The French (Gastronomic) Connection

Photo: Alexandra Boulat/AP

I begin now the arduous task of writing about food and beer in the book, easily the subject I'm least qualified to write.  I mean I eat, but food?  An ignorant fool.  So I've been boning up on some theory, and in a book called Molecular Gastronomy: Exploring the Science of Flavor by French food chemist Hervé This, I encountered this fascinating passage (shortened somewhat for brevity):

"In wines made from the Sauvignon Blanc grape an odorant molecule has been found whose effect is registered only when the enzymes in saliva have separated it from its precursor.  A few moments are needed, then, for the aroma to be perceived.   In 1995, Philippe Darriet and Denix Dubourdieu  discovered a molecule a boxwood or broom note.  Significantly, this simple moecule, whose skeleton is composed of only five carbon atoms, contains a sulfur atom.  Additionally, they observed that the frequency with which this precursor is transformed into an odorant molecule depends on the strains of yeast responsible for fermentation."

There's not a lot more detail to be found, so it's difficult to know how much (if at all) this might be applicable to beer.  But the idea that the perception of aroma or flavor (the two are strongly related) depends on chemical reactions that happen with the application of the taster's saliva--this is fascinating.  When I hold beer in my mouth, flavors and aromas do emerge, but this may well be from warmth, which volatilizes aroma.  It would be hard to tease the two effects apart from a sensory perspective.  But I love the idea.


Update.  The internet is like a little god.  You stand in its dim light and pose your question.  It is only a little god and therefore often remains mute.  But sometimes it answers, and this time it said to me, "hop glycosides."  I swear it spoke in the voice of Stan Hieronymus:

Looking beyond the lupulin gland, and compounds that mostly evaporate during a vigorous boil, led to the discovery of glycosidically bound flavor compounds in hops that contribute to the complex aroma and flavor matrix....  Unlike essential oils some of these glycosides survive the vigorous wort boiling process.  Combined their parts are odorless and nonvolatile, but various yeast strains cause individual cleavage of glycosides, freeing the aromatic component and adding to what is called kettle hop flavor....

[Miller chemist Pat] Ting explained that this flavor does not result simply from hydrolyzed glycosides but also from the subsequent bioconversion by yeast and perhaps even enzymes and microorganisms in the mouth.

(As with my Hervé This quotes, I streamlined this one a bit--you'll just go have to buy the book if you want the full quote.)

The Alchemy of Food and Beer

Wildwood/Cascade Brewers Dinner
7pm Friday, Oct. 15
$60 (gratuity included)
Wildwood, 1221 N.W. 21st Ave.
Reservations: 503-225-0130

Beer is tasty; food is tasty. Combine the two, and unless you've done something horribly wrong, they'll be tasty. It is possible, however, to put plate and glass together so that the ingredients in the two perform an act of alchemy in the mouth and become a third thing entirely. This is harder to do, but when done properly, it allows a person to find depths in both the food and beer she might never have located alone.

A few months back, the Paul Kasten, the sous chef at Wildwood, put on a brewer's dinner with the beers of Pelican. In I think five courses, he managed to thread that needle amazingly well, creating the best brewer's dinner I've attended. On Friday, he's working with Cascade's sour ales and putting together a tour de force of seven courses. I can't speak to how well he'll manage the alchemical transformation this time, but yesterday John Foyston reported that he is pulling out all the stops. Here's the description of course six, paired with Bourbonic Plague:

"It's a huge beer," he said, "and neither of us were sure we could find its match, but then I remembered a Black Forest ham that I've been dry-curing since 2008."

He'll cold-smoke the dense ham over pine needles for two days, slice it prosciutto-thin and serve it with house-made semolina crackers, roasted beets in zinfandel vinaigrette and truffled chèvre.

In absolute terms, sixty bucks a plate is a lot of cash. But given how much time Paul and Ron have put into the food and beverages, I have no doubt but that it's a bargain. And, if you can't make this one, make a mental note. Paul would like to do these every few months, so you'll have another opportunity. If you're interested, I'll include the menu below the jump.

Click for menu

Course 1:
FRITE GALOIS
MANILA CLAM CHOWDER
shell beans, fennel, crème fraîche and fines herbes

Course 2:
VLAD THE IMP ALER
SEARED CONFIT OF HAZELNUT FED PORK BELLY
grilled frisée, walnuts and aged sherry vinaigrette

Course 3:
SOUR RYE
BEER BATTERED HOUSE MADE CORNED BEEF
cider braised cabbage and grain mustard crème fraîche

Course 4:
AUTUMN GOSE
PAN SEARED MERGUEZ SAUSAGE
baguette crostini, dijon, red onion jam and arugula

Course 5:
SANG NOIR
APPLEWOOD SMOKED RIBEYE CAP
caramelized chanterelles and sang rouge glace

Course 6:
BOURBONIC PLAGUE
HOUSE CURED BLACK FOREST HAM
house made semolina cracker, beets, zinfandel vinaigrette and truffled chevre

Course 7:
APRICOT ALE
PISTACHIO ICE CREAM
shortbread cookie, crispy prosciutto and buzzing canyon honey

Local Wine at the White House--Cool, but...

An Oregon winery made a bit of a splash yesterday when its riesling was featured at the huge White House gala with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.* (Not only because it was a local wine, but because the official menu misspelled "Willamette." D'oh!) Cool beans for the Brooks Winery, yet another in a fairly long list of local wines to be served at the White House. But we voted for change! Wine is so passe--hasn't the President (noted beer drinker) gotten the message that ales are the new pinot?

The next time the White House throws a chichi fete--say when Angela Merkel visits--Obama ought to take bold leadership and serve beer. As a way of showing the way, let's have a look at last night's menu and see how we might have paired the courses with food.

Course: Potato and eggplant salad, White House arugala with onion vinaigrette.
Pairing: I'd choose something with a bit of sweet malt to contrast the tartness of the vinaigrette and the bitter/spiciness of the arugala. You want something light, though, so it will draw out the flavors and not overwhelm them. How about a nice pale ale. Since Obama likes to play the high/low card, let's go with Caldera Pale Ale, in the can.

Course: Red lentil soup with fresh cheese
Pairing: "Fresh cheese" doesn't give us much to go on, but let's guess that this is a slightly heartier course. When I hear "cheese," I think Belgian, so we could suggest something like Upright Four or--since we're highlighting the nation, not just Beervana--New Belgium Dandelion Ale.

Course: Roasted potato dumplings with tomato chutney, chick peas, and okra or green curry prawns, caramelized salsify with smoked collard greens, and coconut aged basmati.
Pairing: In honor of India, the White House has made a variation on traditional Indian food. The pairing here is obvious--it needs to be a light lager, typical of the Subcontinent. I've recently had US-brewed Kingfisher, a classic Indian brand, and it's a great beer. Unlike its Indian version, the US recipe is quite nicely hopped, sharp, clean, and dry. It would go perfectly with the meal and be a nice show of international cooperation.

Course: Pumpkin pie tart, pear tatin, whipped cream and caramel sauce
Pairing: This seasonally-appropriate dessert calls for a seasonally-appropriate beer. To draw out the darker, earthier notes from the pumpkin pie, and to help cut the sweet, I would choose a dark dry beer here. One of America's finest is Anchor porter--a fine note on which to end a meal.

Someone alert the President about this, will you?

_________________
*Errata to file under "small world." The Beeronomist--he doesn't want us to call him that, but some titles stick, and in Beervana it's an honorific, anyway--once met the Prime Minister, back when he was just a technocrat in the Rao government during the Clinton days. Singh is, you see, an economist by training, and so they have a professional connection. Beer and politics? Sidelights.