The Art and Science of Foodpairing: 10,000 Flavour Matches That Will Transform the Way You Eat

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Smell - Including how people smell and perceive aromas; why smell is essential to the eating experience. Using the supercomputer Watson, and other sources this book helps combine flavors that you would not think are compatible with meals that are flavor compatible. On the side, there are also eye-catching. When humans taste a food, they are processing its taste 80 percent through the nose -- via the food's aromatic molecules -- and only 20 percent on the tongue. We can conclude then that knowing the aromatic molecular properties of a food is critical to pairing foods successfully for ultimate taste. This exciting new book explains why the food combinations we know and love work so well together (strawberries + chocolate, for example) and opens up a whole new world of delicious pairings (strawberries + parmesan, say) that will transform the way we eat. With ten times more pairings than any other book on flavour, plus the science behind flavours explained, Foodpairing will become THE go-to reference for flavour and an instant classic for anyone interested in how to eat well. But say we add almonds and basil to our chocolate dessert: suddenly, Group B becomes more complex, as we now have five contrasting ingredients to balance in terms of taste and texture. One way to get around the issue of too many items overcrowding the plate is to limit yourself to just a few ingredients that offer a diverse range of contrasting profiles.

Foodpairing is a method for identifying which foods go well together, based on groundbreaking scientific research that combines neurogastronomy (how the brain perceives flavour) with the analysis of aroma profiles derived from the chemical components of food.It is not just about the number of different ingredients you use—aromatic complexity comes together in various forms on the plate (see chart below). Your ingredients can have many aroma molecules in common like those in Group C, or be very different from each other, like those in Group D. But as Group E shows, seemingly unrelated elements can form a coherent whole. Perceiving complexity The columns of colored dots correspond to the 14 different aroma types, so the horizontal rows of dots represent the aroma profiles for the main ingredient and the pairings. A fascinating, thought provoking, palette-teasing read for anyone interested in food' - New York Journal of Books

There is a world of exciting flavour combinations out there and when they work it's incredibly exciting' - Heston Blumenthal There is a world of exciting flavour combinations out there and when they work it's incredibly exciting" - Heston BlumenthalHowever, even trained professionals are not good at identifying odors. This book comes to the rescue by naming and cataloguing over 10,000 different food related smells, known as volatile organic compounds. These are then paired to create combinations of ingredients or recipes. As the authors state, “The premise that ingredients that share the same key defining aroma molecules taste good together is the scientific basis of our creative methodology.”

A large dot means that the main ingredient and the complementary pairing share a specific aroma molecule for that particular type. How to begin pairing As an instructor at one of the world’s top culinary schools, James Briscione thought he knew how to mix and match ingredients. Then he met IBM Watson. Working with the supercomputer to turn big data into delicious recipes, Briscione realized that he (like most chefs) knew next to nothing about why different foods taste good together. That epiphany launched him on a quest to understand the molecular basis of flavor—and it led, in time, to The Flavor Matrix . When you are learning to work with aromas, start with no more than five ingredients—this makes it easier to maintain balance as you refine your pairings. In addition to your choice of ingredients and the personal or cultural preferences of your diners, optimizing complexity is determined by the following elements: the total number of different aroma molecules present in a recipe; the type of aroma types and descriptors each ingredient contributes to a dish, and whether they share any similarities; in addition to which taste molecules are also present. The more distinguishable elements stand out in your dish, the more complex it becomes. Freshly peeled garlic gives off only a faint smell, but as soon as you slice, smash or chop the cloves the odor becomes pungent and so strong that it can be hard to wash off your fingers. Damaging the cell walls of a garlic clove triggers the release of an odurless sulphur compound called alliin. Enzymes known as alliinase break down the alliin, forming new volatiles called allicin—the major aroma compound in chopped garlic. Summary: This is good if you are very into food and mixing together random stuff. For those that do this naturally, it's a nice reiteration, but not earth shattering. For those that can only use a recipe, this may be quite a bit more insightful as to why there are those that don't need one.

Expand your search by looking up the grid for one of the suggested pairings, and start building aromatic bridges between different ingredients. The Art & Science of Foodpairing. Firefly Books Contrasting textures The flavor matrix” book does contain some recipes; however, the recipes are a little too exotic for everyday use. The science behind this book is complex, based on the importance of our sense of smell to the flavor of everything we eat and drink. Most people associate the flavor of their food with taste, yet all of us have endured tasteless food when we have a head cold. Eighty percent of the flavor of food comes from its smell. Our sense of smell is so sensitive, that we are able to differentiate at least one trillion different scents.

This groundbreaking new book explains why the food combinations we know and love work so well together (strawberries + chocolate, for example) and opens up a whole new world of delicious pairings (strawberries + parmesan, say) that will transform the way we eat. With ten times more pairings than any other book on flavour, plus the science behind flavours explained, Foodpairing will become THE go-to reference for flavour and an instant classic for anyone interested in how to eat well. The length and/or height of each wavy band of color indicates the concentration of an aroma type present. To illustrate what we mean by complexity, let’s refer to the chart at right: Types of aromatic complexity. Firefly Books Some ingredients are represented by small aroma wheels, which convey the key aroma descriptors in a simplified form. How to read a pairing grid Remember that every ingredient you use will register some sort of effect on the trigeminal nerve, whether it is a tactile sensation, temperature-related, astringency, fattiness, pungency, numbness, a cooling sensation or the mild burn of alcohol. As you create your dish, be sure to take into account these sensations as they will all have some bearing on the gastrophysical experience. Aroma types and descriptions. Firefly Books Aromatic complexity

Now, let’s test this on a model ingredient: chopped garlic. An aroma wheel for chopped garlic. Firefly Books Applying the science Foodpairing(R) has the potential to transform our food choices with outcomes that include good health as well as the power to alleviate boredom. The same dinner, the same staples. We get bored, our children get bored. Foodpairing(R), even without adding anything new to the pantry, can alleviate that. The diagram on the left charts the correlation between the perceived complexity of a dish and a person’s affinity for that dish based on hedonic variables like aroma, flavor, taste, texture, and appearance. We can see that most people respond positively to added complexity, but only up to a certain point. Their interest tends to wane once too many elements begin to overcomplicate a dish. Optimizing complexity Garlic was also important in ancient Greece, Rome and China; the Roman poet Horace described it as being so potent that it could send your lover to the other side of the bed, and the Greek philosopher Theophrastus noted that several types were grown in Greece. The omnivore's dilemma - Including the conflict between playing safe and boredom, and the search for variety and novelty; learned food association; acquired tastes.