Foodpairing: art or science? By foodpairing.com it is definitely a science.

According to foodpairing.com, the flavour experience is mainly constituted by the sense of smell. Our nose can recognize about 10,000 aroma molecules which are linked to specific fragrances and aromas. Instead, our mouth and tongue detect just five basic tastes: bitter, sour, salt, sweet, umami. Finally, the touch registers the texture of the food.

On the basis of the article of foodpairing.com the 80% of the flavour experience depends on the sense of smell; taste and touch contribute just for the remaining 20%.

For this reason the key to create great combinations is to put together foods with similar aroma profiles. The same is for food recipes: for a balanced recipe use ingredients with complementary aroma profiles, but play with different tastes and textures.

Source: www.foodpairing.com

Inspired by foodpairing.com, our proposal for the winter season: the artichoke is slightly astringent and presents vegetal notes; we suggest to taste it with cheeses made with vegetal rennet or cheeses with aroma of grass and pasture.