Have you ever wondered why we pair certain foods together? Pickles with deli sandwiches but not with pasta? Peanut butter and chocolate? A recent article from NPR's blog The Salt delves into a study completed recently by Rutgers and the Monell Chemical Senses Center in Philadelphia. Paul Breslin is an experimental psychologist with Rutgers and reported to NPR that "lots of things come together to make flavor,
whether it's hot, cold, lubricating, how it smells, what we taste. Flavor is an
incredibly multisensory sensation." The study was published in Current Biology. The study shows that fatty foods and astringent foods pair well as fatty foods create a viscous sensation while the 'astringent' food could be tea, beer, wine, acids: citrus. Overall, our mouths strive for balance.
University of Cambridge scientists were able to create a "global flavor map" to further look into food pairings and why North American recipes differ from Asian cuisine. Part of food pairings come from a cultural and scientific blend.
