FoodPairing: What Fits Well With...

Have you ever thought of pairing pumpkin with strawberry? How about soy sauce with cranberry or broccoli with milk chocolate? Would you substitute Gruyère and coconut for butter? A Belgian Web site suggests all of these intriguing combinations and more...

The site, called FoodPairing, offers two search options: ingredient pairings ("What fits well with...") and substitutions ("What can replace..."). Not all of the results are unusual; some are common pairings, like tomato and olive oil, but many are indeed surprising, inspiring, or seemingly disgusting. Yet all of them are backed by scientific research. The database is the result of flavor analyses conducted by a group of food scientists led by Bernard Lahousse. Although their research is aimed at the food industry, the site is accessible to anyone.

FoodPairing doesn't include every ingredient one might think of searching. Sometimes the scope seems strangely narrow or lacking, and occasionally specific brands and products pop up, like Jules Destrooper Almond Thins (which one can apparently enjoy with cold smoked salmon, grilled beef, and mozzarella). Still, it's a fun site to explore and presumably the database will grow as they analyze more products.

• Site: FoodPairing
• Video: FoodPairing explained

While we're on the subject of unusual food combinations or substitutions, do you have any of your own to share? Ingredients that sound strange but really work together, personal favorites that make other people shudder...?

(Images: pumpkin: Dana Velden, charts: FoodPairing, butter: Faith Durand)

Comments (9)

This sort of reminds me of a dinner party conversation that my friends and I frequently have.

Here's the question:
In other words, can you think of three foods - A, B, and C - such that:
(1) A and B pair well, A and C pair well, and B and C pair well BUT
(2) A, B, and C together wouldn't taste good.

We have yet to come up with three foods that would satisfy both requirements. But surely (surely!) there must be some combination. Right?

Onepot: once had a party where a bacon-wrapped date fell in the chocolate fondue. It was a total Reese's peanut butter cup moment.

Laetitiae: how about, orange, chocolate and mint? Actually, I may try that. Maybe also if cheese got in there somewhere.

Just yesterday I was thinking about how food pairing can mean a couple of things: there's a difference between foods that taste good together in a single bite and foods that make each other taste better if taken alternatingly. When I think of "pairings," I usually think of the latter.

wow...it was complicated to make a comment on this blog! But I persisted :)

Thank you for sharing this interesting pairing website!

I love the combo of peanut butter and coffee (not mixed together, but a bite of a piece of bread with PB, or even straight off the spoon, and a sip of coffee).

Another good source for food/ingredient pairing suggestions is the book Culinary Artistry by Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page.

caramel & cheese (i.e. caramel over goats cheese, cheese popcorn mixed with caramel corn)

@ah-ha: ooh, Pam's Market Popcorn in the North Market in Columbus does that. I thought it would be awful, but it's actually great!

http://www.pamspopcorn.com/menu.html

Mint chocolate chip ice cream topped with caramel sauce. It's divine!!!!