, ginger and yellow chrysanthemums, use the purple color of laver and purple cabbage moss, and use the yellow color of purple cabbage.
2. Use the color of the seasoning to add color. All kinds of spices have certain colors, and proper use of these colors in cooking is one of the ways for chefs to match colors. For example, red fermented milk, red oil, hot sauce and soy sauce can be used to cook red dishes, sugar can be used to cook golden dishes, sweet sauce can be used to cook yellow dishes, and so on.
3. Use cooking to improve. During the heating process, the color of most vegetables and meat will change. Fry fish and meat, first yellow, then brown, then black and brown. Another example is "fried pork liver", which is dark red at first, then turns gray, and will turn iron black after long-term frying. When frying fresh vegetables, the fire should be large, the frying time should be short, and the cooking time should be fast, so as to maintain the bright primary colors of the dishes; If the fire is small and the pot is slow, it will turn into other colors.
The color matching of dishes is like colored painting. According to the principles of chromatics, there are usually four principles to follow:
(1), the color should be bright and harmonious. In cooking, contrasting colors or jargon "color separation" are usually used to match colors, and their colors are usually more vivid. The formula "green doesn't match green, red doesn't match red" commonly used in cooking is an image summary of this color matching principle. The so-called color harmony means "color matching" in jargon, that is, matching the adjacent colors on the color ring, such as red, yellow, green, blue, blue, yellow and white, and its colors are elegant and harmonious. For example, two-color egg dumplings are yellow and white, surrounded by green spinach and purple. The four colors are very elegant.
(2) Highlight the theme and choose the main color. The main color is called "hue" in aesthetics. Whether painting or photography, it is required to have a "tone" in color matching. The same is true of cooking color matching. The color of the next dish is generally based on the color of the main ingredient, and the choice of additional colors depends on the principle of highlighting the color of the main ingredient. Coloring is only used as foil and ornament. For example, "hibiscus chicken slices" is based on the white of chicken, and some green spinach can highlight the white of chicken slices. Another example is "fried shrimps". If fried separately, the white color is red. If fried with green beans, the color is white and green, which is very harmonious and bright.
(3) Pay attention to the use of warm colors. According to people's physiological feelings, colors in nature can be divided into warm colors, cool colors and neutral colors. Red, yellow and colors that tend to be red and yellow can be called warm colors. Cyan, blue and colors that tend to be cyan and blue are called cool colors. Green and purple are in the middle, called neutral color. Warm colors can excite people, stimulate appetite and increase the joyful atmosphere of the banquet. Therefore, dishes cooked with warm colors, meat and grains as raw materials, and dishes cooked with red seasonings such as soy sauce, pepper and watercress are mostly red, yellow or tend to be red and yellow. In green vegetables, red is often dotted to form a picture of "red in green", which can also play an attractive role.
(4) monochromatic dishes should pay attention to "color jumping", which means that a monochromatic dish appears. Some monochromatic dishes, such as pearl balls and diced fish, are all white. If it is served in a white porcelain plate, it will give people a monotonous feeling. If matched with a celadon dish, it can show the crystal clear and pure white color of the dishes, giving people a refreshing feeling. Another example is panlong roll cutting, the main component is yellow. If you simply put it in a white porcelain plate, its color is not bright. If trumpet-shaped shallots are set around the roll cutting, the yellow color of the roll cutting can be highlighted.
Dishes require harmonious colors, beautiful and generous, giving people beautiful enjoyment. Under normal circumstances, the main ingredients should be given priority to, and the auxiliary materials should be adapted to the main ingredients, highlighting the main ingredients and setting off the main ingredients, so that the colors of the dishes can be coordinated and generous.
The color matching of dishes directly affects the psychological feelings of diners. Successful dishes are works full of color, flavor and flavor. Therefore, if a restaurant wants to produce high-quality dishes, it must pay attention to the color matching of dishes, which is also a very important aspect of aesthetics.