Debate Simmers Over Science of Food Pairing 111
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.'"
Re:Food Pairing not really a problem... (Score:4, Interesting)
I'm a plate turner...not quite as bad as when I was young..but I just don't like my foods mixed.
When I'd eat..I'd have multiple things on my plate..but I'd eat all of one thing..finish is, then often, literally turn the plate to eat the next thing in succession (I don't recall if always clockwise or counter clockwise or if there was a pattern...likely just the next best thing)...eat that..then turn.....etc.
As a kid, my favorite thing, was those plates that had compartments..so that one food didn't touch the other food.
Hence, in my example above..of late nights on weekends in college...going to Denny's I'd order spaghetti and meatballs or something...and a side of fries, things that don't generally pair...but was ok for me, since I'd eat all the spaghetti...then, turn my attention to the fries.
I find I don't usually drink and eat at the same time, even to this day. I don't wash my food down.
For years, i've been trying to make a concerted effort to change this at least for wine...so I can do like most say, and enjoy a good wine paired with a meal. I used to get pissed when eating with others...I'd drink a bit of wine that came before the meal...but during the meal, I'd stop drinking...and when the meal was over, since the others hadn't stopped drinking and eating together...the wine often was gone....
While I'm not as bad as I used to be...if I don't think about it...I still do the one food at a time thing to a great extent.
I love to cook, but one of my downfalls is that I've not grown up learning what foods do go well together when planning menus for others. To me, I'm just usually concerned about each individual dish's flavor...but not how they integrate into a meal...when enjoyed by others that eat a bit of this and a bit of that all through the meal.