For example:

• I want to cover temperature first (even though I know this article is about flavour).  As the stomach is the first place where food is received for true processing (in which it’s converted to a vital nutrient), cold foods will put a strain on the stomach as it will then need additional energy to heat it as the digestion process needs warmth.  This then means this energy is pulled from other organs and parts of the body that could have otherwise be used for something more useful.  And, we have control of what temperature the food goes into our body!  You can check out this video on why I drink warm water (all day long) and especially first thing in the morning when I wake!  Honestly, I even drink warm water on a run or ride… it’s weird, but did take some getting used to!

• Pungent foods and herbs such as cinnamon, peppermint, garlic, ginger, chili, black or white pepper, help disperse and remove obstruction of the Qi and blood in our bodies.  They help push the Qi and blood through the body and are particularly good for clearing colds, flus, and infections our bodies by opening the pores and promoting sweat, which helps eliminate the unwanted pathogens from the body.  This is why if you eat a lot of ginger, you’ll definitely start feeling warm and sweating. 

• This spicy sweet ginger tea can be quite pungent and punchy if you have enough ginger!  Depending on how spicy and strong you’d like it, add more ginger (either grated or sliced makes it even more potent!).  This tea is a combination of sweet and pungent in taste, but definitely gets the blood flowing and warm!  

• Sweet foods from a Chinese medicine perspective is different from that of a Western view of sweet.  It’s not the same chocolate or white sugar sweet that you taste.  The taste of these “sweet” ingredients are more subtle, gentle, and lingering in the mouth and throat.   Sweet includes ingredients such as red dates, ginseng, carrots, lamb, licorice, sweet potatoes, fruits and meats also fall into this category.  And the key is that this sweet is consumed in small, controlled amounts and small quantities.  In moderation really!  Small amounts of sweetness in our diets and in Chinese medicine help tonify the body, but too much sweet will dampen the body
• This red and blue dates tea is a great example if a tea that tonifies the blood and Qi and is slightly sweet (and a bit sour) to taste!

• Salty foods from a Chinese medicine perspective provide a diuretic effect, eliminating water from the body, and reducing swelling and lumps in the body.  Salty ingredients can include meats (remember foods can have 2 flavours, so meats can be both sweet and salty), seaweed, all seafood, and even salt itself.

• Sour ingredients are function opposite to pungent ingredients in their support to the body, which can include reducing excess sweating, slowing down flow of blood and Qi, especially if it comes to bleeding or diarrhoea.  Sour ingredients include lemons, vinegar (both black and white), unripe fruit, crab apples, or dried hawthorn are some examples. 

• A great sour soup is a Vietnamese Sour Fish Soup that carries that tartness and is also salty to taste.

The great thing about understanding how yin and yang is balanced is that this also pairs with the cooking styles of Chinese soups!

You can follow this post on “How Different Styles of Chinese Soups are Made“.