Comments on: French book on flavor pairing of food and wine http://blog.khymos.org/2009/07/22/french-book-on-flavor-pairing-of-food-and-wine/ - dedicated to molecular gastronomy Sun, 05 Feb 2012 23:21:18 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Moscool http://blog.khymos.org/2009/07/22/french-book-on-flavor-pairing-of-food-and-wine/comment-page-1/#comment-159167 Moscool Sun, 09 Aug 2009 15:28:00 +0000 http://blog.khymos.org/?p=1691#comment-159167 I've bought the book and started reading it (I was in Montreal last week) and will report back as my reading progresses. I will make the following comments: - The format is annoying (think Wired in its heyday) and the style very much Name Dropping; however there is enough content to satisfy anybody's curiosity. - It is not a book based on first principles, more of a series of pairings: it opens the door for several books which, in the end, will produce a comprehensive 'matching table'. A bit frustrating if you are more of a deductive than an inductive learner... - I am not yet clear how he handles 'contrasty foods' which point to different wines: for instance lamb/tymol but in Britain (where I live) legs of lamb are usually cooked with large quantities of rosemary (another wine pairing). - I am not bothered by the fact that he is a French Canadian sommelier: he is very well read and travelled so no New World bias as far as I can tell. Two things to bear in mind about his potential food bias: Québecois tend to have a much sweeter tooth than most Europeans; and New World food tends to throw in too many ingredients together; for instance a typical sandwich will have 6 or 7 components: too messy for my taste buds! More to come... I’ve bought the book and started reading it (I was in Montreal last week) and will report back as my reading progresses. I will make the following comments:

- The format is annoying (think Wired in its heyday) and the style very much Name Dropping; however there is enough content to satisfy anybody’s curiosity.

- It is not a book based on first principles, more of a series of pairings: it opens the door for several books which, in the end, will produce a comprehensive ‘matching table’. A bit frustrating if you are more of a deductive than an inductive learner…

- I am not yet clear how he handles ‘contrasty foods’ which point to different wines: for instance lamb/tymol but in Britain (where I live) legs of lamb are usually cooked with large quantities of rosemary (another wine pairing).

- I am not bothered by the fact that he is a French Canadian sommelier: he is very well read and travelled so no New World bias as far as I can tell. Two things to bear in mind about his potential food bias: Québecois tend to have a much sweeter tooth than most Europeans; and New World food tends to throw in too many ingredients together; for instance a typical sandwich will have 6 or 7 components: too messy for my taste buds!

More to come…

]]> By: Martin Lersch http://blog.khymos.org/2009/07/22/french-book-on-flavor-pairing-of-food-and-wine/comment-page-1/#comment-157661 Martin Lersch Tue, 28 Jul 2009 18:27:20 +0000 http://blog.khymos.org/?p=1691#comment-157661 No - the topic has never been treated scientifically - and I doubt that it will be. It's simply a way of pointing at two foods and saying "Hey, those two foods have a couple of impact odorants in common - who would have thought?!! I think I'll try to cook something that combines them". Yes - there will be a TGRWT round in August - the announcement post will appear very soon and the host for the next round is Aiden Brooks. No – the topic has never been treated scientifically – and I doubt that it will be. It’s simply a way of pointing at two foods and saying “Hey, those two foods have a couple of impact odorants in common – who would have thought?!! I think I’ll try to cook something that combines them”.

Yes – there will be a TGRWT round in August – the announcement post will appear very soon and the host for the next round is Aiden Brooks.

]]> By: fooducation http://blog.khymos.org/2009/07/22/french-book-on-flavor-pairing-of-food-and-wine/comment-page-1/#comment-157618 fooducation Tue, 28 Jul 2009 11:53:36 +0000 http://blog.khymos.org/?p=1691#comment-157618 Good to see you're back again. Are you aware of any development on whether flavour pairing <i>really</i> has something to it; scientific publications etc. As principle it is by many considered somewhat dubious, right? Playing on differences/contrasts might be seen as a contrast to pairing based on similarities. As a concept for experimenting it is of course great fun :) BTW, will you take up TGRWT? Looking forward to try out our new kitchen soon to be finished (hopefully...) Good to see you’re back again. Are you aware of any development on whether flavour pairing really has something to it; scientific publications etc. As principle it is by many considered somewhat dubious, right? Playing on differences/contrasts might be seen as a contrast to pairing based on similarities. As a concept for experimenting it is of course great fun :)

BTW, will you take up TGRWT? Looking forward to try out our new kitchen soon to be finished (hopefully…)

]]> By: Weston http://blog.khymos.org/2009/07/22/french-book-on-flavor-pairing-of-food-and-wine/comment-page-1/#comment-156679 Weston Fri, 24 Jul 2009 00:58:16 +0000 http://blog.khymos.org/?p=1691#comment-156679 So Being a Canadian when is it coming into English as I am not from Quebec hah. Sounds interesting tho, and I love my science So Being a Canadian when is it coming into English as I am not from Quebec hah. Sounds interesting tho, and I love my science

]]> By: Peter Hertzmann http://blog.khymos.org/2009/07/22/french-book-on-flavor-pairing-of-food-and-wine/comment-page-1/#comment-156373 Peter Hertzmann Wed, 22 Jul 2009 23:36:04 +0000 http://blog.khymos.org/?p=1691#comment-156373 Hi Martin, Not to split hairs but I believe the title of this article should read "Canadian book on flavor pairing of food and wine" or "French-language book on flavor pairing of food and wine". As you clarify in the first sentence, this book comes from a Canadian author and publisher, and I think the title needs clarification too. As a collector of French cookbooks, I am often offered book written in the French language but not about French food or its preparation. It's amazing how hostile some of these sellers can become when told that just because a book is written in the French language, does not make it a French cookbook. Hi Martin,

Not to split hairs but I believe the title of this article should read “Canadian book on flavor pairing of food and wine” or “French-language book on flavor pairing of food and wine”. As you clarify in the first sentence, this book comes from a Canadian author and publisher, and I think the title needs clarification too.

As a collector of French cookbooks, I am often offered book written in the French language but not about French food or its preparation. It’s amazing how hostile some of these sellers can become when told that just because a book is written in the French language, does not make it a French cookbook.

]]> By: joelfinkle http://blog.khymos.org/2009/07/22/french-book-on-flavor-pairing-of-food-and-wine/comment-page-1/#comment-156328 joelfinkle Wed, 22 Jul 2009 20:11:52 +0000 http://blog.khymos.org/?p=1691#comment-156328 Yes, but what does he say you should drink with artichokes? Yes, but what does he say you should drink with artichokes?

]]>