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

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Foodpairing(R) - What it is, how it works, methodology; the database; how to create a well-balanced recipe. The omnivore's dilemma - Including the conflict between playing safe and boredom, and the search for variety and novelty; learned food association; acquired tastes. Aroma - Including the importance of aroma to our flavor experience; how we change aromas by cooking; how ingredients create different or similar results; building your aroma library. Smell - Including how people smell and perceive aromas; why smell is essential to the eating experience. The Foodpairing(R) directory - 10 pairings per food, 10 per cooking method, 10,000 combinations in total. The book also covers key food characteristics, aroma profiles, classic dishes, contemporary combinations, scientific explanations, special features and contributions from some of the world's greatest chefs for the top 150 ingredients, and much more. 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. Foodpairing(R) - What it is, how it works, methodology; the database; how to create a well-balanced recipe. 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 Smell - Including how people smell and perceive aromas; why smell is essential to the eating experience.

The Art and Science of Foodpairing provides a fascinating, thought provoking, palette-teasing read for anyone interested in food.”The Art and Science of Foodpairing(R) provides 10,000 flavor matches laid out in taste wheels and color keys. When cooks go to one ingredient, they will find 10 food pairings and a color wheel revealing the taste results. For example, boiled beets will taste less like the earth they grew in and more like cheese if they are paired with coffee, and cauliflower sprinkled with cocoa could turn the fussiest child into a veggie fiend.

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. Garlic has been valued for culinary and medicinal purposes since ancient times. The pungent cloves are listed among the ingredients for Babylonian recipes such as wild fowl pie that were etched onto clay tablets in Akkadian cuneiform script around 1750 BC, forming part of what is believed to be the world’s oldest cookbook, while the ancient Egyptians fed their slaves porridge with garlic to increase their stamina and productivity. Evidence of the importance of the ‘stinking rose’ in ancient Egyptian culture can be found in the form of hieroglyphic inscriptions, illustrations and sculptures discovered in the tombs of pharaohs—along with traces of actual garlic. 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 There is a world of exciting flavour combinations out there and when they work it’s incredibly exciting”– Heston BlumenthalWhat is foodpairing? It is not the familiar and mundane matching of wine and food or even food and food, but it is certainly all about creating the most delicious culinary results possible. 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. Group A shows three ingredients that share strong aromatic links. Chocolate, caramel and coffee all contain roasted, caramellic and nutty notes. A dessert made using these ingredients would be an example of what we call ‘overtoning’, in which variations of similar-smelling ingredients result in a more subtle complexity than combining chocolate with the fruity, citrus and floral notes of raspberries would. Overtoning allows us to incorporate plenty of herbs, spices or other closely related ingredients in a dish without it turning into a cacophony of contrasting elements. I think this book has a lot of interesting information but as a professional Food Scientist who specializes in the sensory properties of food, I wish the author had gone about this differently.

p. 255 - "Texture has been proven to alter the way the brain perceives taste and flavor, and thus plays an overall role in the enjoyment of a meal." 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. 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. 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 p. 13 - He talks about complimentary vs balancing tastes. every person should know this if they plan on just being a great cook (not a chef, which is a different thing).While the science is intricate and often overwhelming for the non-scientific reader, there is plenty of good, practical information as well. The origin and history of each ingredient is explained, and there are many useful facts. For example: why roasted cauliflower has more flavor than boiled, that chopping garlic changes its aroma, and the reason why your vinaigrette could end up bitter. As well, there are offbeat nuggets like why and how Nutella was invented. Full Book Name: The Art and Science of Foodpairing: 10,000 flavour matches that will transform the way you eat There is a world of exciting flavour combinations out there and when they work it's incredibly exciting' - Heston Blumenthal The length and/or height of each wavy band of color indicates the concentration of an aroma type present. Once the food enters your mouth, chewing it releases yet more aromatic compounds, over a thousand individual compounds may be found in a single bite."

The wheel consists of two separate rings: the inner ring displays the fourteen different aroma types, and the broken outer ring indicates the concentrations of available aroma descriptors. 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 Now, let’s test this on a model ingredient: chopped garlic. An aroma wheel for chopped garlic. Firefly Books Applying the science Food pairing makes it easy to discover new ingredient combinations based on their aromatic matches, but that is not all there is to creating tantalizing dishes that will pique your palate. What can you do to take your recipes to the next level? As you make your selections, don’t forget to factor in taste and texture. Balancing the elements of flavor (aroma), taste and texture will add interesting depth and dimension to your dishes. Striking the right balance may sound simple in theory, but it is often the most difficult part of the job when you are in the kitchen. The basics in briefTo illustrate what we mean by complexity, let’s refer to the chart at right: Types of aromatic complexity. Firefly Books