Food pairing (or flavor pairing or food combination) is a method of identifying which

food Food is any substance consumed by an organism for Nutrient, nutritional support. Food is usually of plant, animal, or Fungus, fungal origin and contains essential nutrients such as carbohydrates, fats, protein (nutrient), proteins, vitamins, ...

s go well together from a flavor standpoint, often based on individual tastes, popularity, availability of ingredients, and traditional cultural practices. From a food science perspective, food pairing was an idea popular during the early 2000s that foods that share key

chemical compounds A chemical compound is a chemical substance composed of many identical molecules (or molecular entities) containing atoms from more than one chemical element held together by chemical bonds. A molecule consisting of atoms of only one element ...

or flavor components taste good together. This has since been debunked.

Examples

One general pairing that is and has been very commonly used, cited as a response in "your favorite food" or "food that you can eat every day" surveys and seen in recipe videos, websites or books globally is: * A starchy item (generally one of

bread Bread is a baked food product made from water, flour, and often yeast. It is a staple food across the world, particularly in Europe and the Middle East. Throughout recorded history and around the world, it has been an important part of many cu ...

rice Rice is a cereal grain and in its Domestication, domesticated form is the staple food of over half of the world's population, particularly in Asia and Africa. Rice is the seed of the grass species ''Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice)—or, much l ...

pasta Pasta (, ; ) is a type of food typically made from an Leavening agent, unleavened dough of wheat flour mixed with water or Eggs as food, eggs, and formed into sheets or other shapes, then cooked by boiling or baking. Pasta was originally on ...

) and some combination of

meat Meat is animal Tissue (biology), tissue, often muscle, that is eaten as food. Humans have hunted and farmed other animals for meat since prehistory. The Neolithic Revolution allowed the domestication of vertebrates, including chickens, sheep, ...

cheese Cheese is a type of dairy product produced in a range of flavors, textures, and forms by coagulation of the milk protein casein. It comprises proteins and fat from milk (usually the milk of cows, buffalo, goats or sheep). During prod ...

, tomatoes, onions, and green vegetables (including in burgers,

sandwich A sandwich is a Dish (food), dish typically consisting variously of meat, cheese, sauces, and vegetables used as a filling between slices of bread, or placed atop a slice of bread; or, more generally, any dish in which bread serves as a ''co ...

es,

shawarma Shawarma (; ) is a Middle Eastern dish that originated in the Levant during the Ottoman Empire, consisting of meat that is cut into thin slices, stacked in an inverted cone, and roasted on a slow-turning vertical spit. Traditionally made with l ...

taco A taco (, , ) is a traditional Mexican cuisine, Mexican dish consisting of a small hand-sized corn tortilla, corn- or Flour tortilla, wheat-based tortilla topped with a Stuffing, filling. The tortilla is then folded around the filling and fing ...

pizza Pizza is an Italian cuisine, Italian, specifically Neapolitan cuisine, Neapolitan, dish typically consisting of a flat base of Leavening agent, leavened wheat-based dough topped with tomato, cheese, and other ingredients, baked at a high t ...

sushi is a traditional Japanese dish made with , typically seasoned with sugar and salt, and combined with a variety of , such as seafood, vegetables, or meat: raw seafood is the most common, although some may be cooked. While sushi comes in n ...

, chicken and rice and spaghetti and meatballs) Pairings where the flavors of two foods specifically complement one another include: * Bacon and cabbage * Chocolate milk * Duck à l'orange * Ham and eggs * Hawaiian pizza * Liver and onions * Peanut butter and jelly * Pork chops and applesauce

Food science

Experimenting with salty ingredients and

chocolate Chocolate is a food made from roasted and ground cocoa beans that can be a liquid, solid, or paste, either by itself or to flavoring, flavor other foods. Cocoa beans are the processed seeds of the cacao tree (''Theobroma cacao''); unprocesse ...

around the year 2000, chef Heston Blumenthal concluded that

caviar Caviar or caviare is a food consisting of salt-cured roe of the family Acipenseridae. Caviar is considered a delicacy and is eaten as a garnish or spread. Traditionally, the term caviar refers only to roe from wild sturgeon in the Caspi ...

and white chocolate were a perfect match. To find out why, he contacted a flavor scientist at Firmenich, the flavor manufacturer. By comparing the flavor analysis of both foods, they found that caviar and white chocolate had major flavor components in common. Based on this, the idea of "food pairing" was borne, that tasty food combinations could be created by looking for shared chemicals. Early combinations, including chocolate and blue cheese, and pork liver and jasmine received acclaim and media attention. However, systematic analyses performed during the 2010s found the technique could not predict what pairings would be considered good.

References

{{Reflist Food science Flavors

Examples

Food science

See also

References