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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The holy trinity of cuisine refers specifically to the use originated from the Cajun and Creole cuisines of Louisiana where chopped celery, bell peppers, and onions are the staple base for much of the cooking. A "trinity" can also be a trio of ingredients key to a particular cuisine, although it is also used as a generic representation of the cornerstone ingredients of a particular national cuisine. Because these three ingredients are so common in the recipes of some cuisines, they are almost indivisible and often end up being treated as a single ingredient and provide the distinctive flavoring of specific cuisines. Trinities can essentially be flavour bases often arrived at by sautéing a combination of any three aromatic vegetables, condiments, seasonings, herbs, or spices. Cooking these few base ingredients in butter or oil releases their flavour which in turn is infused into other ingredients. This technique is most typically used when creating sauces, soups, stews, and stir-fries.

Common trinities in other cuisines are:

• the Indian trinity of garlic, ginger and onion, often ground or mashed into "wet" pastes and sauteed. This is not a universal approach to cooking everywhere in India, for example followers of Jainism avoid garlic and onion among other foods due to their religious beliefs. Also, certain regional cuisines in India may not have a practice of combining these aforementioned ingredients as a flavour base when preparing food.
• the definitive Chinese trinity of scallions, ginger and garlic.^[1][2] The base of the seasoning combination known as yuxiang (魚香) consists of these three primary ingredients cooked together. A more distinct trinity of garlic, ginger and chili peppers is a common flavour base used in the spicier regional cuisines of China. Sichuan cuisine in particular, often combines Sichuan pepper with garlic and chili peppers. ^[3]
• the definitive trinity of French cuisine is widely accepted as a Mirepoix of celery, onion and carrot
  • a flavour base trinity of butter, cream and eggs is typically found in classical French haute cuisine.
  • a bouquet garni is at its core a combination of parsley, thyme and bay leaves tied together as a flavour base for liquid dishes.
• Ginisa is a Filipino culinary term which means to saute with garlic, onions and sometimes tomatoes, it is essentially similar to the Spanish sofrito. ^[4]
• the Greek trinity of lemon juice, olive oil and oregano^[5]
• the Italian trinity of tomato, garlic and basil; another trinity in Italian cooking is a soffritto of carrot, onion and celery, essentially similar to the French mirepoix.
• the "trinity" of garlic, ginseng and kimchi are seen as the cornerstone ingredients of Korean cuisine, although traditional Korean cooking never combines all three ingredients in preparing a single dish.^[6]
• the Lebanese trinity of garlic, lemon juice and olive oil.
• the Mexican trinity of corn, beans and chilies.^[7] Three types of dried chilies - ancho, pasilla, and guajillo - are frequently combined to flavour dishes and are also referred as a "Holy Trinity". ^[8]
• the Spanish trinity of bread, olive oil and wine.^[9] The sofrito of garlic, onion and tomato cooked in olive oil and widely used as a base for many Spanish recipes is also considered a staple trinity.
• the Thai trinity of galangal, kaffir lime and lemon grass.
• the Pre-Columbian North American trinity was corn, beans, and squash, which were cultivated together in a companion planting method called the "Three Sisters".

[edit] Notes

[edit] References

• "Chinese holy trinity". December 2003. http://www.tigersandstrawberries.com/2007/04/09/the-holy-trinity-of-the-chinese-kitchen. Retrieved on 2008-05-22. 
• "Greek trinity". December 2003. http://www.souvlakiforthesoul.com/index_files/feb-2007.html. Retrieved on 2008-05-22. 
• "Korean cuisine holy trinity". December 2003. http://media.www.thechartonline.com/media/storage/paper630/news/2003/12/12/MccalebInitiative/Koreans.Believe.holy.Trinity.Prevents.Outbreak.Of.Sars-576745.shtml. Retrieved on 2008-05-22. .
• "Spanish holy trinity". December 2003. http://www.spaindreams.com/eng/gastro.htm. Retrieved on 2008-05-22. 

[edit] External links

The Holy Trinity: Ingredient Trios