From Tea to Stout: Unexpected Pairings To Reinvigorate Your Dining

Red wine with red meat, white wine with fish—it’s all a bit predictable. In this article, we’re doing away with those old conventions and exploring some fresh, exciting food and drink pairings that are sure to tantalise.

There are, in certain more “sophisticated” circles of dining, tacit understandings of how to pair your food and drink: red wine with red meat, white wine with fish, cocktails as pre-dinner amusements, and so on and so forth. But gastronomy is not as rigid as it once was, having taken increasingly experimental turns in recent decades.

Pairings that once might have gotten you side-eye from stuffy sommeliers with sticks firmly lodged in places you don’t want one are now celebrated as legitimate, creative combinations that have made the art of pairing food and drink that much more varied and inclusive. In this article, we’re going to take a look at some food and drink pairings that tear up the rulebook and taste all the better for it.

Tea And Savoury
It’s an age-old tradition to pair tea with pastries, so much so that we’ve even named an entire meal around it—tea time. But why relegate tea to such narrowly constrained windows? Tea can be just as viable during any other meal and is becoming an increasingly popular option in that regard. Say you were having a smoked salmon bagel, rich, indulgent. Might the robustness of a black tea be just the ticket to cut through that richness and impart some sorely needed balance to proceedings?

Perhaps you’re having a nice Japanese dinner featuring a miso soup dripping with intense umami. A nice floral oolong would go some way to enhancing the depth in it, don’t you think? When pairing tea with such hearty meals, the primary consideration to keep in mind would be the tannins and how you balance that with the flavours of your chosen dish.

Beer And Dessert
Think beer’s just for burgers and fries? Think again. The sheer variety in beer styles offers a plethora of options, among which there’s sure to be one that pairs perfectly with any particular cuisine you might have in mind. Beer with dessert probably wasn’t the first thing that came to mind when you think of potential pairings, but it’s an avenue that would be left sadly amiss if unexplored. Picture a rich stout, if you will, alongside a decadent chocolate cake, the roasted notes coalescing beautifully with the sweetness of the cake.

Prefer a less sinful dessert, à la a zingy lemon sorbet? A fruity lambic makes a fitting dance partner, offering a refreshing contrast to the acidity of that sorbet. And that’s just scratching the surface. IPAs, porters, wheat beers— all styles with their own profile and peculiarities that make pairing options limited only to the extent of your imagination.

Cocktails And Spicy Food
But maybe those previous pairings are old hat to you; perhaps you’re someone who relishes a real challenge. You might find that noble struggle within the nuances of spicy food. Certain spice-rich cuisines, because of their complexity, can prove rather difficult to pair. Cocktails too share similar complications. So, it goes without saying then that to put those two together would necessitate some real artistry.

While it’ll depend almost entirely on the dish and the cocktail you have in particular, a general example would be if you have a whiskey-based drink with, say, smoky undertones. That would be something that would go really well with some tandoori chicken. Gin cocktails more your street? It could be worth trying to mirror or contrast the essences of the botanicals with the intricacies simmering in a Sichuan hot pot. Again, while it’ll be acutely drink and dish dependent, you can probably sidestep disaster if you manage to ally the intensity of your drink to the heat in your dish, taking pains to ensure that neither overpowers the other.

Out With The Old, In With The New
So, there you have it—a few pairings that break long-established modes, and for the better. Gone are the days when it was a supposed marker of sophistication to know what and what not to pair. Remember, the modern epicurean carries the spirit of adventure, eschewing pretense in favour of acceptance. Count yourself among their ranks and sample a few of these non-traditional combinations. Sure, curiosity may have killed the cat, but it makes for the lifeblood of a true gourmand.