018 // 019 The Science of Taste and Flavor

RED WINE
The nutty aromas from
benzaldehyde, oak aromas from
lactones, and smoky and

Why do some tobacco flavors, interplay with

roasted beef flavors.

flavors go together BEER

Strong-tasting, dark beers carry

SO WELL?
spicy notes along with brothy
flavor compounds that link to
flavors created when beef
undergoes Maillard browning
(see pp16–17).

Taste is a surprisingly complex process. COFFEE

Many of coffee’s 200-plus
Each food has characteristic flavor compounds, complex, rich flavors are due
the chemicals that lend it its aroma, pungency, to the roasting of beans,
which share compounds
and taste. The names and chemical formulas of created when beef is
these varied substances include fruity esters, spicy seared or roasted.
phenolics, flowery and citrusy terpenes, and
piquant sulfur-containing molecules. Until
recently, discovering foods that worked together
well was largely trial and error, but a rise in MIL K
experimental chefs has seen a new “science” Grass-fed beef pairs well with
of food pairing. Researchers have cataloged the heated milk flavors, owing to
pasture-raised cattle’s higher
flavor compounds of hundreds of foods, showing concentration of fatty-flavored,
that classical food combinations do share many fragrant lactone chemicals present
flavor compounds, while also revealing more in the meat.
unusual matches. However, the theories do not
account for a food’s texture and don’t always hold
true for Asian and Indian cuisines, where spice
combinations have very few or no flavor links.
Here we look at which foods pair well with
beef based on shared flavor compounds.
BUTTER
The thicker the line, the more shared flavor
compounds there are. Two highly potent flavor molecules
that convey butter’s buttery and
creamy aroma, diacetyl and
COLOR KEY acetoin, are shared by beef.
These rich notes are greatest
in prime cuts.
MEAT GRAINS SPICE

FISH AND
VEGETABLES ALCOHOL
SEAFOOD
EGGS PLANT
AND DAIRY DERIVATIVES