Monday, January 24, 2011

Volatile Compounds

So...I was talking with my friend (and now pastry chef at WD~50) today about flavor combinations. While we were chatting he brought up an intersting topic, volatile compounds in food. Basically a volatile compound is an organic and or chemical compound that can be found in food. I have not yet down much research on the topic but I can assure you I definitely will be. If you know what the chemical breakdown of certain foods are you can begin to match and pair flavor profiles with like chemical structures. Very intersting stuff. My friend told me there are books on the topic but they are extremely expensive. If anyone knows of any online databases or free lists of these compounds PLEASE post me a link. I would love to learn more about this fascinating subject.
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7 comments:

  1. SvenJanuary 25, 2011 at 5:06 AM

    Is it like "Foodpairing"?
    There is a website called foodpairing.be
    You should check it out :)

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  2. Russell KarathJanuary 25, 2011 at 8:26 AM

    Yes Sven it is very similar to foodpairing. Thank you so much for the link!

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  3. Chef Michael TaeuberFebruary 6, 2011 at 8:10 AM

    Have you tried Google Books at all? Lots of resources, don't know what specific type you are looking for. Mostly scientific data, not practical cooking data. If you know someone at WD-50 have them ask Dave Arnold at F.C.I.

    ex:
    http://tinyurl.com/47b3kfc

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  4. Russell KarathFebruary 7, 2011 at 10:34 PM

    Thanks ChefT I have not tried google books but I will check it out. Thanks for the link too.

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  5. UnknownApril 6, 2011 at 10:23 PM

    What you're really looking for is the Volatile Compounds in Food Database prepared by Leffingwell and Assoc. This is the reference that Heston B. uses. I don't think there is really anything like it and it costs $2700. (http://www.leffingwell.com/bacis1.htm) I wish I could afford it, but thats a big number.

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  6. Russell KarathApril 7, 2011 at 2:04 PM

    Yup that's the one. Maybe if we pool all of our money we could afford a copy then just photocopy it lol. Thanks Jeremy!

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  7. GregApril 27, 2011 at 2:01 PM

    check out TGRWT - based on pairing odorants/volatile compounds to see if they go...really well together (TGRWT). it can be found at blog.khymos.org/tgrwt

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