Layers of Flavor

Civilization has been altering food with varied affect since the dawn of time.  Consider the use of fire in cooking; centuries later explorers discover the spice trade; today it’s near ubiquitous to balance the salty taste of a brined oyster with a spritz of lemon.  

The multitude of flavor variations can result in a fantastic recipe to delight our taste buds. 

Sweet and Sour

Sweet and sour are paired together in many Asian dishes; the combination is present naturally in fresh fruit. Virtually all ripe fruits have a sour note that balances natural sweetness. Pineapples, raspberries and oranges are the first fruits that come to mind when considering the sweet-sour duality.  Sweetness is full and round and you will find that an overly sweet dish is overwhelming and cloying. Sour is sharp and has the ability to cut through the overwhelming sweetness without detracting from the full, round flavor. This relationship works both ways. With a pungently sour dish, a little sugar will soften it up. A common dessert pairing in this category is cheesecake with lemon.

Bitter and Sweet

Bitter and sweet make a perfect pair; sugar in coffee or sweetened iced tea serve as good examples.  You might also use bitter as you would sour – to cut the overwhelming sweetness of a dish (think soda). Colas, while laden with sugar, have wonderful bitter undertones. You can survey the entire spectrum of sweet and bitter combinations by focusing on chocolate.  An unsweetened chocolate is unbearably bitter. Add a little sugar, and you may end up with a very pleasant dark chocolate. In contrast, even the sweetest milk chocolate will contain some bitterness from the cocoa.

Sweet and Salty

Sweet and salty elements harmonize quite well.  While not the most obvious paring, these two components work quite well together. Consider chocolate covered almonds or caramel popcorn. 

Salty and Sour

While strange at first, salty and sour work quite well together. Sauerkraut and pickles are great examples, so too are salt and vinegar potato chips. In small amounts, acid enhances salty flavors. In larger amounts, acids can diminish salty flavors. Science has not yet concluded why these two tastes react as they do. 

Harmony among ingredients

Not all ingredients can coexist melodiously in every dish. To enhance flavor some pairings are more helpful in achieving your desired result. Consider the Frutta Prima table.  Our ingredients table, which illustrates various pairings for fruits, nuts, spices, alcohols, and chocolate combined with the Frutta Prima Aroma Wheel allows us to gain inspiration for layering flavors in our desserts. 

Below, please find a preview of both documents. Click here to download a free, complete Complementary Ingredients Table and click here for the Aroma Wheel. 

-- AUI Pastry Team

For questions or comments please reach out to pastryteam@auifinefoods.com