Anise-flavored

• Herbs and vegetables with an anise-like taste usually come from one of three families: Apiaceae (Umbelliferae), which includes chervil and fennel; Asteraceae, which includes tarragon; and Lamiaceae, which includes basil and peppermint.
• These basic ingredients contain anise-flavored compounds such as anethole (green anise, badian [Chinese star anise], green basil, celery, chervil, fresh fennel), R-carvone (mint), S-carvone (caraway), estragole (anise, basil, tarragon, fresh fennel, apple), eugenol (Thai basil, green basil, cloves), apigenin (parsley), and menthol (basil, fresh coriander, fresh fennel, mint, and root vegetables).
  Note this interesting but relatively rare fact: R-carvone and S-carvone have different smells, but their molecules have the identical chemical composition with slightly differing structures
• All too often, wine is chosen to go with the main element of a dish (meat or fish, for example) without consideration of the vegetables, sauce, and other meal components. A fuller understanding of food flavors and wines makes it easier than ever to take into account all components of a given dish. Doing so will increase the meal’s harmony and the success of the wine pairing.”
• Yellow beets also have the taste of anise, but that isn’t really the case for red beets, which are fruitier and earthier tasting due to the presence of geosmin, a volatile molecule with a strong odor of wet earth/rotting wood, an aroma considered a fault when found in wine.
• Mint is one of a group of “cold-tasting” foods. I chose this term because of various aromatic compounds such as menthol, or estragole in apples, that provide a cooling sensation in the mouth.
• Menthol occurs in all types of mint. A small quantity sets off the mouth’s thermal cold receptors. A large quantity has a burning effect, the way capsaicin does in hot peppers. Just like apples, green peppers, and cucumbers, mint contains other molecules that, like menthol, stimulate those receptors which are also activated by temperatures between 46°F and 82°F (8°C and 28°C). These ingredients stimulate cold, providing the sensation of coolness in the mouth, especially when eaten raw.
• Since mint is part of the anise-like family, we can add to these four cold-tasting ingredients (see the chapter “A Taste of Cold”) several other refreshing, anise-like foods such as celery, parsley, fennel, coriander, parsnips, and parsley root, as well as ginger, green apple, lemon balm, lemon verbena, and lemongrass (which is close to lemon balm and lemon verbena).
• This sensation of cold should be considered when selecting a wine pairing. Depending on the meal’s other elements, their presence can act as a buffer, for example, calming the spices’ fires. We also must consider the serving temperature of the food. The best choice is therefore a wine rich in alcohol or a wine served at a somewhat higher temperature, because the cold-tasting foods have already created a coolness in the mouth.
• The ingredients in this family are in complete harmony with a young, dry, preferably non-oaked white wine presenting anise-like notes .
• Pastis is a liqueur traditionally made from licorice root and star anise. The fruits of star anise are much richer in anethole, a compound with an anise-like taste, than is fennel. So, foods dominated by pastis, such as a shrimp vol-au-vent in pastis, also harmonize very well with these wines.”
• When a recipe’s anise-flavored elements (such as fennel, star anise, mint, pastis, parsnips, black licorice extract, and Jerusalem artichokes and other rhizomes) require a red wine, go for wines based on Syrah or Shiraz and Grenache/Syrah/Mourvèdre (GSM) blends. Such wines are usually rich in anise-like scents, such as those of licorice, anise, mint, and tarragon.

from:Taste Buds and Molecules: The Art and Science of Food With Wine Hardcover – International Edition, September 28, 2010

总结：

1. 具有茴香类香气的草本和蔬菜一般来源于这三类植物家族科：伞形科（山萝卜、茴香）；菊科（龙蒿叶）；唇形科（紫苏、薄荷）
2. 茴香类香气的一些基本化学成分为：茴香脑（新鲜茴香、八角茴香、紫苏、芹菜、山萝卜）；R-香芹酮（薄荷）；S-香芹酮（葛缕子）；草蒿脑（茴香、紫苏、龙蒿叶、苹果）；丁子香酚（泰国罗勒、新鲜紫苏、丁香）；芹黄素（欧芹）；薄荷醇（新鲜芫荽、薄荷、植物的根）其中，R-香芹酮和S-香芹酮虽然香气不同，但他们却有着相同的化学分子组成，只是在结构上有极略微的差异。
3. 一般情况下，选择葡萄酒时主要考虑与主菜（比如鱼、肉）搭配，而很少考虑蔬菜、酱汁和一些配餐。一个对食物香气与酒款全面了解的人，可以让膳食组合更和谐，酒款搭配也更合适。
4. 黄色的甜菜根有茴香香气，但红色甜根菜根却不相同。红甜菜根有着潮湿的泥土或腐烂的木头，这些易挥发的土臭味素分子，使得红甜菜根更具土腥气味，而这些香气在葡萄酒里出现会被认为是缺点。
5. 薄荷是能尝起来有「凉爽感」的食物组之一，这类食物的香气分子主要由薄荷醇或苹果里的草蒿脑组成，这些成分可以让口腔里有凉爽的感觉。
6. 所有薄荷类植物里都有薄荷醇分子，往往一点点量就可以打来口腔的冷热感受末梢。比如增加胡椒的辣椒素含量，口腔里会有灼热感。苹果、新鲜辣椒、黄瓜、薄荷这些都含有薄荷醇，且适于在温度8°C and 28°C之内起作用并刺激到感受末梢，让口腔内有凉爽感，尤其是凉拌或者生吃这些食物时更加明显。
7. 薄荷属于茴香类香气家族成员，且属于「凉爽感」提神的植物种类，这类香气食物包括：芹菜、欧芹、茴香、芫荽、欧洲萝卜、欧芹根、生姜、苹果、香峰叶、柠檬马鞭草和柠檬香草。
8. 在选择搭配葡萄酒款时，这种「凉爽感」应该也要考虑进去。例如，可以缓解香料的刺激感，成为一种感觉的缓冲。一款高酒精度的葡萄酒需要稍微高的适饮温度。而食物的饮食温度也同样需要注意，因为「凉爽感」的食物在嘴里就已经够冷的了。
9. 白葡萄酒由于活泼的酸度和令人兴奋的矿物质感，对「凉爽感」的食物是非常搭配的，尤其是一款年轻的、干型的不加木桶的白葡萄酒。
10. 法国茴香酒是一种由甘草根和八角茴香制成的传统利口酒。八角茴香比小茴香更富含茴香脑，因此，用茴香酒为主要配料的食物，诸如虾仁肉馅大饼，这类食物与这些白葡萄酒也是非常搭配的。
11. 这类茴香类香气为主的食物与红葡萄酒也是好搭配的，比如以西拉或歌海娜、西拉和慕合怀特混酿的红葡萄酒，这类葡萄酒也富有欧亚甘草、茴香、薄荷和龙蒿叶的香气。

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