Is there a scientific or culinary explanation for why certain food pairs well together, like peanut butter and jelly?
In: Chemistry
Yes. There’s a few things. We might not know exactly why but there are ways flavors and textures interact that work well.
Peanut butter and jelly go well because the tart, acidic nature of the jelly strongly contrasts and stands out against the creamy rich nature of peanut butter. Acids and oils go well together. If a sauce is to rich and buttery, try adding lemon juice. This is a classic combination. Generally acid is underutilized in American food. If ever you feel like your food is missing something try adding a bit of citrus.
There’s also a school of thought that volatile flavor compounds which exist in different foods can overlap, causing some foods to pair well. For example chocolate and chiles both have large amounts of esters (as do beer and bananas). Sometimes these molecules being present in two foods are believed to make them pair well together. Unsurprisingly, chocolate is a common ingredient in chile con carne. It also goes well with bananas. This may have something to do with it. However I don’t put too much stock in this idea. For more reading see The Science of Spice by Stuart Farrimond. That said he seems kinda like a quack. He calls himself a doctor and I don’t think he actually has a doctorate from what I can find. Looks like he never finished medical residency. The cook book is decent though.
Here’s a fun one about peanut butter. Say you burn something. Like chili. You didn’t stir or the pot was too hot or whatever. Even if you pour off the “unburnt” parts and scrape out the burnt bits, it will still taste burnt.
Well once you remove the burnt parts add a big tablespoon or two of peanut butter to it and stir. It’ll remove almost all the burnt flavor. No clue why.
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