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Chapter 9 The Impact of Spice
INTRODUCTION
Flavor layering adds more elements to taste components
and texture. Trying to consider all of these elements simultaneously
can create confusion about the best wine choice for
a given food item. Therefore, one objective of the food-andwine
pairing process is to isolate these flavors and identify the
most prominent ones. Major flavor character categories include
fruity, nutty, smoky, herbal, spicy, cheesy, earthy, and
meaty. Spicy flavors in food and wine can be particularly important
for matching purposes.
Spices have a long and colorful tradition, having been
used for centuries in cooking, for medicinal purposes, and for
other reasons. In ancient Greece, bay leaves were made into
crowns for scholars and victorious athletes to wear. Capsicum
peppers have been eaten by New World Indians since about
7000 BC. In past centuries, fennel was traditionally hung over
doorways because the plant was believed to ward off evil
spirits. 4
Technically, spices are distinguished from herbs based
on the part of the plant from which they are derived. Spices
come from roots (for example, ginger), bark (cinnamon), flowers
(saffron), seeds (cumin), fruit (allspice), or buds (cloves),
while herbs are the fresh or dried leaves. We can classify sea-
Aperitif Bayou La Seine: An American Restaurant in Paris
sonings based on their taste: sweet-spicy, savory-spicy, hotspicy,
and herbal, for example. 5
While many experts suggest pairing food and wines by
matching flavors, evaluators need to keep in mind that spicy
or herbal flavors in wine do not come from actual spices and
herbs, and spiciness in food and wine does not by itself guarantee
a good match between the two. 6 While both Gewürztraminer
and many Asian and Indian dishes are frequently described
as spicy, this particular match is more likely to work
because of similar levels of acidity and sweetness, not because
of the spiciness. To create a match using flavors and
spiciness, it is important to define the type of spice in the wine
and food to ensure a satisfying match.
The wine and food pairing instrument that will be presented
and discussed in Chapters 11 and 12 includes a separate
line to assess the level of spice in both wine and food as
part of the evaluation process. The flavor of spice is listed as
a separate category because of its likely impact on pairing decisions
when a significant level is present in food dishes. The
following sections explore the issue of spice and its potential
impact on pairing decisions.
Chef and co-owner Judith Bluysen opened the restaurant, originally called Thanksgiving, along with her
husband, Frédéric, in 1993. The restaurant evolved into a full-service operation after a three-year stint
selling American packaged food and homemade take-out foods such as Chili con Carne, Barbecued Ribs,
and Jambalaya, and running an American-cuisine catering service in Paris. The packaged-food store,
Thanksgiving American Grocery Store, still operates directly behind the restaurant, selling baking needs,
basic American groceries, spices, Louisiana specialties, Tex-Mex ingredients, and other specialty items.
For the first year, their restaurant served dishes based on a variety of regional American cuisines,
including New England Baked Beans, North Carolina Barbecue Pork, Kentucky Burgoo, guacamole, pastrami,
coleslaw, a few California-inspired salads, and Louisiana’s gumbos, jambalayas, and étouffées. Although
the restaurant was relatively successful, they quickly determined that the various cooking styles,
ingredients, and range of accompaniments were too confusing for the Parisian clientele. Judith and Frederic
decided to choose one cuisine and stick with it. Partially because Louisiana cuisine is particularly relevant
to France, but mostly because of its rich history and its quality, they chose the Cajun and Creole cuisines
of Louisiana. As part of this focus, they decided to change the name of the restaurant to Bayou La Seine
to utilize the Cajun term for a small river and identify its location near the Seine River in Paris.
In this chapter, the focus is on the impact of spicy flavors on wine and food pairing decisions. An
assumption of Cajun and Creole cuisine is that it is spicy. While this is not always the case, the level of