food-and-wine-pairing-a-sensory-experience-robert-harrington

Figure 6.2
1
Wine—
No
Bubbles
Wine Effervescence Samples
2
Wine—
Moderate
Bubbles
3
Wine—
High
Bubbles
did a slightly better job at the moderate salty level than at the high salt level. The 50/50
mix of seltzer and still water did a better job than still water alone.
For the wine samples, the findings basically mirrored the water samples, with a couple
of exceptions. The Chardonnay wine was okay with moderate salt levels, lessening some of
the saltiness. But with the high-salt popcorn, the match went from neutral to bad. The high
salt in the popcorn seemed to magnify the bitter and astringent character in the wine.
Chardonnay has a natural affinity with corn, particularly when you serve a buttery chardonnay
with a corn dish that includes butter (including buttered popcorn). But care must be
taken to make sure the salt level is not too high.
The Champagne did a better job of cleansing the palate at the moderate salt level, but
the Moscato d’Asti performed equally as well with the high-salt sample. This finding points
out the important interacting effects of effervescence, acidity, and sweetness with salty foods.
The Moscato d’Asti had a high level of acidity (as did the Champagne) as well as a moderate
level of sweetness (the Champagne was extra dry). This sweetness along with moderate
effervescence and acidity in the Moscato d’Asti created an equal ability to refresh the palate
in the case of salty foods.
In the tests of the impact of effervescence on food bitterness, similar relationships were
found. Higher effervescence in water provided a cleansing effect on moderately high food
bitterness. Once the food bitterness level reached that of radicchio, even 100 percent seltzer
water did not create a total sense of refreshment for the palate. With the wine samples, the
Chardonnay created a very poor match with the bitter food items. The Moscato d’Asti
created the best matches overall and provided an equal level of refreshment for both the
Belgian endive and radicchio items. Here again, in addition to the effervescence effect, the
sweetness present in the Moscato helped to mask the perception of bitterness in the food
items. The extra-dry Champagne was a better match than the Chardonnay but was not as
good as the Moscato.
SUMMARY
This chapter discusses the main relationships between
food saltiness and food bitterness and wine. In general,
high levels of salt or bitterness in foods limit the ability
to create a match with wine that refreshes the palate and
severely constrains the ability to create a synergistic
match. Salt characteristics are not dominant in wine, with
very few opportunities to match salty characteristics of
food and wine.
Unlike the canceling effects of matching sweetness
or acidity, matching bitterness levels in food and wine just
creates more bitterness. Bitterness in wine should not be
a dominant characteristic in wine of good quality, and bit-
Summary 137
terness should not be confused with astringency (from tannins).
While effervescence can be a great equalizer when
paired with foods, the interacting effects of body, sweetness,
acidity and effervescence cannot be overlooked. The
level of body is an important factor to move a match from
the refreshment or neutral stage to the good match level.
The importance of a body-to-body match is discussed in
more detail in the next chapter. Sweetness has a tendency
to mask bitterness and other negative tastes. Acidity acts
much like effervescence to refresh the palate. Of course,
remember that high salt in foods magnifies any negative
effects in wine.