Food Pairings: An investigation into why foods pair well together PDF

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TABLE OF CONTENTS Declaration …………………………………………………………….. (i) Abstract ………………………………………………………………... (ii) Acknowledgements ………………………………………………….... (iv) TABLE OF CONTENTS ............................................................................ 1 List of Figures ..........................................

Description

TABLE OF CONTENTS Declaration …………………………………………………………….. (i) Abstract ………………………………………………………………... (ii) Acknowledgements ………………………………………………….... (iv)

TABLE OF CONTENTS ............................................................................ 1 List of Figures ............................................................................................. 6 List of Abbreviations .................................................................................. 8

CHAPTER ONE ....................................................................................... 9 1. Introduction ............................................................................................. 9 1.1 Background to the Research ................................................................. 9 1.2 Aims and Objectives ........................................................................... 12 1.3 Structure of the Research .................................................................... 13

CHAPTER TWO .................................................................................... 14 2. Review of the Literature ....................................................................... 14 2.1 Definition of Food Pairing .................................................................. 14 2.2 Seasonality .......................................................................................... 15 2.3 Comparable Flavour Compounds ....................................................... 15 2.4 Geographical Influences ..................................................................... 18 2.5 The Human Element: Individuality .................................................... 19 2.5.1 The Gustatory and Olfactory Senses................................................ 20 2.5.2 The Power of Memory ..................................................................... 21 2.6 New Equipment and Textures ............................................................. 22 2.7 Existing Food Pairing Methods .......................................................... 23 2.7.1 Periodic Table of Foods ................................................................... 23 2.7.2 Food Pairing Explorer ...................................................................... 24

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2.7.3 Flavour Bouncing............................................................................. 25 2.8 Traditional Food Pairing Approaches ................................................. 25 2.9 Summary of the Chapter ..................................................................... 26

CHAPTER THREE ................................................................................ 27 3. Research Design and Methods .............................................................. 27 3.1 Procedural Flow Diagram of the Research ......................................... 27 3.2 Aims and Objectives of the Research Revisited ................................. 28 3.3 Research Approach ............................................................................. 29 3.4 Quantitative Study .............................................................................. 29 3.5 Qualitative Study ................................................................................ 30 3.5.1 Workshop and Tasting Sessions ...................................................... 31 3.6 Letters to Respected Authorities ......................................................... 39 3.6.1 Foodpairing.com .............................................................................. 39 3.6.2 François Chartier .............................................................................. 40 3.6.3 Firmenich ......................................................................................... 40 3.6.4 Dr. Rachel Edwards-Stuart .............................................................. 41 3.6.5 Yong-Yeol Ahn ................................................................................ 41 3.6.6 Martin Lersch ................................................................................... 42 3.7 Summary of the Chapter ..................................................................... 42

CHAPTER FOUR ................................................................................... 43 4. Presentation of Findings ....................................................................... 43 4.1 Online Survey ..................................................................................... 43 4.1.1 What is your Cooking Skill Level? .................................................. 44 4.1.2 What Flavour Pairings do you associate with Roast Pork? ............. 45 4.1.3 What Flavour Pairings do you associate with Roast Beef? ............. 46 4.1.4 What Flavour Pairings do you associate with Roast Lamb?............ 47

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4.1.5 What Flavour Pairings do you associate with Roast Chicken?........ 48 4.1.6 What Flavour Pairings do you associate with Sardines? ................. 49 4.1.7 What Flavour Pairings have you tried that you would consider “Unusual”? ................................................................................................ 50 4.1.8 Would you be willing to try a dish that was composed of: Garlic, Coffee and Chocolate? .............................................................................. 53 4.1.9 Would you be willing to try a dish that was composed of: Sardine, Raspberry, Sourdough Bread, Chili, Olive Oil? ....................................... 54 4.1.10 Have you heard of Flavour/Food Pairing and if so which of the following resources have you used or are familiar with? ......................... 55 4.2 eGullet Forum Discussion................................................................... 55 4.3 Workshop and Tasting Sessions ......................................................... 56 4.3.1 Hedonic Scale Interpretation for Analysing Tasting Workshops .... 56 4.3.2 Roast Pork and Apple Sauce ............................................................ 57 4.3.3 Roast Beef and Horseradish Sauce .................................................. 58 4.3.4 Roast Leg of Lamb and Mint Sauce ................................................ 60 4.3.5 Sardine and Raspberry ..................................................................... 61 4.3.6 Banana and Tomato ......................................................................... 62 4.4 Letters to Respected Authorities ......................................................... 63 4.5 Summary of the Chapter ..................................................................... 63

CHAPTER FIVE .................................................................................... 65 5. Discussion/Analysis of Findings........................................................... 65 5.1 Online Survey ..................................................................................... 65 5.1.1 What is your Cooking Skill Level? .................................................. 65 5.1.2 What Flavour Pairings do you associate with Roast Pork? ............. 66 5.1.3 What Flavour Pairings do you associate with Roast Beef? ............. 67

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5.1.4 What Flavour Pairings do you associate with Lamb? ...................... 68 5.1.5 What Flavour Pairings do you associate with Chicken? .................. 69 5.1.6 What Flavour Pairings do you associate with Sardines? ................. 70 5.1.7 What Flavour Pairings have you tried that you would consider "Unusual"? ................................................................................................ 71 5.1.8 Would you be willing to try a dish that was composed of; Garlic, Coffee & Chocolate?................................................................................. 73 5.1.9 Would you be willing to try a dish that was composed of; Sardine, Raspberry, Sourdough Bread, Chilli, Olive Oil? ...................................... 74 5.1.10 Have you heard of Flavour/Food Pairing and if so which of the following resources have you used or are familiar with? ......................... 74 5.2 eGullet Forum Discussion................................................................... 76 5.2.1 The Humoral Theory........................................................................ 76 5.2.2 Hot and Cold .................................................................................... 77 5.2.3 Nutritional Complementarity ........................................................... 77 5.2.4 Memory, Emotion, Human Connection ........................................... 77 5.2.5 Forum Feedback............................................................................... 78 5.3 Workshop and Tasting Sessions ......................................................... 79 5.3.1 Pork and Apple Sauce ...................................................................... 80 5.3.2 Beef and Horseradish Sauce ............................................................ 81 5.3.3 Roast Leg of Lamb and Mint Sauce ................................................ 82 5.3.4 Sardine and Raspberry ..................................................................... 82 5.3.5 Banana and Tomato ......................................................................... 83 5.4 Summary of the Chapter ..................................................................... 84

CHAPTER SIX ....................................................................................... 85 1. Conclusion and Recommendations ..................................................... 85

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REFERENCES ........................................................................................ 87 BIBLIOGRAPHY ................................................................................... 91

APPENDICES ......................................................................................... 93 Appendix 1: eGullet Society for Culinary Arts & Letters thread ............. 93 Appendix 2: E-mail correspondence with flavourpairing.com (Bernard Lahousse) ................................................................................................ 113 Appendix 3: E-mail to François Chartier ................................................ 121 Appendix 4: E-mail to Dr. Rachel Edwards-Stuart ................................ 124 Appendix 5: E-mail to Yong-Yeol Ahn .................................................. 127 Appendix 6: Food pairing workshop consent form and questionnaire ... 130 Appendix 7: Brine recipe ........................................................................ 135 Appendix 8: Apple sauce recipe ............................................................. 135 Appendix 9: Horseradish sauce recipe .................................................... 136 Appendix 10: Mint sauce recipe ............................................................. 136 Appendix 11: Raspberry espuma ............................................................ 136 Appendix 12: Sourdough bread .............................................................. 137 Appendix 13: Sardines ............................................................................ 138 Appendix 14: Poached banana ................................................................ 138 Appendix 15: Ketchup ice-cream ........................................................... 139

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List of Figures

Figure 1: Structure of the research .......................................................................... 13 Figure 2: Turbot food pairing tree ........................................................................... 24 Figure 3: Procedural flow diagram of the research ...........................................27-28 Figure 4: Roast pork with apples ............................................................................. 32 Figure 5: Beef volatile compounds and aroma/texture/flavours ........................... 34 Figure 6: Roast lamb, mint and sherry vinegar ...................................................... 35 Figure 7: Sardines with raspberry and vinegars .................................................... 37 Figure 8: Banana and tomato Foodpairing tree...................................................... 38 Figure 9: What is your cooking skill level? ............................................................. 44 Figure 10: What flavour pairings do you associate with roast pork? ................... 45 Figure 11: What flavour pairings do you associate with roast beef? .................... 46 Figure 12: What flavour pairings do you associate with lamb? ............................ 47 Figure 13: What flavour pairings do you associate with chicken?........................ 48 Figure 14: What flavour pairings do you associate with sardines?....................... 49 Figure 15: Unusual food pairing suggestions .....................................................50-53 Figure 16: Would you be willing to try a dish that was composed of; garlic, coffee & chocolate? ............................................................................................................... 53 Figure 17: Would you be willing to try a dish that was composed of; sardine, raspberry, sourdough bread, chili, olive oil? ........................................................... 54 Figure 18: Have you heard of flavour/food pairing and if so which of the following resources have you used or are familiar with? ........................................................ 55 Figure 19: Roast pork and apple sauce .................................................................... 57 Figure 20: Cross tabulation percentages for pork and apple ................................ 57 Figure 21: Roast beef and horseradish sauce .......................................................... 58 Figure 22: Cross tabulation percentages for beef and horseradish ...................... 59 Figure 23: Roast leg of lamb and mint sauce .......................................................... 60 Figure 24: Cross tabulation percentages for lamb and mint ................................. 60 Figure 25: Sardine and raspberry ............................................................................ 61 Figure 26: Cross tabulation percentages for sardine and raspberry .................... 61

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Figure 27: Banana and tomato ................................................................................. 62 Figure 28: Cross tabulation percentages for banana and tomato ......................... 63 Figure 29: Mackerel and elderflower....................................................................... 72 Figure 30: Ham and chocolate .................................................................................. 73 Figure 31: Positive responses to knowledge of suggested resources...................... 75

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List of Abbreviations

DIT

Dublin Institute of Technology

IBM

The International Business Machines Corporation

VCF 2000

Volatile Compounds in Food Database 2000

GC-MS

Gas Chromatography coupled Mass Spectrometry

TGRWT

They Go Really Well Together

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CHAPTER ONE

1. Introduction

This chapter presents the background to the research and the aims and objectives. The contribution and the structure of the study are also described.

1.1 Background to the Research

Food pairing is the combination of two or more ingredients in a recipe or dish which when eaten together are pleasing to the palate. There are numerous outside forces which affect the success of such pairings, such as similar flavour components and an individuals’ personal tastes. The creativity, skill and knowledge of the cook also play a role in the assembly of the dish. But is there a science behind food pairing?

The consumption of food is typically a multimodal experience, with the term flavour used to describe the holistic sensory experience we have during eating. At its most basic, it captures the joint sensations of taste and olfaction. However, in a wider sense, flavour covers all sensory experiences related to food intake, both chemical (such as smell, taste, chemical irritation and pain) and nonchemical (for example, the temperature, mouth feel, the visual appearance of the food and the sounds it makes when we eat it). (Newcomb and Ohla, 2013)

There are several factors which contribute to food/flavour pairing: 

Seasonality – grouse and cepes. The grouse and cep season occur at the same time of the year and have been traditionally associated with each other as a good flavour pairing

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Personal taste – truffle and eggs. Some people just don’t like them and not all people have equally sensitive olfactory receptors, approximately 33% of the population cannot smell truffles (Barham, 2001)

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Comparable flavour compounds – caviar and white chocolate. The hypothesis for these foods tasting well together is as a result of shared volatile molecules

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Geography – Nattō (Japanese fermented beans) and rice, dashi and umami. Before the advancement of transportation of foods it was only possible to pair foods that were from the same region

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Memories and instincts can also play an important role in our dining experience and have shaped the food culture that exists today. Moments in time that we associate with certain food pairings can have a more favourable acceptability for an individual, in a positive or a negative manner

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It is estimated that 20% of our gustatory experience comes from taste and the other 80% comes from smell and aroma. Understanding the anatomy of the olfactory senses shows the importance of the study of aroma, food/flavour pairings and volatile flavour molecules (Lersch, 2010)

A gustatory or olfactory experience is often accompanied by an arousing, thought provoking memory. Taste and the olfactory senses direct our primitive biological memories by arousing emotions of intense pleasure or revulsion that are stored in our brains, shaping our future choices. (Fischer and Scott, 1997) These memories and instincts play an important role in our dining and have shaped the food culture that exists today. It had been generally accepted that food pairing is a skill, taught and learned by cooks, and not something that is a precise science.

Good cooking does not depend on whether the dish is large or small, expensive or economical. If one has the art, then a piece of celery or salted cabbage can be made into a marvellous delicacy; whereas if one has not the art, all the greatest delicacies and rarities of land, sea or sky are of no avail. (Waley, 1970)

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The subject of culture and geography play a hugely significant role in how foods are eaten and paired together. A recent study titled “The flavor network and the principles of food pairing” investigated the food pairing hypothesis in detail and determined that more emphasis is put on ethnic, tradition and cultural differences in cuisines than chemistry. The investigation states that western dishes tend to use foods that share similar flavour compounds, whereas East Asian foods tend to avoid flavour compound sharing ingredients and supports the idea that food pairing in Western society is based on a provable scientific theory.

Pairing one food type with another food type has been experimented with since humans began evolving and some of these pairings have become traditional mainstays in those societies and tradition encapsulates both seasonality and culture. Some foods have been chosen because they taste good with each other while others not only complement the food flavour but also have the added bonus of helping with the digestion of the food it is paired or eaten with. The pairing of meats with condiments like apples or mustards is an age old practice that makes sense because they ‘work’ together or complement each other and help with the digestive proce...