Volantino

Often the ingredients of a dish can be chosen to bring out the aroma of the main ingredient, enhancing some known characteristics. This is why some theories have been developed which, starting from observing them in the kitchen and using a scientific approach, have made it possible to better understand the “chemical rules” at the base of the combinations: • food pairing tells us that, if two ingredients share most of their olfactory profile (the molecules responsible for their smell), then it is highly likely that the combination will be pleasant to the palate; • what to do when the olfactory affinity between two ingredients is low? In this case, we are helped by the food bridging theory: in fact, food bridging suggests the creation of “sensory bridges” between ingredients so as to bring even apparently distant ingredients closer together. Essentially, even on the plate, it’s all a matter of chemistry! An example? Let’s see it together below in “The recipe explained’’. THE RECIPE EXPLAINED What happens in our beef and vegetable dumplings? Thanks to cooking, the beef is enriched with some very particular and recognisable odorous molecules, typical of red meat and rich in sulphur. During cooking, the onion, garlic and mushrooms are also enriched with sulphur-based odorous molecules. Of course, if we were to smell each ingredient individually (try it!), we would not be able to perceive any similarity. This is because our sense of smell captures the whole set and not the individual molecules. Thus, by combining the ingredients in the right proportion, the aromatic harmony is revealed, giving us an even more pleasant sensory experience. On the other hand, the asparagus and pepper, also important ingredients in our dumplings, do not resemble each other from an olfactory point of view and may seem to be a daring combination... and instead, the overall harmony of the dish is guaranteed by the bridge-effect that the onion and mushrooms respectively offer to peppers and asparagus . In fact, by sharing part of their aromatic compounds with the latter, they guarantee perfect harmony with the rest of the dish. With a little practice, we could experiment with more daring ingredients by creating a chain of aromas that allows us to bring seemingly unapproachable ingredients closer together: THAT’S THE “MAGIC” OF FOOD BRIDGING! DISCOVERING RED MEATS LET’S EAT WELL 33