Topic: Have you done a blind test?

[Yellow Fingers]

Has anyone done a scientific blind test of your best curries against restaurant bought ones on your friends?

It's pretty straight forward you buy the same curry from, say, two different restaurants, and you serve these unopened, i.e. still in their takeaway containers, along with your version which has to be in the same type of container to avoid psychological bias. Infact you would ideally repackage each curry in identical containers.

The consumers would be asked to comment as to which they liked or disliked and the reasons for each choice. Critically you mustn't let them know that one of the offerings is yours, they must believe that the three curries have been bought from three different takeaways. You must not even tell them which restaurants they are from until after the test to avoid possible personal bias against any restaurant.

Each curry would need to be served up individually and away from the other two so that the odour of the curry can be commented on.

I see this as the only way to avoid the hidden bias of the consumers in posts that go 'I had my mates around and they swear it's the best curry they ever had' and to see just how close we really are in our efforts.

You shouldn't know which curry is which either because your body language and manner can give away which one is yours, and that can effect the tasters response. No really I'm not making it up! You would have to mark the underside of the cartons and shuffle em!

I thought of this particularly because I am convinced that no one here has produced the unique smell of a restaurant curry. Either that or when people are posting base sauce recipes etc, they must be hiding something because I can't get the smell from anything that has been posted here.

Just a thought.

 

[DARTHPHALL]

I have to be honest i`ve not got it 100% right all the time only every now & again which is quite frustrating  But some of my friend prefer my curries to take-away so its not all negative. ;D ;D

[blade1212]

you are sad

respect !!!

[Yellow Fingers]

you are sad

Not sad. Sadentific!? ?

[DARTHPHALL]

Aren't we all  ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D

[George]

Has anyone done a scientific blind test of your best curries against restaurant bought ones on your friends?

I think this is an excellent idea. Thank you for a very worthwhile post.

[pete]

This raises a very important issue
I think what we miss from our curries is not the  "taste" but the "smell"
I have done blind tasting on my family.
I put bought and home made curry into little blue pots.
I got some very confused results.
There was no clear winner

[Yellow Fingers]

I think what we miss from our curries is not the? "taste" but the "smell"

For me this is absolutely true. And it's why, despite what others may say, I still think there is a missing 'secret' ingredient. That smell has to come from somewhere and it must be from something that we aren't putting in our curries.

[DARTHPHALL]

I agree, it still to vague to be certain that we have cracked it.It may just be a technique who knows ??

[George]

I think what we miss from our curries is not the  "taste" but the "smell"

For me this is absolutely true. And it's why, despite what others may say, I still think there is a missing 'secret' ingredient. That smell has to come from somewhere and it must be from something that we aren't putting in our curries.

This is what curryhouse.co.uk has to say:
"So are fenugreek leaves essential? No, but they do make the standard curries (do-piaza, Madras, dhansak, bhuna etc.) taste like they came from a restaurant. Having said that, no curry house puts them in all their curries. For instance, they taste awful with creamy or yogurty dishes such as tikka masala and korma."

and:

"if (green herby bits)...look a bit like thyme they are probably fenugreek leaves which, in any case, have a very distinctive aroma. They smell like every curry house you've ever walked past in the street."

He's probably right. But if it's so obvious, why is it that we haven't all agreed it's definitely fenugreek, dead simple to replicate at home, problem solved?