Every cook can pair, combine and bounce flavours!
Of all the steps I took creating my own Magical Kitchen, the most challenging one was Flavours. Unlike taste memory, which seasoned home-cooks acquire quickly, flavour memory takes more time and effort. And it took me quite some time to create my own Flavour Cheat Sheets.
Unlike the five classic Taste Families (bitter, salty, umami, sour and sweet) to which we can add three others (astringent, spicy, fatty), there is no corresponding ‘classic’ Flavour Families. Worse, the lexicon for flavours is entirely subjective. What one chef or cookery writer calls floral, another might call fruity. A food described as grassy in one magazine may turn up as verdant in another.
I stuck with my learning for combining flavours successfully for the hedonist sensations that flavours trigger and the memories they stir - the sweet, fresh and evocative smell of the air following a rainstorm, the heavenly scent of home- cooked cinnamon rolls on an autumnal night.
Flavour pairing, combining and bouncing is as much art as science. That means you need to be part Creator, part Technician. I swear it is within your gift to get to at least base camp, if not higher. And, if nothing else, you will at least learn how to spot a spot a dud recipe on the internet, where you cannot be sure that it has been kitchen-tested. If you do not believe me, try googling Prawns+Beetroot+Walnuts.
So, let’s pair first and bounce second!
One of my Magical Foods is the queen of fruits – the Peach – described by the Christine Ingram as “voluptuously curvaceous”. I love the downy, velvety skin and yellow flesh and buy tonnes of them through spring/summer. James Briscione (The Flavour Matrix) credits the peach with combination of citrus, floral and almond aromas. This means that when you want to pair a peach with a single ingredient – the classic Flavour Combos would include basil, citrus fruits, corn, cream, oils (olive oil, and oily nuts, such as almond), pork/ham, tomatoes, and wet cheeses (ricotta, mozzarella, ricotta). When you want to bounce a peach, however, you need to go up another level, where you use multiple ingredients - each of which has to go with every other ingredient.
Taking my peach, for example, I could create a dish that has peaches and tomatoes (a good pairing), to which I could add corn (a good pairing for both the peach and the tomato). I could add something citrussy, which goes with all of these ingredients, but if I then decided to top this dish with something ‘woody’ flavoured, e.g. sage, rosemary I would break the bank so to speak. Now, you can see why this is both exciting and challenging!
If like me, you need to visualise the concept you are grappling with, then I highly recommend you watch this short, 3min YouTube video by Grant Achatz that will show you how the science and art of bouncing comes together.
Taking my favourite peach, here are some practical, culinary examples of bouncing. Whether you like peaches or not does not matter. What matters is your ability to see the patterns that emerge, linking to complementary tastes.
Tomato, Peach and Corn Salad - Umami & Sweet
Fresh Peaches with Prosciutto, Mozzarella and Mint - Sweet, Salty, Sour & Bitter
Cooled Peach Couscous with sliced Ham and Dijon Mustard - Sweet, Salty & Bitter
Pan-roasted Pork Tenderloin with Coffee, Soy Sauce and Peaches - Salty, Sweet, Bitter & Umami
Grilled Peaches with Vanilla Mascarpone and Amaretti Biscuits - Sweet, Spicy & Sour
Peach Bellini Pannacotta - Sweet & Sour
My last practical tip creating flavourful recipes using your Magical and Go-To Foods I recommend you buy one of those Card Index Boxes and for each of your favourite foods, jot down the name of the recipes and the key ingredients included. This will not only help you stock your pantry / larder with flavour bouncing essential ingredients, but also reduce waste as you are better able to use up everything before they pass their end-by dates.
Good luck experimenting with Flavour Combos – and do please share some of your most surprising combinations at our Contact Page.
Dishes courtesy of Southern Living Magazine, Lifestyle Magazine, Good Housekeeping Magazine, James Briscione, Ina Garten and Delicious Magazine in order.