Have you ever wondered why certain food combinations just work so well together? Why tomatoes just belong with parmesan, strawberries with chocolate and gin with tonic? This can all be attributed to basic food chemistry and magic that goes on in your brain that allows you to experience such amazing flavours.
But before we delve into the finer details, let us explore the origins of our beloved G&T. The first gin and tonic was supposedly made in India. British soldiers stationed in India were prescribed quinine as an antimalarial medication in the form of tonic water. Like all medications, quinine had a very bitter taste and was far from pleasant to consume. However, the soldiers soon realised that when mixed with gin, the new beverage was a lot more palatable, and thus the birth of G&T. If you wanted to read a little more about the intriguing tale of how tonic water came to be popularised medication read our article “All about Cinchona Bark”!
In order to better understand why particular food pairings work so well together we have to jump back to basics and understand how we perceive taste and smell. Taste receptors on our tongue and chemical receptors in our nose are activated by specific chemicals. This then triggers a signal through our nerves into specific regions of our brain. The message is then integrated together and allows us to perceive a particular smell or taste. Therefore when molecules are able to interact with each other to form new molecules, the taste of two things together may taste better than each apart. In other words, the sum is better than its parts!
When we get down to the nitty gritty, basic chemistry tells us that like molecules often attract each other. In the case of gin and tonics, the botanicals in the gin, namely from juniper berries interact with the quinine in tonic water essentially producing a new molecule. This new molecule is detected by the receptors in your tongue allowing you to enjoy the perfect pairing of gin and tonic.
Perfect food pairing combinations form the basics of food science, some other pairings include tomato and parmesan cheese, due to the high levels of monosodium glutamate (MSG) that they naturally share. White wine and caviar, and more adventurous combinations include oysters and kiwi or pineapple and blue cheese.
It is no wonder why G&Ts just taste so great together, with a little dash of lime or fresh slice of cucumber to make it that extra bit delicious!
Sources:
- https://qz.com/677700/why-does-gin-and-tonic-taste-so-good/
- https://www.thrillist.com/drink/nation/gin-and-tonic-taste-science
- https://nzic.org.nz/ Shaw I.C (2018) The chemistry of gin and tonic. Chemistry in New Zealand. Pg. 178-180