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Debate Simmers Over Science of Food Pairing
carmendrahl writes "Why do foods taste good together? Scientists aren't anywhere near figuring it out, but that hasn't stopped one popular idea from spawning a company dedicated to discovering avant-garde new pairings. The idea, called flavor-pairing theory, says that if foods share a key odor molecule, they'll pair well. But some scientists say the idea can't explain all cuisines, and another contends his work with tomato flavor (abstract) shows that flavor pairing is 'a gimmick by a chef who is practicing biology without a license.'"
-- Mitch Hedberg
They always wondered why spaghetti and french fries sounded good to me late night in college....
Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.........
You can't call that biology. That and the premise itself is flawed. "Why do foods taste good together?". More like, "Why do we think foods taste good together?".
More like practicing comedy without a license.
chef who is practicing biology without a license
WTF does this mean?? I'm alive hence I'm "practicing biology". Now I need a license to stay alive or something?
As opposed to the people "practicing biology" with a license? Who's he supposed to be licensed by? I'm gonna use some of this shit the next time I get some bad directions. "Well, it's no wonder your directions suck. You're practicing geography without a license."
The guy will dip french fries in ANYTHING.
What political party do you join when you don't like Bible-thumpers *or* hippies?
Its not a food attribute to taste good or bad, is a cultural/personal thing, what you associated to that kind of tastes since early childhood (or even before). Mixing 2 could raise odds of reviving what you felt in the past while tasting one of the components.
Beer + Mexican food = yum.
sig: sauer
I tried Domino's today and their tomato sauce did NOT "pair" well with the cheese (too spicy/strong). Next time I'll try marinara sauce or goback to Pizza Hut.
I also don't like the so-called Sweet & Sour chicken my asian friends sometimes feed me. Just straight sweet is my preference.
My AC stalker: " I personally agree with your posts most of the time, but that won't keep me from modding you troll"
Engineer: antithesis of a 'foodie'
PBJ for lunch every day!
Just tell me how the conservative and liberal politicians weigh-in on this debate so I can form my opinion without knowing any of the facts.
and more beer.
Yours In Peace,
Kilgore Trout
There's a reason that a professional sommelier is something yet to be replaced by a computer. Gastronomy is a young science, but an ancient art. Modernist Cuisine is cool and all, but if I want something that tastes good, I'm more likely to trust someone using a recipe perfected over several generations or even several centuries.
Occasionally living proof of the Ballmer peak.
I have noticed the same thing with sushi rolls and soy sauce. I am so used to dipping the rolls in soy that I find they taste "funny" without soy.
that hasn't stopped one popular idea from spawning a company dedicated to discovering avant-garde new pairings
Next up: patenting food combinations as "inventions".
"Our two-party system is like a bowl of shit looking at itself in a mirror." - Lewis Black
For reasons I can't really explain, I got it into my head to try peanut butter and Marmite in a sandwhich. It's the only food combo I have ever eaten where the 2 flavours stay completely seperate, even as you chew. It's the oddest sensation eating it. Everything else becomes a blend when you mix it up but not these two. Very, very strange and well worth a try for the experience.
I want a list of atrocities done in your name - Recoil
...mixed with one or two spoons of trend. Often common, but a bit unavoidable when you're in the "gap" between the the "hard" and the "soft" sciences - following the scientific method of either often makes you to discard the other.
Yes, how food tastes is molecular. Is biological - that's why no culture will like foods that smell i.e. like shit. But if you try to analyze it as just Bio, and just throw out the social part, your research won't go well.
Using just as an example as how much culture affects your tastes, read De Re Coquinaria (Roman recipe book, from Apicius) and check how many of that food pairings you would do: honey in hard-boiled eggs? Fermented fish stock and wine in lamb? Vinegar and egg yolk in shrimps? Even for most Romance peoples now, this would be considered "yuck", yet it was high cuisine in another culture.
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Pinch your nose closed and take a bite of your favorite succulent cuisine. You'll quickly realize that taste is not what you think it is, and that what your brain perceives as "taste" depends much more on olfactory stimulation than on your tastebuds.
I learned that first watching Mr. Wizard's World way back in the 80s. :)
It's very simple, different combinations of gustatory sensors are fired in combination activating the brain such a manner as to create reward circuitry flowing, towards whatever the optimal 'ideal' reward pattern is for each individual person. That and G-d makes certain things taste good:-)
We find meat taste better with onion and garlic because onion and garlic helps prevent meat going bad. That was one conjecture I've read and sounds feasible on evolutionary ground.
Fuck systemd. Fuck Redhat. Fuck Soylent, too. Wait, scratch the last one.
Dark chocolate and coffee, dark chocolate and pretzels, dark chocolate and pinot noir, dark chocolate and mint... hmm, gotta find a non-chocolate example. Tequila and lime?
where to start, as a cook in a few different styles of restaurant with different chefs i can say food pairing is all about personal preference. i have tried peanut butter with ketchup on toast (not for me) as someone i knew liked it, i have tried grilled cheese with peanut butter in it (actually pretty good). you cant pair foods together strictly, you can only say that in general this food goes with this most of the time, but for sure not always. you can only do that per culture as well, i am sure Asians will find food parings in western cuisine odd and vice versa. some cuisines have similar parings which gives the illusion that there is an absolute paring when there isn't.food parings will always be changing to keep up with social changes, there will never be an absolute for food paring and those that say so are off there rocker.
What goes well together is very much a cultural thing, as I think anybody who travels will know. Personally, I've had boiled sweets with garlic or durian flavour in Thailand; my Chinese wife tends to combine foods in surprising ways too - like apple pie with baked beans or cakes with a fruit and chicken filling. Or take this new, stomach churning trend where you get chocolate sauce with meat (shudder).
I guess if you are open minded enough, most things can go well together. And if you are pregnant, well.... let's say no more, but I knew one lady who had a craving for fishcakes and blue cheese (with nothing else).