What could be better than a good glass of red wine and juicy beef steak? A lot of things. But we on the other: Rutgers University (USA)seems to know why this couple so good. It turns out, astringent, red wine and fatty meats like Yin and Yang in the food world - are on different sides of the touch of the spectrum.

Publication in the October issue of Current Biology offers a completely new definition of a balanced meal (nutritionists can't worry).

The authors call our mouths are extremely sensitive somatosensory body, perhaps even the most sensitive of all the body. How food is felt in my mouth, depends on our choice of food and its combinations. An interesting example is the variety of salad dressings containing a mixture of vinegar and vegetable oils (and much more). Besides, who of us does not know that ginger goes well with sushi, Cola with Burger and chips, and Fanta with pizza...

Tannins are contained in red wine, tea and ginger, cause dryness and astringent feeling in the mouth. These substances are chemically to contact "lubricating" proteins contained in saliva, causing their aggregation and hardening (tanning property tannins). As a result, the tongue and gums are left without their usual "lubricating" coverage. On the other hand, fats responsible for the feeling of increased slipperiness. Simply put, the average person does not like either excessive dryness of the mouth, nor excessive oiliness. By combining products opposite taste types subconsciously tries to restore the disturbed balance. It is this characteristic dishes of different countries: components can be different, but the meaning, the result is always one.

In addition, the researchers suggest that the binding agents, which are usually eaten on a regular basis (green tea, products with grape extract), is actually quite weak, born of their astringent feeling grows as consumption. This means that it is not necessary to gulp drink a glass of wine, and then to go and meat. The effect will be much stronger if swallowed meat in small SIPS, each time a little intensifying the sensation of dryness in the mouth, which will greatly smoothed another bold piece.

This kind of experimentation any of us can put in the home. For example, you can drink a Cup of green tea vprikusku with salami, and then compare experiences from the same salami, but with a glass of water (the authors argue that in the latter case, from a sense of fat in your mouth to get rid fails). This search for a balance explains why fatty cheeses such as brie, especially delicious still with that tart red wine (tartness proportional to the amount of tannins).

All this is the real right balance - the balance of taste.

Based on the materials Phys.Org