the concentration of volatile compounds affect their partitioning. In fact, lipophilic
aroma compounds tend to move in the oil phase and their concentration considerably
decreases in the continuous phase. To understand the complexity of interactions
among volatile and non-volatile compounds in food ingredients during their interaction and pairing, the authors investigated the presence of whey protein and olive
oil phenolic compounds, to assess the release of VOO aroma compounds (Genovese
et al. 2015).
Traditional VOO food pairing is based on the use of products with marked herb
notes, while oils with apple notes are suitable for salads, and peppery notes are
desired for grilled meats (Boskou 2006, 2015). Herbs, as dry ground products or
fresh (e.g. mint, basil), are often added to give both flavour and complexity, but also
longer “shelf life” to the dish, by enhancing its antioxidant properties due to the
presence of phenolic compounds. They can be added directly during the preparation
of the dish, as cooked or raw ingredients, or can be used in olive oil flavouring. A
niche market for olive oils is represented by flavoured olive oil “condiments”,
e.g. using dried oregano, rosemary, chilli pepper (Antoun and Tsimidou 1997;
Caporaso et al. 2013; Gambacorta et al. 2007) and even fresh lemons directly
added during milling (Sacchi et al. 2017). From a production point of view, adequate
research is required to understand the stability of flavoured oils. A flavoured oil does
not always show stronger antioxidant activity than unflavoured oils, due to the
pro-oxidant effects of certain compounds released from the spice or herbs,
e.g. chlorophyll.
From a consumer point of view, it is important to test several combinations that
satisfy the palate, as personal preferences should guide this choice rather than a
general “rule”. Consumer education on different grades of “olive oils” is necessary
in order to get the best from each category of olive oil in terms of cooking use, health
effect and expected sensory impact. This can in turn lead to improvement in the
industry and farmer benefits, which is necessary for the olive oil sector due to the
current limited profitability for the sector, especially for the olive growers.
Harmony is a concept frequently used in culinary science and technology, and it
is defined as the pleasant effect obtained when combining different ingredients of a
whole (Spinelli 2014). Harmonic pairing is an important parameter in the “art” of
cooking, which is reflected in the choice of the correct ingredients. Several theories
have been proposed regarding the food pairing concept, e.g. the pairing of ingredients that share similar volatile compounds (for review see Caporaso and Formisano
(2016)).
Traynor et al. (2013) evaluated new food pairing combinations, from an experimental work. The creation of certain flavour equilibria in the volatile profiles of food
pairings is important for a positive hedonic response. Extra virgin olive oil was
paired with banana, as well as with other foods (basmati rice and bacon), by applying
the “flavour network” theory for food pairing, based on common volatile compounds. The authors evaluated both the volatile composition of the food ingredients
and the sensory scores (hedonistic) obtained by a sensory panel. Results suggested
that the success of food pairings is not just based on a mere volatile compound
sharing, as previous theoretical works suggested.
240
N. Caporaso and D. Boskou
aroma compounds tend to move in the oil phase and their concentration considerably
decreases in the continuous phase. To understand the complexity of interactions
among volatile and non-volatile compounds in food ingredients during their interaction and pairing, the authors investigated the presence of whey protein and olive
oil phenolic compounds, to assess the release of VOO aroma compounds (Genovese
et al. 2015).
Traditional VOO food pairing is based on the use of products with marked herb
notes, while oils with apple notes are suitable for salads, and peppery notes are
desired for grilled meats (Boskou 2006, 2015). Herbs, as dry ground products or
fresh (e.g. mint, basil), are often added to give both flavour and complexity, but also
longer “shelf life” to the dish, by enhancing its antioxidant properties due to the
presence of phenolic compounds. They can be added directly during the preparation
of the dish, as cooked or raw ingredients, or can be used in olive oil flavouring. A
niche market for olive oils is represented by flavoured olive oil “condiments”,
e.g. using dried oregano, rosemary, chilli pepper (Antoun and Tsimidou 1997;
Caporaso et al. 2013; Gambacorta et al. 2007) and even fresh lemons directly
added during milling (Sacchi et al. 2017). From a production point of view, adequate
research is required to understand the stability of flavoured oils. A flavoured oil does
not always show stronger antioxidant activity than unflavoured oils, due to the
pro-oxidant effects of certain compounds released from the spice or herbs,
e.g. chlorophyll.
From a consumer point of view, it is important to test several combinations that
satisfy the palate, as personal preferences should guide this choice rather than a
general “rule”. Consumer education on different grades of “olive oils” is necessary
in order to get the best from each category of olive oil in terms of cooking use, health
effect and expected sensory impact. This can in turn lead to improvement in the
industry and farmer benefits, which is necessary for the olive oil sector due to the
current limited profitability for the sector, especially for the olive growers.
Harmony is a concept frequently used in culinary science and technology, and it
is defined as the pleasant effect obtained when combining different ingredients of a
whole (Spinelli 2014). Harmonic pairing is an important parameter in the “art” of
cooking, which is reflected in the choice of the correct ingredients. Several theories
have been proposed regarding the food pairing concept, e.g. the pairing of ingredients that share similar volatile compounds (for review see Caporaso and Formisano
(2016)).
Traynor et al. (2013) evaluated new food pairing combinations, from an experimental work. The creation of certain flavour equilibria in the volatile profiles of food
pairings is important for a positive hedonic response. Extra virgin olive oil was
paired with banana, as well as with other foods (basmati rice and bacon), by applying
the “flavour network” theory for food pairing, based on common volatile compounds. The authors evaluated both the volatile composition of the food ingredients
and the sensory scores (hedonistic) obtained by a sensory panel. Results suggested
that the success of food pairings is not just based on a mere volatile compound
sharing, as previous theoretical works suggested.
240
N. Caporaso and D. Boskou