How to Flavor Pair Like a Professional Chef

With a small kitchen with a cramped counter space, how can a regular person possibly cook like a culinary professional? The answer is simple: Flavor. Of course, location and environment is important as shown by last week readings, but the star of the show is always the food and if the flavors can be mind blowing, then the meal will be complete. This weeks articles and papers taught me that flavor pairing isn't as complex as it seems, and has a lot to do with the chemical composition of the specific food. According to "How to pair flavors, according to science", the easiest way to develop complex flavors in a dish is to take it one step at a time. Also, it tells us to pair each flavor in the food with an ingredient that enhances the flavor. For example, if a food tastes "nutty", adding nut components to the food will enhance the nuttiness and bring it out. The research paper about food pairs and culture also plays into how individual people can help flavor their dishes professionally. Based on the type of cuisine that is being made (Western, Asian, European), different flavor pairings are acceptable and bring out the cultural flavors.

This week's readings focused a lot on history and culture behind why different flavors are eaten together. For example, a sugar shortage led to the prevalence of eating salt and grapefruit together. It makes me wonder if ancient food pairing trends will eventually come back. Fashion wise, trends that were popular in the 20's are gaining momentum in the 21st century. Will this be the same for foods? Pairings like chicken, parsley, and cream that were insanely popular in the 1950's are coming back as it is seen as trendy to consume foods that are "vintage".

Another cultural question that I have is between Western and Asian cuisine. According to "Flavor network and the principles of food pairing", East asian countries are less likely to pair foods with flavor compounds that match. Does this mean that they base the foods that they pair together more on overall taste rather than internal chemistry? This difference might be another reason why the flavor of East Asian food is just so distinct while Western food is so unique.

The research paper also didn't specifically state WHY the most "authentic" East Asian ingredients didn't share many flavor compounds. I have a few theories for why it might be this way though (further research needs to be done). East Asian culture is very different than Western culture in that they are traditional in thinking and their history plays into it. Throughout their history, they were restricted from doing things and wasting ingredients, as ordered by a higher up official. My grandparents, influenced by this culture, rarely experiment with different flavors and stick to the same old recipes. Therefore, the ingredients that were prevalent back in time (scallions, soy sauce, rice) continue to be used, no matter what the chemistry says.

Looking at top ingredients, North American ones seem to be tied to dessert making (EX; milk, butter, vanilla, egg) while East Asian ingredients are focused more on savory dishes. This also shows cultural differences. In China, there usually isn't a "dessert" dish but in North America, dessert menus are offered at almost every restaurant. The chemistry behind desserts are also different than chemistry behind savory dishes. The chemistry in desserts are more important and need to be taken into account when using ingredients, which might be another reason where there are more compound overlaps in North American "authentic" ingredients.

Next time you stand in your kitchen thinking about what to eat for dinner, keep this chart in mind. With these amazing flavor combinations, cooking like a professional chef shouldn't be a problem!.