The Art & Science of Foodpairing
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Contents
Introduction 7
8 The Story of Foodpairing
13 KeyAromas
18 Ott·action versus Gustation
22 The Importance ot' Aroma
25 Aroma Molecules
28 Building Your Aroma Library
30 How Foodpairing Wш·ks
Ingredients & Pairings 39
40 From Кiwi to Oyster: Кеу Ingredients & Pai1·ing Suggestions
lndex oflngredients 372
387 Glossai·y of UK & US Terms
387 Endnotes
387 Ackno\vledgements
388 About Foodpairing
5
6
Introduction
Some ingredient pairings may appear peculiar at first, but
only because we lack prior references. Consider Oaxcan
то/е negro, an intensely flavourful sauce served with
chicken, in which chocolate is а key ingredient. ln Japan,
China and Korea, red adzuki beans are mashed to а
paste, sweetened and turned into various sweet
confections and desserts, while ltalians drizzle balsamic
vinegar over their gelato.
lt just goes to show that there is no right or wrong way
to pair ingredients. Whether we are comfortaЫe winging
it in the kitchen or prefer to stick to recipes, most of the
ingredient pairings we encounter are intuitive. That's not
а bad thing, but intuitive pairings are generally limited to
familiar combinations, based either on our personal
preferences or on classic pairings with some cultural
basis. This is why many of us grow bored of our own
cooking. But once you look beyond the confines of your
own kitchen, you will find an infinite number of potential
pairings just waiting to Ье explored.
Since launching in 2007, Foodpairing has partnered
with noted chefs, bartenders and brands from around the
globe on some of the most exciting projects ever tasted.
ln this book, we will guide you through the history and
science of Foodpairing and explain why unusual pairings
like kiwi and oyster actually work. We will explore the
world of aromas and discuss their significance in the role
of recipe creation, and how scents are detected and
perceived as flavours Ьу our brains. You will learn to use
recipe-building tools and gain insights that only the
·world's top chefs have had access to until now. This book
is designed to inspire food and drink pairings that will
surprise, delight and impress.
7
The Story of Foodpairing
Bernard Lahousse
Why do some ingredients pair especially well together, while others do not? This is
а question that has undouЬtedly kept many of us in the food industry up at night.
lt was my keen interest in food science and gastronomy that led me to
Ьioengineering. ln 20051 began asking around to see if any chefs in Belgium were
interested in partnering with а food scientist to expand their culinary practices. Му first
collaborators were Michelin-starred chefs Sang-Hoon Degeimbre of �Air du Temps in
Liernu and КоЬе Desramaults of ln de Wulf in Dranouter. We met regularly to brainstorm
and discuss potential menu items they had in the works. lt was during one of our
sessions that Sang-Hoon asked, 'Bernard, why is it that when I smell kiwis, 1 also smell
the sea? Is that possiЫe?'
Fortunately, а fellow Ьioengineer Ьу the name of Jeroen Lammertyn had access to
gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) equipment. Together we ran an
aroma analysis and found that in addition to fruity esters, kiwis also contain
concentrations of green, grassy and fatty-scented aldehydes that have а marine-like
scent similar to that of oysters and other types of shellfish. The aromatic link between
these two seemingly unrelated ingredients formed the basis of our very first foodpairing
and so the kiwitre was born. Degeimbre's singular creation has since become а
signature dish оп the menu at �Air du Temps.
As I delved deeper into the science of foodpairings, 1 wondered if anyone else
The kiwitre
had puzzled over my hypothesis that complementary ingredients share key aromas. The story of Foodpairing starts with а dish
1 discovered that Fraщ:ois Benzi, а food chemist at the Swiss fragrance and flavour created Ьу chef Sang-Hoon Degeimbre: а raw
company Firmenich, had made а similar discovery in 1992. 1 contacted him and we oyster served over diced kiwi, with croutons
met several times in Geneva to discuss the notion that ingredients that pair well contain and а lime-infused coconut cream. Кiwi and
the same aroma molecules. oysters share а marine-like aroma note.
8
Ingredients that share key aromas taste good together
Franc;:ois Benzi and Heston Blumenthal share а discovery
Food chemist Franc;:ois Benzi was attending а symposium in Erice, ltaly in 1992
when he recognized the intoxicating scent of jasmine during а stroll through the
grounds of the conference centre. Pausing to consider the Ыossom's unique
aromatic signature, he recalled that in addition to the obvious floral notes, jasmine
contains the molecule indole, which is also present in liver. This led Benzi to wonder
if jasmine and liver would taste good together. Не conducted а tasting at the
symposium and found the pairing to Ье а success.
Several years later, British chef Heston Blumenthal of The Fat Duck in Bray was
experimenting with salty, savoury ingredients like cured duck, dried ham and
anchovies as а way to enhance the flavour of chocolate. After numerous attempts,
he happened upon the 'weird but wonderful' combination of caviar and white
chocolate: 'Caviar transformed the flavour far more spectacularly than I could have
imagined, making it richly smooth, briny and buttery. Caviar and white chocolate, it
appeared, were made for each other.'
То understand why the unusual pairing worked, Blumenthal contacted Franc;:ois
Benzi for а scientific explanation. Benzi performed an analysis in his lab to compare
the aroma profiles of the two ingredients. The results? Chocolate and caviar share
some aroma molecules. Thus, they concluded that ingredients that share aromas
pair well together. Emboldened Ьу their findings, Blumenthal continued to
experiment with other seemingly unconventional matches.
· As word spread within the chef community about the kiw1tre and my collaboration with
Degeimbre, others sought out my advice, including chef Ferran Adria of EI Bulli in Spain
and Sergio Herman of the then three-Michelin-starred Oud Sluis in the Netherlands. lt
was 2007, at the height of the molecular gastronomy craze when many chefs were
eager to test their creations against the theory of foodpairing to determine whether their
own intuitively paired ingredients shared any aromatic components.
That same year, Sang-Hoon and I were invited to present our findings оп the science
of foodpairing at the celebrity-chef-studded Lo Mejor de la Gastronomia event in San
Sebastian, Spain. Using the research оп kiwi and oyster pairings that I had conducted
for Sang-Hoon's kiwitre, 1 enlisted the design skills of my colleague Lieven Decouvreur
to visualize the ingredients' aromatic connections for the Foodpairing website. The
event generated consideraЫe interest in our theory, resulting in over 100,000 hits to the
website during its first month of operation. One thing led to another, and several months
• later I returned to Spain to participate in а roundtaЫe discussion organized Ьу the Alfcia
Foundation with chefs Ferran Adria, Heston Blumenthal, Joan Roca of EI Celler de Сап
Roca and food writer Harold McGee.
Despite the attention the theory of Foodpairing had garnered throughout the global
gastronomic scene, 1 was struck Ьу the lack of representation of Belgium's own vibrant
food scene at the culinary conferences I attended. So together with several colleagues
and local chefs, 1 organized The Flemish Primitives, а major culinary event held in
9
The Story of Foodpairing
Bruges in 2009, to honour Fran9ois Benzi and Heston Blumenthal for their early work in
the field. Each of the participating chefs was asked to соте up with а unique dish made
using ingredients that shared aromatic links. Noted Belgian chefs Peter Goossens, Gert
De Mangeleer and Filip Claeys, along with chefs from around the world including
Heston himself, Albert Adria and Ben Roche, partnered with Belgian universities and
food companies that assisted them in implementing the foodpairing concept in their
own creative processes.
More requests to collaborate followed on from The Flemish Primitives event, which had
attracted more than а thousand visitors from over thirty countries. Chefs, bartenders and
even food companies were eager to work on projects, so I approached Johan
Langenbick, а former colleague, and chef Peter Coucquyt of the famed Kasteel Withof in
Brasschaat, Belgium. Together we launched Foodpairing as а company in 2009.
The success of the first Flemish Primitives event gave rise to other such events,
which were headlined Ьу а host of luminaries from the international culinary scene,
including Magnus Nilsson, Michel Bras, the Roca brothers and Rene Redzepi, who had
his first taste of Amazonian leaf-cutting sauva ants at one of our events, thanks to
Brazilian chef Alex Atala.
Since then, the global Foodpairing community has expanded to more than 200,000
members in over 140 countries. То date, we have analysed over three thousand
different ingredients and amassed the largest flavour database in the world. Our
ingredient-sourcing expeditions have taken us to the high altitudes of Colombia to learn
about coffee varietals, diving off the coast of Spain for seaweed, and deep into the
Brazilian and Peruvian Amazonian rainforest in search of exotic ingredients like sauva
ants and tucupi sauce, а condiment made from cassava root. А quick online search of
our Foodpairing database reveals aromatic matches for bycatch seafood, huacatay
(Peruvian Ыасk mint), gochujang (fermented Korean spice paste), urfa biber (dried chilli
pepper from Turkey), calamansi (citrus fruit found in the Philippines) and lots of
chocolate and beer -we are Belgian, after all.
Ву cataloguing the individual aroma profiles for every single one of these ingredients,
we are аЫе to determine which items share aroma compounds. As we will discuss later,
the aroma profiles of ingredients are quite complex, often consisting of а whole range of
different odour molecules. T herefore, being аЫе to identify the aromatic connections
between ingredients is an effective way for chefs and bartenders to refine their pairings.
Eventually we arrived at the theory that synergistic pairings share certain key
aromatic links that result from the complex interactions that occur between aroma
molecules in ingredients.
10
Heston Blumenthal
The Fat Duck, Bray
'Foodpairing (or flavour pairing, as I usually call it) is now such а
familiar part of the culinary landscape you might think it has
always Ьееп there. ln fact, though, it didn't exist at all until the
1990s, when I started exploring whether there might Ье some
under_lying reason why certain food combinations worked so
well together. At this stage, по other chefs were looking into
this, nor was there any obvious route to follow -1 was guided
Ьу my instincts and my curiosity, piecing things together as
best I could.
One key step came from talking to friends of mine [in the
scientific community]. 1 noticed that, if I asked them about
particular comЬinations of ingredients, they often consulted а
database called Volatile Compounds in Food (VCF) to see if
they had compounds in common.
1 began to get very excited about this. Although such
technology was used not Ьу chefs but Ьу food companies and
chemical manufacturers, 1 reckoned it would work in the
kitchen just as well as the lab. 1 could use it to find all sorts of
wonderful and unexpected flavour pairings, in part because 1
had already Ьееп working with another authoritative source of
reference: Steffen Arctander's book Perfume and Flavor
Materials of Natural Origin. Ву cross-referencing опе against
the other, 1 reasoned I could take ап ingredient such as [а]
cherry, check its constituent compounds and then find other
ingredients that shared those compounds and might thus
complement it.
And so flavour pairing was born, as much out of my naivety
as my curiosity and enthusiasm. For I soon came to realize that
the molecular profile of even а single ingredient is so complex
that, even if it shares plenty of compounds with another
ingredient, it's far from guaranteed that they will work together.
Foodpairing, therefore, is а wonderful tool for creativity, but
only when used in concert with а chef's intuition, imagination
and -above all -emotion. lt's а great starting point but you still
need to explore, try things out and, of course, taste constantly.'
Heston Blumenthal's innovative techniques
and unexpected flavour comЬinations have
won him three Michelin stars and а global
reputation as а creative culinary thinker.
11
The Story of Foodpairing
Foodpairing: А way out of the Omnivore's Dilemma
Many times а day, we make the decision to eat or drink something. We rarely give these
choices much thought, often making them almost automatically, but that does not
mean they are easy choices. Humans are omnivores, meaning that in principle we сап
eat any kind of plant or animal. We thrive all over the planet because we сап find food
almost anywhere.
The omnivore in us is always оп the lookout for potentially dangerous substances:
something that tastes bitter might Ье toxic, foods that are very sour or spicy сап cause
us pain, the smell of spoiled foods tells us not to touch them. There is safety in
familiarity, in only eating things we have obviously survived eating before. But when it
comes to choosing food, safety is not our only motivation.
А characteristic we share with many other animals is our desire to avoid boredom
and seek variety. This is good too, because а monotonous diet could lead to us missing
out оп key nutrients. Our drive for change means that once we get used to something,
we are motivated to go in search of new experiences. We want new foods, with new
flavours that will keep us stimulated. But these foods also pose а risk, because we don't
know if they are safe to eat. These two opposing forces - eating only familiar food and
staying safe versus experiencing exciting new flavours at the risk of getting sick -
constitute what is known as the Omnivore's Dilemma.1
How do we know if а new food will taste as good as а familiar one?
Today, we rarely encounter genuinely dangerous food. Thanks to generations of food
scientists and nutritionists, we сап buy а food product almost anywhere in the world
and eat it without suffering any harmful consequences. ln the affluent Western world,
healthy, non-allergic consumers are аЫе to choose from а virtually limitless variety of
food and drink items. This poses а new proЫem: what to eat?
We live in а time of food choice overload. lt is disappointing when the food you have
chosen or made does not deliver the much hoped for exciting new flavour experience. lf
you run а restaurant or food company, it is а challenge to keep developing new recipes
and products, because it is difficult to predict which flavours will satisfy existing
customers and attract new ones. The theory of Foodpairing aims to do exactly this.
Knowing which aroma and taste components make up the flavours of food and drink
products makes it possiЫe to predict which new combinations will Ье а good match.
12
l(eyAromas
lngredients pair well when they share key aromas at the right concentration. This theory
forms the basis of our work at Foodpairing, and of this book. But what are key aromas?
How do we know which volatile organic compounds are in а food product? And how do
we know which ones are important, or what the right concentration is? These are just
some of the questions we will address in the following pages.
Volatile organic compounds
Think of an iconic fragrance like Chanel No. 5. You might recognize this scent at first
whiff, but а trained nose сап parse out top notes that include bergamot, lemon, neroli
and ylang-ylang, middle or heart notes of jasmine, rose, iris and lily of the valley, and
base notes of vetiver, sandalwood, vanilla, amber and patchouli. Each essential oil adds
to the unique complexity of the perfume's aroma profile, which is made up of different
groupings of volatile organic compounds (VOCs). These are organic chemicals that
vaporize easily from either solid or liquid state to gas at room temperature. You сап find
VOCs everywhere, including in the foods we eat. The tendency of molecules to vaporize
is what we refer to as volatility.
А fine fragrance is experienced in three stages of volatility. The top or head note
contains the most volatile compounds and usually only lasts between 5 and 30 minutes.
The longer-lasting middle or heart notes tend to surface about 30 mintues after а good
spritz. Due to their heavier molecular weights, the base notes only start to appear about
1 hour after application because they take longer to evaporate. Conversely, the lighter
molecular weight of а top note makes it more volatile. That is why the most obvious aroma
molecules tend to Ье lightweight, making them more immediately perceptiЫe to us.
Over 10,000 different VOCs have been identified in the foods we eat. ln order for us
to detect these aroma compounds, they must Ье volatile enough to pass through the air
so that they reach the olfactory receptors in our noses either orthonasally (when we
sniff something) or retronasally (when we eat or drink something, see also page 19).
Volatility
[
The stages of volatility in perfume Citrus bergamot, lemon, grapefruit
Fine fragrances are designed to Ье Head
notes
experienced in three stages, with aroma Aromatic herbs rosemary, lavender, eucalyptus
molecules vaporizing into the air at different
times. The head notes provide а first
impression -typically fresher scents such as Floral geranium, rose, jasmine
bergamot, anise or lavender, they usually only
. Heart
Green/fougere pine, fern, leaves
last between 5 and 30 minutes. The more
notes
prominent heart notes, such as rose, pine or Fruity pineapple, banana, pear
Ыасk pepper, add character. They appear once
Oriental & aroinatic spices nutmeg, ginger, clove
the top notes have begun to dissipate and сап
last for up to 3 hours. The deep, complex base
[
notes, such as vanilla or cedarwood, only
Woody cedar, oak, moss
appear after an hour but they сап linger for days. Base
notes
Oriental balsam tonka bean, vanilla, myrrh
-------------------------'!► Time
13
KeyAromas
We сап separate, identify and quantify the number of different VOCs present in any
ingredient or product with the aid of а gas chromatograph (GC) coupled with а mass
spectrometer (MS), or GC-MS.
А dissolved sample of the ingredient is fed into the gas chromatograph, which
vaporizes and separates the individual substances as they pass from the coiled column
into the mass spectrometer. Depending upon their molecular weights, the compounds
travel at varying speeds through the spectrometer's detector, which then records the
retention time for each compound as а series of peaks оп а graph (see below). We refer
to the time it takes for the various substances to travel through the detector as retention
time. The position of each peak оп the graph below represents the different retention
times for each compound; the surface area under each peak represents the quantity of
the molecule present in the analysed ingredient, so its concentration to Ье calculated.
Aroma compounds in foods are especially difficult to detect because they tend to
have relatively low molecular weights (in some cases по more than 10-15mg per kg).
However, GC-MS сап quickly and accurately detect even trace amounts of
substances, making it an especially effective method for analysing the volatile
compounds in food.
Below: The aroma profile of а strawberry
Not every peak in the gas chromatogram
of а strawberry shown here necessarily
contributes to the flavour of the fruit, as only
а handful of the molecules сап Ье perceived
Ьу humans. At least five groups of aroma
molecules contribute to the fruity fragrance
of а strawberry: coconut-scented lactones;
fruity esters; aldehydes, which have а greenish
scent; caramellic furanones; and cheesy acids.
The aroma molecules in bold here are some
the key odorants of strawberry.
u
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14
The day New York City smel/ed like What is а key odorant?
maple syrup
Опе day in October 2005, the sweet scent of
maple syrup wafted through Manhattan, Every aroma molecule has а unique odour detection threshold -the lowest
Queens and New Jersey. lt took city officials
concentration at which а volatile corilpound сап Ье detected Ьу humans. ln terms of the
а few years to track down the source of the
different concentrations at which aroma molecules сап Ье detected, there is а
mysterious smell: а flavours and fragrances
consideraЫe degree of variaЬility. For а substance such as geosmin, all it takes is а few
company with а facility in North Bergen, New
Jersey, where а few litres of the aroma milligrams per 1,000 tonnes, which is less than one drop in an Olympic-sized swimming
compound sotolon had spilled into the pool, for us to Ье аЫе to detect its distinctive earthy scent.
Hudson River. At low concentrations, sotolon When it comes down to it, only а portion of volatile compounds are really responsiЫe
has а caramellic scent reminiscent of maple for the aroma profile of а particular ingredient. These key odorants will Ье present in
syrup or burnt sugar; in high concentrations, it concentrations that exceed the odour recognition threshold. Coffee, for example,
smells like fenugreek, а spice commonly used contains more than а thousand different volatile compounds that сап Ье easily
in lndian curries. detected Ьу GC-MS equipment, but only about thirty or forty of them are responsiЫe
When dissolved in water, sotolon has ап for the handful of roasted, nutty, caramellic and other flavours that we perceive.
extremely low odour recognition threshold
Of course, we must also take into account every person's individual odour threshold.
(0.6 parts per Ьillion), which explains why
The aЬility to perceive а specific aroma molecule сап differ from one person to the next
residents оп both sides of the Hudson were
Ьу а factor of ten, ranging from hypersensitivity to complete anosmia -that is, the
complaining about а strange sweet smell.
After analysing air samples and directional inaЬility to smell а particular scent.
wind readings, the New York City Department
of Environmental Protection finally solved the
'Great Maple Syrup Mystery' in 2009.
20 25 30 Time (minutes)
15
KeyAromas
Aroma is synthetic
When you analyse а strawberry, попе of the aroma molecules has а strawberry smell.
lnstead, 'strawberry' is а combination of fruity esters, coconut-like lactones and
caramel, green and cheesy notes. lf there is по such thing as а strawberry aroma
molecule, how is it possiЫe for us to Ье аЫе to detect а strawberry aroma?
Psychophysical studies have convincingly demonstrated that the perception of
mixtures of odorants is not just а simple sum of the descriptors of the individual aroma
components. lf а mixture contains more than four components, the odorants lose their
individuality and produce а new odour percept that conveys а unique odour quality not
elicited Ьу the single components. This phenomenon, known as synthetic processing,
was confirmed Ьу neurophysiological experiments that demonstrated that selected
cortical neurons respond to binary odorant mixtures, but not to their individual
components. This implies that the aroma descriptors of the individual odorants alone
are insufficient to identify and predict the aroma descriptors of the complete food. At
Foodpairing, we use machine learning algorithms to translate the machine output into
how а human being will perceive an aroma.
Changing the matrix
Just because an aroma molecule is defined as а key aroma does not mean it always
stays that way. Factors such as the matrix (water, air, alcohol or fat), temperature and
potential synergies between aroma molecules сап also affect the headspace (for
example, the passion fruit smell of beer is the result of different molecules interacting).
Every aroma molecule behaves differently in solvents, depending оп its physical
properties. Hydrophobic aroma molecules are water-averse - they dissolve more easily
in fat. When surrounded Ьу water molecules, they tend to exit into the headspace,
where they are easier for us to detect with our sense of smell. Conversely, hydrophilic
aroma molecules have an affinity for water molecules and prefer to remain in liquids.
Alcohol (ethanol) has partially hydrophobic properties, which explains why the
hydrophoЬic aroma molecules found in wines or spirits remain there, despite the
presence of alcohol. The proportion of liquids - water versus alcohol - determines
which aromas are easier to detect.
alcoholic wine Left: The impact of alcohol on flavour
An aromatic comparison of Gewurztraminer
wine with and without alcohol demonstrates
the marked differences in flavour between the
two: wine tastes less fruity than non-alcoholic
grape juice.
The more alcohol there is in а drink, the
more hydrophilic aroma molecules will escape
into the headspace. The higher the proportion
of water, the more hydrophobic aromas will
fruity \ rose citrus
move from the liquid into the headspace. For
example, adding water to whisky opens up
different and sublle new flavours.
fruity floral citrus
non-alcoholic wine
16
Adding other aromas
Just because ari aroma molecule is below the odour threshold does not mean it cannot
Ье perceived. Aromas that have а similar structure or perception to other aromas сап
create synergy or additivity (see graph 1 below). For example, ethyl octanoate and ethyl
decanoate have а similar chemical structure, and the mixture of these two aroma
molecules has а lower odour threshold than each individual aroma.
The combined impact of similar odorants сап also produce а new scent that smells
even more intense than the sum of its individual volatile components. Blue cheese owes
its intense, distinctive odour to а comЬination of the buttery aroma molecules of
2,3-butanedione and the cheesy, buttery notes of 3-methylbutanoic acid. The
interaction between aromas is not always that logical - fatty aldehydes are added to
Chanel No. 5 to increase its floral notes, for example. lt is also concentration
dependent: at low concentrations, whisky lactone increases the perception of isoamyl
acetate but suppresses it at higher concentrations.
lnteractions between aroma molecules
Compounds present in concentrations too low 1. synergy З. suppression
for us to smell them оп their own сап Ье
perceived if they are combined into mixtures
molecule 1 + 2
that exceed our odour recognition threshold.
Маге often than not, the scent we associate о.а 1 molecule2
1
with an ingredient or product is the result of .6
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iJJ
many different odorants interacting. о
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Q Q.
"' 6
� �
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molecule 1 + 2
-о
1. Synergy or addivitity describes the
-'"�
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-�
0
combined impact of similar odorants in а
ос:
4 Е
mixture to produce а new scent that smells ос: j
о.г
even more intense than the sum of the о. molecule 1
individual volatile components.
о
2. lnhiЬitory responses triggered Ьу the
complex interactions between aroma concentration concentration
molecules cause our olfactory receptor
neurons to perceive the scents of individual
components rather than their Ыended 2. inhibltion 4. overshadowing
mixtures. For example, the fruity ester ethyl 0.8 08
3-methylbutanoate inhiЬits the bell pepper molecule2
molecule2
aroma of 2-isobutyl 3-methoxypyrazine.
0.6 0.6
З. Suppression is when the mixture is less ф ф
intense than the aroma molecule with the с:
<1)
о о
Q.
highest intensity in the Ыепd, but the mixture � 0.4 �
<1)
о.,
registers as still more intense than the other -о
-�'" '"Е
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molecule 1
molecule(s) in the Ыепd.
о
с: 0.21
1
1 ос: 0.2
4. Overshadowing or hypoadditivity happens
when the intensity of а mixture is the same as
that of опе of its aroma molecules, but the
Ыепd is still overshadowed Ьу one of the
,
components in the mix. concentration concentration
17
Olfaction versus Gustation
lt is а common misconception that flavours are perceived in the mouth, when our Below: The sensory properties of food
perception of flavour really has more to do with the aromatic components in an Aroma and taste perception are two of the four
ingredient that are volatile enough for the scent receptors in our upper nose to register. main sensory properties that determine our
selection, acceptance and consumption of
The olfactory system is responsiЫe for detecting those airborne aroma molecules,
food, along with appearance and texture.
while the taste receptors in the mouth are сараЫе of registering only the five basic taste
molecules - sweet, salty, sour, Ьitter and umami -when they are solved in fluids.
Recent studies have shown that up to 90 per cent of our overall flavour experience has stimulus
to do with olfaction. food
Eating or drinking involves а complex, multisensory orchestration of olfaction,
gustation and our trigeminal senses, coupled with sight and sound, of course.
senses
Aroma perception / /
hearing touch taste smell sight
The human nose contains about four hundred scent receptors that are thought to Ье
5'] �-
\i\
сараЫе of detecting upwards of one trillion different odours. This number speaks to our
olfactory system's aЬility to process an incrediЫy diverse range of complex and s: � �-
ф "' ф
nuanced scents, especially when contrasted with our taste receptors. Studies from the
1920s indicated that humans could smell some 10,000 different odours, but а recent
experiment conducted Ьу neuroЬiologist Leslie В Vosshall of the Rockefeller University
sensory property
1 \J
in New York City has determined that humans can detect many more. 2
Vosshall's lab created three separate mixtures from а set of 128 individual odour 1
molecules; the vials contained comЬinations of 1О, 20 or 30 components. Each subject texture taste aroma appearance
perception perception
was given three different vials of scent mixtures - one unique and two that were
identical - and asked to identify the odd one out. On average, the subjects were аЫе to
sniff out the differences if the odour mixtures varied Ьу more than half. Vosshall's lab FLAVOUR
extrapolated from their findings that humans should Ье аЫе to distinguish an average
of 1 trillion smells. While the 10,000 odours was clearly an underestimate, one trillion
тау Ье something of an exaggeration - the number of odours humans can detect
рrоЬаЫу lies somewhere in between. An exercise in experiencing flavour
Pour yourself а glass of orange juice, pinch
How we taste а glass of wine your nose and take а sip. Сап you describe
lmagine tasting а fine wine for the first time. As you tilt the wineglass towards you in what you have just tasted? РrоЬаЫу а Ьit of
order to take а deep inhale, the wine's most volatile notes rise towards the rim of the sweet and sour but not much else. Now
take another sip, this time without pinching
glass and evaporate into the headspace. А surge of aroma molecules travels up
your nose. You should taste the same
through your nostrils towards the olfactory epithelium located along the roof of the
tanginess, but this time with an added
nasal passage, where hair-like cilia extend through а layer of mucous membrane, burst of citrusy orange flavour - or rather,
trapping the odour molecules, which dissolve and Ьind with specialized neurons called fragrance. This is what we mean Ьу the full
olfactory receptor cells. flavour experience. See what happens
These receptors transmit the signals along the sensory cells up to the olfactory bulb, when you try this tasting exercise with
which is located directly beneath the frontal lobe of the brain. From there the signals coffee: instead of complex flavours, you will
continue оп to the sensory neurons in the piriform cortex, where the odour molecules taste little more than its Ьitterness.
interact to varying degrees with different receptors, causing them to register unique
patterns of activity for every single odour molecule. The overall flavour of the wine
begins to take shape like а pointillist painting as the receptor cells relay the aroma
information to different areas in the brain like the amygdala and the thalamus. This is
orthonasal detection, our primary means of processing scents.
Notice the top notes that rise towards the rim of the glass smell different than the
heavier notes that linger closer to the surface of the wine. Aerating the wine Ьу swirling
the glass opens up its fragrance, freeing some of the base volatiles that would
otherwise remain trapped beneath the liquid surface. Luckily, the human brain is
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