The Flavor Matrix: The Art and Science of Pairing Common Ingredients to Create Extraordinary Dishes
- Downloads：5140
- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2021-09-23 06:53:54
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：James Briscione
- ISBN：0544809963
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
- Download
Summary
One of Smithsonian Magazine's Ten Best Food Books of the Year
A revolutionary new guide to pairing ingredients， based on a famous chef's groundbreaking research into the chemical basis of flavor
As an instructor at one of the world’s top culinary schools， James Briscione thought he knew how to mix and match ingredients。 Then he met IBM Watson。 Working with the supercomputer to turn big data into delicious recipes， Briscione realized that he （like most chefs） knew next to nothing about why different foods taste good together。 That epiphany launched him on a quest to understand the molecular basis of flavor—and it led， in time， to The Flavor Matrix。
A groundbreaking ingredient-pairing guide， The Flavor Matrix shows how science can unlock unheard-of possibilities for combining foods into astonishingly inventive dishes。 Briscione distills chemical analyses of different ingredients into easy-to-use infographics， and presents mind-blowing recipes that he's created with them。 The result of intensive research and incredible creativity in the kitchen， The Flavor Matrix is a must-have for home cooks and professional chefs alike: the only flavor-pairing manual anyone will ever need。
A revolutionary new guide to pairing ingredients， based on a famous chef's groundbreaking research into the chemical basis of flavor
As an instructor at one of the world’s top culinary schools， James Briscione thought he knew how to mix and match ingredients。 Then he met IBM Watson。 Working with the supercomputer to turn big data into delicious recipes， Briscione realized that he （like most chefs） knew next to nothing about why different foods taste good together。 That epiphany launched him on a quest to understand the molecular basis of flavor—and it led， in time， to The Flavor Matrix。
A groundbreaking ingredient-pairing guide， The Flavor Matrix shows how science can unlock unheard-of possibilities for combining foods into astonishingly inventive dishes。 Briscione distills chemical analyses of different ingredients into easy-to-use infographics， and presents mind-blowing recipes that he's created with them。 The result of intensive research and incredible creativity in the kitchen， The Flavor Matrix is a must-have for home cooks and professional chefs alike: the only flavor-pairing manual anyone will ever need。
Reviews
Maggi LeDuc
，
Really interesting science behind the book， but I'm only interested in making 2 or 3 of the recipes， sadly。 Really interesting science behind the book， but I'm only interested in making 2 or 3 of the recipes， sadly。 。。。more
Liquidlasagna
，
What were some of the most surprising flavor pairings you discovered？Strawberry and MushroomBlueberry and HorseradishClam and MelonTomato and CoconutCoffee and CarrotAvocado and Cocoa---for daring people who want to work with an narrow and incomplete way of pairing foods for 'workable clashes' some of the time---Eggbest pairing - citrus， cream， cheese， mushroom， truffle， beef， chicken， roasted meats， smoked meats， seafood， asparagussurprise pairing - vanilla， carrot， rhubarb---Sugar Syrupbest Pa What were some of the most surprising flavor pairings you discovered？Strawberry and MushroomBlueberry and HorseradishClam and MelonTomato and CoconutCoffee and CarrotAvocado and Cocoa---for daring people who want to work with an narrow and incomplete way of pairing foods for 'workable clashes' some of the time---Eggbest pairing - citrus， cream， cheese， mushroom， truffle， beef， chicken， roasted meats， smoked meats， seafood， asparagussurprise pairing - vanilla， carrot， rhubarb---Sugar Syrupbest Pairing - port， tamarind， sherry vinegar， apple， grain， orangesurprise pairing - garlic， fish， olive---icing sugar and olives again， mom？ 。。。more
Max Metcalf
，
A great book for understanding the true chemical composition of foods and how/why some odd flavour combinations work。
Diane B
，
Enjoyed the approach and tried out a few recipes and flavour combinations I might not have otherwise - cranberry & kiwi relish， yum！
Dawn
，
Gift for a special chef friend。 He has tried several recipes - all have tasted amazing so far。
S
，
The premise of the book- a new science of pairing foods based on the aromatics they share- is pretty weak in practice。 It does lead to some really innovative recipes- and the recipes in the book look fun， lively and creative。 But the science part- these wheels of how to match foods- are pretty useless in practice。 Many times there are foods that shouldn't be paired together， according to the book， but taste great。 And vice versa。 I admire the work put into trying to find a science of pairing， an The premise of the book- a new science of pairing foods based on the aromatics they share- is pretty weak in practice。 It does lead to some really innovative recipes- and the recipes in the book look fun， lively and creative。 But the science part- these wheels of how to match foods- are pretty useless in practice。 Many times there are foods that shouldn't be paired together， according to the book， but taste great。 And vice versa。 I admire the work put into trying to find a science of pairing， and the explanations of chemistry are admirable， but I'm just skeptical about only pairing foods with similar olfactory profiles。 Check it out instead for some new perky recipes 。。。more
Deanna
，
I think this book has a lot of interesting information but as a professional Food Scientist who specializes in the sensory properties of food， I wish the author had gone about this differently。 I think that the 150 food matrices that IBM's Watson used to group based on the compounds found within each food is interesting。 It shows us good pairings and also substitutes。 The author， James Briscione， also describes many of the scientific portions of this book well and will remind you that he is not I think this book has a lot of interesting information but as a professional Food Scientist who specializes in the sensory properties of food， I wish the author had gone about this differently。 I think that the 150 food matrices that IBM's Watson used to group based on the compounds found within each food is interesting。 It shows us good pairings and also substitutes。 The author， James Briscione， also describes many of the scientific portions of this book well and will remind you that he is not a scientist but a chef。 He also includes interesting recipes after each food matrix。 Will this book revolutionize the food world？ Not likely。 Many of these foods work together but are they complimentary to each other？ Basil scored very low on the tomato matrix but we know that they compliment each other very well which is why they taste so well together。 I also wish that the author， who frequently reminds us he is a chef and not a scientist， would have consulted with scientists for more credibility。 With sensory scientists， the taste， 'other tastes'， and texture sections could have been expanded and described correctly。 Freshness is not a texture。 The texture section should have possibly even been removed as it is incredibly lacking and texture is very complex。 The author also includes a section on the chemical compounds that make up many of the foods that we eat but I think it is important to note that just because a compound is found in the ingredient， does not mean it is at a perceivable level to humans。 As the author states， each compound is a pixel and all of the different compounds make up a complete picture which in turn is what makes our brain think broccoli when we are eating broccoli。 Overall， concept of this book is very innovative using Watson to help break down foods to shared compounds to find likely pairs。 Pairing more than 2 ingredients together can get a bit confusing but the included recipes looked interesting。 The author is not a scientist but does cover many scientific points and many of them he explains well。 Partnering with sensory scientists and professional food tasters could have taken this book to another level of credibility。 。。。more
May Ling
，
Summary: This is good if you are very into food and mixing together random stuff。 For those that do this naturally， it's a nice reiteration， but not earth shattering。 For those that can only use a recipe， this may be quite a bit more insightful as to why there are those that don't need one。Plz consider my Vlog: IG: WhereIsMayLing Youtube: Diary of a Speed ReaderThe major reason I removed a star is that I don't think it goes into texture as much as it should other than to say it's important。 I th Summary: This is good if you are very into food and mixing together random stuff。 For those that do this naturally， it's a nice reiteration， but not earth shattering。 For those that can only use a recipe， this may be quite a bit more insightful as to why there are those that don't need one。Plz consider my Vlog: IG: WhereIsMayLing Youtube: Diary of a Speed ReaderThe major reason I removed a star is that I don't think it goes into texture as much as it should other than to say it's important。 I think there's not as great an understanding of texture mixes。 Also， I didn't find the recipes （upon reading them） by the AI to be earth shattering。 Interesting for sure， but I just think the better skill is to take what's left in your pantry and make that taste good。 p。 4 - The difference between taste and flavor:"There are five - or six， depending on who you ask - basic tastes: salty， sweet， sour， bitter， umami， and fat。 " "Every bite of food contains hundreds if not thousands of volatile compounds， which I will refer to as aromatic compounds。 And as that name suggests， it is the smell of these compounds that dictates flavor。" "Once the food enters your mouth， chewing it releases yet more aromatic compounds， over a thousand individual compounds may be found in a single bite。" p。 13 - He talks about complimentary vs balancing tastes。 every person should know this if they plan on just being a great cook （not a chef， which is a different thing）。Spice - can only be balanced by fatSweet - Balanced by Sour and Bitter。 It is not complementary to UmamiBitter - Balanced by sweet and umamiSour- Balanced by Fat & SweetFat- Balanced by spicy and sourUmami - Balanced only by bitter （compl only Fat & salty）Salty - it's just complementary to everything but sour and bitter （seems wrong to me） （no balancing）Interesting chart， if you need to make it scientific at some point。All pages - I love that it thinks of things as "Best Pairings， Surprise Pairings， & Substitutes。" p。 146 - I did not know that the kiwi originated from China。p。 243 - There is no replacement for truffle pairings。p。 253 - Talks to the idea that fat is controversial as a taste， even though specific receptors have been found that specifically notice fattiness。p。 255 - "Texture has been proven to alter the way the brain perceives taste and flavor， and thus plays an overall role in the enjoyment of a meal。"p。 260-263 - These categories are very cool: floral， fruity， phenol， malliard， terpene， 。。。more
Jay
，
A good book that will help cooks with basic recipe skills down pat take it to the next level with their own creations。
Correen
，
The author， a food scientist， studied the specific molecules involved in flavor。 She then compared the makeup of various flavors and foods and which chemicals are shared among them。 She discovered that very different kinds of food often shared flavors and that complementary tastes and balancing tastes may come from foods one would not consider as possible pairs， e。g。， garlic and honey or cocoa and and eggplant。The book is beautifully laid out， has excellent illustrations， interesting recipes and The author， a food scientist， studied the specific molecules involved in flavor。 She then compared the makeup of various flavors and foods and which chemicals are shared among them。 She discovered that very different kinds of food often shared flavors and that complementary tastes and balancing tastes may come from foods one would not consider as possible pairs， e。g。， garlic and honey or cocoa and and eggplant。The book is beautifully laid out， has excellent illustrations， interesting recipes and encourages its readers to experiment。 I plan to try lemon curd with crunchy olives and also use the book as a flavor reference。 。。。more
Mbhatia
，
I borrowed this book from the library and read it at the recommendation of my daughter who is using it for a Meet-Up group。 Full disclosure: I did not read every page。 I liked， was inspired by， and learned from， the scientific approach to creating pairings of ingredients that lead to unique taste sensations。 Having the matrixes on hand will be necessary for the cook who endeavors to pursue this method。 If that fits you， I suggest you buy the book。
Dray
，
This book caught me entirely by surprise， in a really good way。 Its a harbinger of using AI to cook。 I very much enjoyed the flavor matrix and the way it found unexpected combinations as well as the really great recipes。
Jessica
，
More chemistry， please。 More chemistry， please。 。。。more
Beth Polebaum
，
I originally gave this book 3 stars since， while it was interesting ， I didn’t think I would find it useful。 Wrong！ Sugar snap peas sautéed with coconut？ Awesome！！
carissa
，
Interesting book that I wanted to like more。Equally good for the visually inclined and the science-minded。Makes you think about how to make your own recipes， rather than being a recipe book。I await the condensed （and expanded to include more herb/spices） version， as this is too unwieldy to be used in the kitchen with ease。
Elizabeth Ruth-Abramian
，
I love this book for its visual illustration of information on food and flavor。In Flavor Matrix， the team of authors， James Briscione and Brooke Parkhurst have fashioned a visually stunning book that suggests flavor pairings of fruits， vegetables， grains， meats， and other protein sources with other fruits， vegetables， grains， meats， etc。， and also with herbs and spices， liquids， etc。 Crafted for ambitious home cooks， chefs-in-training and food writers， a wealth of food data fits into a graphic i I love this book for its visual illustration of information on food and flavor。In Flavor Matrix， the team of authors， James Briscione and Brooke Parkhurst have fashioned a visually stunning book that suggests flavor pairings of fruits， vegetables， grains， meats， and other protein sources with other fruits， vegetables， grains， meats， etc。， and also with herbs and spices， liquids， etc。 Crafted for ambitious home cooks， chefs-in-training and food writers， a wealth of food data fits into a graphic image which I think of as a flavor wheel。 The wheel displays at a glance the top choices for numerous variations or possibilities on a single ingredient。The authors' presentation allows you to delightfully experiment， even though there's a lot of information that can only be available through computer programs。 Each ingredient they've highlighted comes with an elegantly scripted recipe---usually the ingredient plus sauce---so that you follow it and create something special， supported by the chef's ideas。 Take "Roasted Root Vegetables with Ginger Salsa Verde"---a recipe for your root vegetables of choice plus a gingery-cilantro-herb-and-chili sauce that makes a wonderfully zingy dish！ 。。。more
Punit
，
Awesome book every chef must have this
Lynne Redmond
，
This book hit all my buttons- junior science geek， artist with a THING for color wheels and cook who hates recipes but loves to experiment。 Though there are excellent recipes included， it's the concept of understanding the unique combos of flavors that are chemically compatible that really resonated with me。 The most unlikely foods like to play together and experimenting with all these new combos is what this book encourages。 Great ideas and graphically beautiful too！ This book hit all my buttons- junior science geek， artist with a THING for color wheels and cook who hates recipes but loves to experiment。 Though there are excellent recipes included， it's the concept of understanding the unique combos of flavors that are chemically compatible that really resonated with me。 The most unlikely foods like to play together and experimenting with all these new combos is what this book encourages。 Great ideas and graphically beautiful too！ 。。。more
✨ Evelyn ✨✨
，
So far this is my fave of the YEAR cook book。 🤔should I even be calling it a cookbook？ More like flavor pairing。 Awesome。 This is on my to BUY LIST！！Going to try the beef and chocolate together Easter dinner。 Smoked brisket with a dry chocolate rub recipe。 Sounds odd but it says it pairs well in flavors together。 😉I guess my family members will be my “rabbits” on experimenting with this Easter dinner。
Krysten
，