A Covid-19 infection for many means a more or less long loss of taste and smell. Here is a cookbook to adapt to it, from aperitif to dessert!
After a year at the rate of Covid-19, everyone knows the terms “ageusia” and “anosmia”, or loss of taste and smell. Characteristic of Covid-19 infection, these manifestations of the disease are quite unpleasant and literally cause life to lose some of its flavor. Especially since this handicap can last for months, while the olfactory receptors recover. The momentary loss of these olfactory receptors modifies the perception of the taste of food.
Faced with this, the British Cooking School Life Kitchen created a recipe book suitable for those who no longer have any taste or smell. Originally intended for people with cancer, whose treatments affect both senses, the idea of this school is to learn to cook adapted, in order to appreciate food again. The two founders, Ryan Riley, author and cook, and Kimberley Duke, recipe developer and chef, both lost a parent to cancer. They saw first-hand how losing taste and smell affects well-being.
Special Covid recipes
Their book, downloadable for free, is based on two observations. When the olfactory receptors are affected, it is always possible to play on fairly primary tastes and with tactile sensations. In addition, people affected by Covid have in common the rejection of certain foods that are very present in many recipes such as onions, garlic, meat or eggs.
The two chefs therefore offer a variety of recipes, from aperitifs to desserts, which play with spices and textures. You will find, for example, a recipe for lemon confit spread with feta and za’atar, Mac’n’Cheese with blue cheese and mushrooms, or even apple and ginger ice cream. Something to feast on, sick or not!