5. Subtlety Wins The Day

There are three topper opportunities here. First, airy and crisp ingredients deliver a more restrained crunch through finishers, such as fruit and flower crystals, sea salts, bruléed toppings, spun sugar, kataifi, vegetable chips, pork or chicken cracklins, puffed rice, popped sorghum and dehydrated vegetable crumbles. Second, ingredients like fresh shoots, finger limes, pickled mustard seeds, toasted seeds, pomegranate arils, fruit balls and chocolate curls bring soft, almost dainty crispness. Lastly, mildly chewy textures found in wood ear mushroom, candied citrus zest, preserved fruit and other accent ingredients impart a springy mouthfeel that lingers.

Try This

Savory: Vegetable Po’ Boy, featuring a duo of gold fava shoots and green pea shoots

Sweet: Pearled Key Lime Pie, topped with white chocolate curls and lime pearls

Sippable: Rosy Mango Lassi, dotted with rose flower crystals