It’s Your Choice
Some food and drinks just naturally go together. Wine and cheese. Milk and cookies. Beer and pizza. Donuts and coffee. These combinations, among many others, make our taste buds dance with joy.
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But what about other foods with more complex ingredients and flavors?
Drink experts spend years learning the science behind food and drink pairings — sommeliers for wine, cicerones for beers, and others for bourbons and whiskies. These are professionals who can easily find the right balance between food and drinks.
I oftentimes find that the advice these professionals give is overly rigid with hefty price tags. The truth is food and drink pairings are more subjective because we all know what we like and what makes our taste buds happy. Our culture and socioeconomic status can also influence our drink choices over the underlying chemistry these professionals tell us to follow.
Whether it’s wine, beer, or iced tea, the right drink choice can certainly enhance the flavors of your meal. No question. The following tips, along with your own tastebuds, may help better guide your next drink pairing choices.
Find Balance
The art of pairing a drink with food is finding that perfect balance between flavors, textures, and acidity to unlock a harmonious blend of tastes and create a memorable dining experience. Here are four basic steps to consider for finding that balance.
- Start with identifying the dominant flavors of the food you’re serving. Is it spicy, sweet, sour, savory, or bitter? Once you determine the food’s flavor profile, consider how these flavors will interact with your drink choice. You’ll want to find a harmonious balance by either enhancing or contrasting the food’s flavor. For example, a sweeter cocktail will have a contrasting effect on a spicy dish whereas a savory drink would enhance the flavors of a rich, savory dish.
- Consider the texture of the food and pair with a drink that complements its intensity. For example, a bold red wine complements the bold heavy flavors of a grilled steak. A light, delicate pasta would get lost if served alongside a strong, bold drink.
- Acidity in food and drinks is another important consideration. The acidity in citrus fruits, for instance, can counteract the sweetness in a dessert. Find harmony by pairing flavors that complement one another and neither the drink nor food overpowers the other.
- Take the dining setting, atmosphere of the meal, and timing into account. Serving heavy, boozy cocktails with a casual family Sunday brunch may not be a viable choice. No one wants to see Grandma fall over drunk while eating her eggs benedict.
Get Proper
Choosing the proper glass for your drink is as important as the drink itself. Sure, a glass can make a drink prettier and more inviting. The shape, size, and features of the glass also bring out the complexities in aroma, temperature, color, and flavor of drinks.
The curve of a glass can direct liquids into different areas in your mouth, which affects the way you taste it. A wide-mouthed glass exposes the drink to more air while a tapered glass traps in air. Glasses with a flat base will support a big ice cube. The size of the glass keeps the proper ice to liquid ratio to avoid diluted or flavorless drinks. Some glasses have features to keep the heat away from the drink, like stemmed flutes and wine glasses.
There are many types of drinkware with specific functions, and I’m not suggesting you run out and buy them all. Choosing the glasses you store at home will depend largely on your personal preferences and lifestyle. Our Drinkware Collection includes some of my favorites and the most used ones for a more enjoyable drinking experience.
Have Fun
The art of pairing food and drink is an interesting intersection between experimentation, culinary creativity, and personal preferences. Now that you’re armed with an understanding of taste profiles and the impact texture, acidity, and atmosphere play in your choices, don’t be afraid to try different combinations.
The possibilities are endless, and your taste buds will be your guide.
Cheers!
