December 16/Evanston, Ill./Northwestern University -- North American and Western European cuisines tend to use ingredients that share flavor compounds, while East Asian and Southern European cuisines tend to avoid ingredients that share flavor compounds, according to a study by Northeastern University network scientists.
The findings, reported in the December edition of the online journal Scientific Reports, appear to debunk the food-pairing hypothesis, which is based on the principle that foods that share flavor compounds taste better together.