Intertwined: What makes food and wine pairings appropriate?

Exploring food and beverage pairing from a cross-cultural projective mapping

Culture is a well-known driver of food choices, and therefore, it could also impact food pairing preferences. Food pairing has been studied from different approaches; however, little cross-cultural research has been done. This work explored food and beverage pairing using projective mapping (PM) to create maps of food-beverage combinations. Four countries (Mexico, Argentina, France, and Norway), thirty foods, and six beverages were selected. PM was carried out through an online study in each country. Participants were asked to map foods together with beverages following the instruction that foods and beverages closer together represented a good combination. The coordinates of each product were analyzed through Multiple Factorial Analyses (MFA) by countries. The first four factors of each MFA were used to perform RV coefficients to test similarities in food-beverage pairings between the countries. Finally, a k-means clustering was performed on the beverage coordinates of each MFA. PM provided maps representing food and beverage pairings for each country in which the proximity between food-beverages represented a good combination according to consumers. RV coefficients between countries were low, showing that food-beverage pairings were not similar across countries, evidencing the cultural effect in food-drink combinations. Results from the k-means clustering showed some similarities and differences between countries. In general, the food-beverage pairing was effectively explored with PM, from which several differences and similarities were found within cultures.

Peanut Pairing Baijiu: To Enhance Retronasal Aroma Intensity while Reducing Baijiu Aftertaste

Liquor-pairing food is a common dietary combination. Baijiu and peanuts are unquestionably a classic pairing in China. But no one has explained why. Its alteration in baijiu flavor was studied using multiple sensory evaluation, as well as nontargeted proton-transfer reaction mass spectrometry coupled with GC × GC-MS. Multiple statistical analyses were used to discover the changes in the retronasal aroma and its contribution to baijiu flavor. It showed that the consumption of peanuts enhances the burst intensity of ester aroma (0.814-1.00) and Jiao aroma (0.889-0.963) but decreases the aftertaste of baijiu (p < 0.05). Meanwhile, it increases the release intensity and advances the burst time of baijiu retronasal aroma (p < 0.05), suppressing its aftertaste through the retention effect of the food matrix, the changes in oral processing, and cross-modal interactions. Hydrophobicity, polarity, and chemical characteristics are key factors of the uneven impact of accompanying food to aroma compounds. Esters, especially ethyl caprylate (2103 ± 927 to 51.9 ± 4.05) is most impacted by peanuts and contributes most to baijiu flavor changes. Pyrazines from peanut enhance the Qu-aroma, grain aroma, and Chen aroma in baijiu flavor. Therefore, we revealed the chemical nature of baijiu-peanut combination and help to optimize baijiu consumption experience.

THE HISTORY, SCIENCE, AND ART OF WINE AND THE CASE FOR HEALTH BENEFITS: PERSPECITIVES OF AN OENOPHILIC CARDIOVASCULAR PATHOLOGIST

This article stems from the intersection of the author's long-standing interests in science, medicine, pathology and oenology. A discussion is provided of selected aspects of the science of viticulture and wine production as well as qualities of the finished product crafted by the art of the wine maker. The case for health benefits of moderate consumption of wine and other alcoholic beverages also is discussed. Based on the "French paradox", an analysis is presented of the evidence for the special effects of red wine consumption, particularly as part of the Mediterranean diet and lifestyle. A concluding perspective is given in support of wine as a promotor of civility and social engagement.

Consumption Context Effects on Fine Wine Consumer Segments' Liking and Emotions

Wine consumer lifestyle segmentation has been widely studied; however, most studies have solely utilised online surveys. This work investigated the impact of context on wine consumer segments’ liking and emotions while consuming wines in different environments. Two studies were conducted with regular wine consumers segmented based on their fine wine behaviour using the Fine Wine Instrument. Study 1 (n = 122) investigated the effects of wine variety and product information, and Study 2 (n = 346) the effects of wine quality and consumption context, on hedonic and emotional responses of the segments. Within both studies, three segments were identified and named: Wine Enthusiasts, Aspirants and No Frills. The Wine Enthusiast segment generally liked the wines more and perceived more intense positive emotions when consuming wine compared to the No Frills segment, with the Aspirant’s likes and emotion intensities ranging in between. Wine Enthusiasts were more discriminative of their preferred wines and reported stronger positive emotions when tasting higher quality (Study 1) and more complex (Study 2) wines. The consistent results across the two studies showed for the first time that consumer segments, based on lifestyle segmentation, differ in their hedonic and emotional responses towards wine when actually tasting wines, demonstrating that the Fine Wine Instrument has practical implications and can identify wine consumers displaying different wine consumption behaviours.

Umami synergy as the scientific principle behind taste-pairing champagne and oysters

Food and flavour pairing are commonly used as an empirically based phenomenology by chefs and food innovators for creating delicious dishes. However, there is little if any science behind the pairing systems used, and it appears that pairing is determined by food culture and tradition rather than by chemical food composition. In contrast, the pairing implied by the synergy in the umami taste, elicited by free glutamate and free nucleotides, is scientifically founded on an allosteric action at the umami receptor, rendering eggs-bacon and cheese-ham delicious companions. Based on measurement of umami compounds in champagnes and oysters we suggest that a reason why champagne and oysters are considered good companions may be the presence of free glutamate in champagne, and free glutamate and 5′-nucleotides in oysters. By calculations of the effective umami potential we reveal which combinations of oysters and champagnes lead to the strongest umami taste. We also show that glutamate levels and total amount of free amino acids are higher in aged champagnes with long yeast contact, and that the European oyster (Ostrea edulis) has higher free glutamate and nucleotide content than the Pacific oyster (Crassostrea gigas) and is thus a better candidate to elicit synergistic umami taste.