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Last updated 2008-12-27
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When we say that something tastes nice, what we are talking about has more to do with smell than with taste. It is estimated that 20% of a tasting experience comes from taste, that is from the tongue, whereas 80% comes from the smell or the aroma. Our tongue has about 9000 taste buds that are capable of detecting sweet, salt, sour and bitter (in order of increasing sensitivity). In comparison, we have around 5-10 million cells or receptors capable of detecting smell. There are about 1000 different smell receptors and they allow us to distinguish more than 10.000 different smells! This is possible because a specific volatile molecule can trigger more than one receptor. It is the combined response from these receptors that we perceive as a certain smell. The Nobel Prize in medicine for 2004 was awarded to Linda Buck and Richard Axel for their "discoveries of odorant receptors and the organization of the olfactory system".
Based on the fact that aroma of foods is so important for the way we perceive them, a hypothesis can be put forward: if the major volatile molecules of to foods are the same, they might taste (and smell) nice when eaten together. The concept was first appreciated by Firmenich scientist François Benzi. At one the first International workshops on molecular gastronomy in Erice, he got the idea that jasmin and pork liver which both contain indole could possibly work well together. And they did!
Experimenting with salty ingredients and chocolate, Heston Blumenthal discovered that caviar and white chocolate are a perfect match. François Benzi found that caviar and white chocolate had several amines in common. Since then, Heston Blumenthal has searched a commercial database with information on the contents of more than 7000 volatile molecules in several hundred different foods. Based on this, he has come up with a number of unusual combinations (from egullet.org and other sources). Some of the combinations are also from Herve This. The links are to Heston Blumenthal's own recipes.
- White chocolate and caviar (trimethylamine)
- Strawberry and coriander
- Strawberry, celery leaves and mint
- Mango and pine extract
- Green peppercorn jelly and beetroot
- Snails and Beetroot (the flavor molecule that contributes to the earthiness in each of these is the same. It also exists in spinach and baby corn)
- Chocolate and pink peppercorn
- Carrot and violet (ionone is the main pairing molecule here)
- Carrot and coriander seeds
- Mango and violet
- Mango and pine
- Pineapple, blue cheese and white wine (methyl hexanoate)
- Caraway and lavender are surprisingly interchangeable
- Cauliflower (caramelized) and cocoa
- Liver and Jasmine (indole)
- Cooked cheese (like Parmesan and Gruyere) and honey (with a slightly chestnut character)
- Banana and parsley
- Banana and cloves
- Harissa (chili paste) and dried apricot
- Chocolate and smoked eel (and possibly other smoked flavours as well?)
- Chocolate and meat (pyrazines)
- Coffee, cooked meat, popcorn, canned tuna, slightly roasted white sesam seeds and yeast extracts (2-furfurylthiol and 2-methyl-3-furanethiol)
- Garlic, coffe and chocolate. Garlic and chocolate don't have much in common, but both have something in common with coffe (original blogpost, cooking challenge: TGRWT #1).
- Salmon and licorice
- Oyster and passion fruit (methyl hexanoate)
- Oyster and kiwi (methyl hexanoate)
- Pineapple and hop (methyl hexanoate)
- Chocolate and caraway (or: sauerkraut, aquavit etc.)
- Chocolate and sage
- Chocolate and tobacco
- Chocolate, peanut and merlot vinegar
- Chocolate and red wine
- Mint and mustard
- Parsnip, pear and vanilla
- Minced meat and caramel
- Orange and butternut squash
- Apple and lavender
- Onions, cinnamon, olives and caramel
- Cocoa and mushrooms
- Stilton and rhubarb
- Chantarelle and apricot
- Hazelnut and nutmeg
- Honey/caramel and truffles
- Sweet white wine and pea shoots
- Cranberries and pistachio
- Semolina pudding and red curry
- Parmesan mousse
- Olives, dried figs and brie
- Onion, garlic and coffee
- Chestnuts and praline
- Tomato and strawberry
- Aspargus and violet
- Potato, coffee and capers
- Basil (containing linalool, estagol and eugenol) can be substituted by a combination of coriander (linalool), estragol (tarragon, chervil or star anise) and cloves (eugenol)
- Try to use coffee in stead of stock for gravies
- Strawberries and tomatoes appear to be interchangeable
Databases which can be of interest for investigation of further flavour pairings:
- Volatile Compounds in Food
- Flavornet
- The good scents company - an elegant way to search for volatile compounds shared by two foods is to type the following in a google search box: "pineapple cheese site:http://www.thegoodscentscompany.com".
- Bernard Lahousse at plans to launch a website on flavour pairing soon
They all go surprisingly well together, and I guess the challenge for the cooks is to find a suitable way of presenting these dishes. I have only tried them in the simplest possible combinations
Remember to check out the books about aroma and taste.
Tags: molecular gastronomy, food science, popular science, cooking, food, chemistry, gastronomy, Heston Blumenthal, Fat Duck, flavor pairing, aroma, taste, Maillard
