The combination of a great drink and a great piece of food makes for something truly wonderful. The reason for this is quite obvious, really – every small bonus that is created in a great food or drink is increased in quality by the time you add another thing to the mixture. When you combine exceptional food and exceptional drink, therefore, they both taste a little better than they did on their own.
In this article, therefore, we’re going to talk a little about what makes a great pairing. From that point, we’re going to talk about some options for delicious pairings that we really love, as well as what makes them as great as they can be.
What makes a good pairing?
So, the concept of pairing food and drink might seem quite strange, since it’s one of the only things that high-level chefs do that seem to be a little impenetrable. Mostly, this is because they’re dealing in terms of caviar and champagne – items that aren’t really available to a lot of people. However, there is a simple science to it, and that’s what we’ll talk about here.
Essentially, a pairing is based on whether two items are complementary or contrasting. These are two buzzwords, really, but they mean something quite simple.
A complementary pairing would be a combination of two flavors that are quite similar. Since they’re quite similar, they mean that you can taste sweetness, for example, more intensely in both of them. A great example of this is the addition of vanilla extract to baked goods like brownies – you can’t really taste the vanilla, but the intense sweetness serves to enhance the chocolate flavor.
A contrasting pairing is a combination of two flavors that are utterly dissimilar. This might not sound too appetizing, and it is the less popular of the two. In truth, though, it can certainly be utterly delicious.
A great example of this is the combination of sweet and sour in a lot of different foods from Eastern Asia. The combination is quite a strange one, but the totally different flavors work to enhance one another. The sour nature of the food is never overpowering, and you’re never left with a mouthful that’s cloyingly sweet.
Black coffee and…?
Black coffee has, of course, a very bitter, rich, and dark flavor. The flavor of a steaming cup of black coffee can vary very intensely from roast to roast, or from crop to crop. In truth, though, the majority of black coffee has that unifying flavor – dark, roasted bitterness.
To enhance black coffee, you could opt for either a complementary or a contrasting flavor.
A complimentary bitter flavor for black coffee is quite tricky to consider. The easiest option is likely dark chocolate – that’s the combination that makes tiramisu so utterly lovely. You could also opt for something a little stranger and more herbal – licorice!
Licorice is something that’s quite unique in terms of flavor, but if you’re a fan, then it’s likely that you’re a die-hard fan. To boost the flavor of licorice, consider opting for a more traditional herbal version than the candy version you may already love.
Iced coffee and…?
Iced coffee can have a number of different core flavors to it. The reason for this is that the ice in a cup of iced coffee can slightly alter the chemistry of a cup of coffee. For example, a given cup of coffee, when hot, may have a number of volatile aromatic compounds that are rapidly evaporating, creating a wonderful aroma. When cooler, though, the coffee is liable to lose some of that aroma and intensity.
The result of this is a typically smooth, rich, and creamy drink. It does have that slightly bitter coffee flavor, but it’s greatly reduced in most cases since the coffee is combined with a great deal of milk.
A complementary flavor pairing for iced coffee is quite tricky to consider. Really, you need something that’s quite creamy and rich, while also having a slightly bitter undertone. The best option we can think of is a dark chocolate cookie, or perhaps some kind of dark chocolate ice cream.
This complementary pairing would surely boost the best parts of both things – the smoothness, richness, and bitterness would be lovely and warm in nearly all cases.
For a contrasting flavor, though, we would be looking for something wholesome and savory, perhaps something with a little acidity or sharpness to it. This was a tricky one to mull over until we decided that a spicy snack would be a great choice!
You could opt for something like roasted chickpeas for a light, simple snack that is sure to taste great and not add too many calories to your day. Alternatively, you could opt for something heavier. For example, some fried chicken or a sub with some hot sauce could be a wonderful combination with iced coffee.
Frappes and…?
Frappes are something we really haven’t spoken about on this site. They’re a little closer to dessert than coffee than we really tend to go for, but they’re a delicious treat once in a while!
The overarching flavor of a frappe tends to be creamy sweetness. Of course, there are many options with different flavored syrups added to the mixture, but we’re going to concern ourselves with something a little more straightforward – the basic frappe.
For a complementary option, you really need to look no further than the bakery counter at your local cafe. Generally speaking, they’ll have a wide array of sweet, creamy pastries that might be utterly delicious for you to pair with a great frappe.
We would suggest hunting down something with a caramel filling – that will really set the pairing off well, making for a tasty combination.
For a contrasting pairing, our best suggestion would be another piece of pastry – a lemon tart. Typically, they’re outrageously sour and sharp, meaning that they could really contextualize the intense sweetness of a frappe if you alternated back and forth between the options.
Conclusion
We hope that this article has given you a few great ideas about creating a wonderful pairing for your favorite coffee drink. It can be a fun, fascinating experiment to consider, and we encourage you to do just that!