words by Lucy Matthews
Why is it that certain foods are more friends than foes with some food more than others?
As you swill your glass of Pinot Noir and prepare yourself for a heavenly slice of Gruyere that is about to titillate and take over your taste buds in a passionate and full-flavored combining, you find yourself in an omniscient relaxing state. You do not need to predict that this food pairing will leave you in a trance of food fantasia. You await the explosion of flavour that is about to take place.
Cheese and wine ÔÇô a couple that has stood the test of time longer than any Hollywood duo. Together they are rich; together they will never fail to fulfil your cravings; and together they just and always have… worked? Both strong-bodied and strong-flavoured, itÔÇÖs the richness of the wine and the heaviness of the cheese that makes this historical pairing a major feature after desert time and time again, and I’m sure it will continue to be passed down the generations.
I am about to break the culinary code to you my fellow foodies, and your entire belief system concerning taste and food in general will never be the same again. It isnÔÇÖt the taste and touch of food that provides us with what we know as the ÔÇÿflavourÔÇÖ, it is in fact the smell of the food itself that defines what we put in our mouth and how we experience it. In fact, taste and touch only put in 20% of the work when tingling your taste buds and tickling your palate. Who would have thought after all this time your nose had been the star player of your dining experience and the main character of your mouth? 80% is all down to nasal work, with sweet, salty, bitter, and sour all up for grabs.
This all comes down to the pairingÔÇÖs individual aromatic components, all of which every type of food contains. Some foods have a stronger aroma (essentially the stuff that gives it a smell) than others (like cheese for example). So when paired, their shared key aroma components come together in a delicious union. In fact, our sense of smell poses more power than we realise, capable of detecting up to 10,000 different odorant molecules associated with aroma and food smell, making our overall food experience one of the heavenly kind.
Think of it like Tinder for food aromas. If two foods stumble across each other that are also on the same page aromatically then there is a high chance they will get it on and you will be able to taste the benefits of this match. Cherry and asparagus are a fruit match made in heaven due to both possessing green and floral aromas ÔÇô a sweet duo that will last the long run once together, releasing all sorts of flavours along the way.
If you ever tucked into a slice of citrus fruit with a glass of milk then you would be seriously judged by a trophologist, and probably anyone else for that matter. Those who practice trophology believe that the different digestion rates of food should be considered when pairing different foods to ensure toxin-free digestion and increase nutrient absorption and weight loss. Trophologists swear by non-starchy vegetable and protein combinations yet they advise against pairing starches with proteins to avoid indigestion.
Texture pairing accompanies aromatic pairings as the textures of food also make your dining experience extremely different when paired with the right feeling foods. LetÔÇÖs be honest you have probably never deeped the classic rich tea with a comforting cupper pairing. The way the tea greets the biscuit in a wet, warm embrace triggering it to fall into a crumbly mess in your mouth, and melt onto your tongue is a love language that speaks to any tea lover. If I told you that the pre-wetting of the biscuit brings out the flavour and encourages a more palate-cleansing texture you probably wouldnÔÇÖt be surprised, but this is the science behind the great British dunk and it all comes down to amplifying texture!
Therefore, when aiming to impress your fellow guests at dinner after enjoying a delectable starter of gouda and salami, instead of exclaiming “My goodness how tasty!ÔÇØ why donÔÇÖt you use “that duo was exceptionally complementary due itÔÇÖs shared aromatic components”. Scientifically true and extra in every way.
