The Science Behind Why Indian Food Tastes So Good

Cambria Bold
Cambria Bold
Cambria Bold is the Executive Editor of Cubby, and one of Apartment Therapy Media’s first full-time editors from way back when. She was The Kitchn's founding Design and Lifestyle Editor as well as Managing Editor of Re-Nest, Apartment Therapy’s late '00s green living site. She…read more
published Mar 12, 2015
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What is it that makes Indian food so delicious, so rich, so craveable? A few scientists from the Indian Institute for Technology in Jodhpur wondered the same thing, so they analyzed over 2,500 Indian recipes to decode the complex, delicious magic of Indian food. Interested in what they found out?

It’s all about opposites attract! While Western cuisines pair ingredients with similar flavor compounds, “Indian food’s signature is that it combines ingredients that don’t share these qualities at all.”

For example, as the article notes, “if you find cayenne in an Indian dish, you’re unlikely to find another ingredient that shares the same compounds—though you may find other spices that have complementary, but not identical, attributes. This is true across the eight different types of sub-cuisines studied, from Bengali to Punjabi to South Indian.”

So interesting!

→ Read more: There’s a Scientific Reason Why Indian Food Is So Delicious from Munchies

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