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Pairing beverages and food is one of the most fun aspects of drinking any beverage. Yet, pairing beverages and food is not an exact science. Many factors affect the outcome. Some are: flavors, textures, and weight of the various components.
Learning to distinguish these components is a fun and delicious exercise that requires practice. My path led from the Culinary Institute of America where I studied foods and cooking techniques to studies of beverages for certifications, including the Master Sommelier designation. I have hundreds of pages of tasting notes on various dishes and beverages that have shaped my ability to pair food and beverages. These notes inform how I pair wine or tea and foods.
Taking useful notes requires discipline and rigor. This is more than just enjoying the hedonistic pleasure of a dish or beverage. Rather, this is a logical and analytical process of understanding what works together and why.
Learning even a portion of the permutations available requires diligence. The standard reference book Wine Grapes contains 1,182 pages of grape varieties. When multiplied by the regions where these grapes can be grown and the winemaking applications that can be applied, the number of wines is almost infinite.
When studying for the Master Sommelier examination, I tasted every day for years and estimate that I tasted over 10,000 wines during that time. Each of these informed my internal database of food and wine affinities. While this is not an exact science, there are ways to navigate the process.
Established principles allow you to utilize these components to pair beverages with food such that the whole is tastier than the sum of the parts. These methods may be used individually but find their strongest bonds when used in combination. The more pairing principles used for any pairing, the stronger the pairing.
Tea and wine have received much attention in the past few years for similarities in nuances, complexities, and flavors. Therefore, both tea and wine pairing with food are covered here. This method allows anyone who owns a restaurant or other food-service outlet that sells alcohol to match these two beverages to food. These principles can be used to extrapolate pairings for other types of beverages and food as well.
Methods of Beverage and Food Pairing
There are four main methods to match beverages and food. Three of these emphasize the flavors in the food and beverage, while one emphasizes the weight or body of each. Both flavor and body need to be considered when creating a pairing. Flavors can clash, leading to a disastrous pairing, while a disproportionate perception of weight between food and beverage might cause one to overwhelm the other.
These main methods are:
- Complementary
- Enhance
- Contrast
- Weight or Body
Complementary
At least one element in the food complements at least one element in the beverage.
Wine Example:
“The crisp, refreshing quality of the wine [hint: code words for a wine with lots of acidity] complements the tart and tangy [hint: code words for crisp and refreshing] goat cheese.”
Tea Example:
“The refreshing quality of the Gyokuro complements the tart and tangy goat cheese.”
Enhance
At least one element in the food enhances a flavor or texture in the beverage.
Wine Example:
“The umami notes in the mushroom tart enhance the savory, umami notes of the Nebbiolo.”
Tea Example:
“The umami notes in the mushroom tart enhance the savory, umami notes of the shóu pu-ehr.”
Contrast
At least one element in the food contrasts at least one element in the beverage.
Wine Example:
“The brisk and lively texture of the wine [hint: still code words for a wine with lots of acidity] contrasts the creamy goat cheese.”
Tea Example:
“The brisk and lively texture of the tea contrasts the creamy goat cheese.”
Pairing Tea and Food
Methods of Tea and Food Pairing:
- Weight or Body
- Complementary
- Contrast
- Bridging
- “What Grows Together, Goes Together”
- Drink What You Like, Eat What You Like
Weight or Body
Remember that cooking method, sauces, and side items can affect perceived “weight” of the dish. Therefore, consider the entire dish, not just the main item on the plate.
Examples:
Cooking Method
Grilling or roasting will make a dish seem heavier than poaching or pan sauteeing.
Sauce
Pan sauces or gravies will make a dish seem heavier than fruit sauces.
Side Item
A rich side item such as Brussels sprouts, mashed potatoes, or pasta will make a dish seem heavier than a light side item such as fruit compotes, salads, or raw vegetables.
Complementary
At least one element in the food complements at least one element in the tea.
Example:
“The refreshing quality of the tea complements the tart and tangy goat cheese.”
Contrast
At least one element in the food contrasts at least one element in the tea.
Example:
“The brisk and lively texture of the tea contrasts the creamy goat cheese.”
Bridging (when cooking with tea)
Drinking a tea that is the same or similar to the tea used in the dish.
Example:
“The matcha macarons are excellent when paired with matcha.”
“What Grows Together, Goes Together”
Match food and teas from the same regions, especially if they have a long history.
Examples:
“Assam tea makes a great accompaniment to various types of Khar.”
A Few Additional Principles to Remember
- Adding milk to tea will increase the body and mouthfeel of the tea.
- Fat (steak) is complementary with tannin.
- Sweetness moderates peppery spice; Tannin accentuates peppery spice.
- Salt and umami are both flavor moderators and help tea match with food.
Weight or Body
A basic chart of wine pairing by weight or body. The same principles can be applied to tea. Can you fill out the chart for different types of teas to pair with the various dishes based on body or weight of the tea?
Weight or Body Tea Food Match Ideas Very Full-Bodied Game Meats Full-Bodied Porterhouse, Ribeye Medium/Full-Bodied Strip Steak, Portobello Mushroom Medium-Bodied Tuna, Pork, Filet Mignon, Chicken, Lobster Light/Medium-Bodied Salmon, Yellowtail Light-Bodied Halibut, Cod, Sole, Vegetable Tarts Very Light-Bodied Oysters, Shellfish
Remember that cooking method, sauces, and side items can affect perceived “weight” of the dish. Therefore, consider the entire dish, not just the main item on the plate.
Examples:
Cooking Method
Grilling or roasting will make a dish seem heavier than poaching or pan sautéing.
Sauce
Pan sauces or gravies will make a dish seem heavier than fruit or acidic sauces.
Side Item
A rich side item such as Brussels sprouts, mashed potatoes, or pasta will make a dish seem heavier than a light side item such as fruit compotes, salads, or raw vegetables.
The best food and beverage pairing might just be….
Drink What You Like, Eat What You Like
AND, THAT IS OKAY!
James Tidwell is a Master Sommelier, entrepreneur, writer, and educator.
Tidwell founded and produces the TEXSOM Conference, the world’s largest professional education conference for wine, and produces the TEXSOM Awards, one of the largest and longest-running beverage competitions in the United States.
He consulted on The World Atlas of Wine 8th Edition as well as the Oxford Companion to Wine 5th edition, is editor of several US states and Mexico for the annual Hugh Johnson Pocket Wine Book, and is an editorial committee member for the Classic Wine Library.
He is a judge for The World of Fine Wine magazine’s World’s Best Wine List Awards, is Regional Chair - US and Mexico at Decanter World Wine Awards as well as a judge for Platinum Medal awards, and is a Grand Jury judge for the Wines of Portugal Challenge.
His articles have been published in World of Fine Wine, Lonely Planet, and other outlets. He passed the Master Sommelier Diploma examination in 2009, graduated the Culinary Institute of America with Honors, and graduated Louisiana State University with a degree in International Trade and Finance.
Tidwell was named one of Wine Business Monthly’s Wine Business Leaders, was nominated as Wine Enthusiast Wine Star Awards Person of the Year in 2019, and he and the program he ran were nominated for James Beard Foundation Awards six years in a row.
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