Oysters and ... kiwi?

Oysters and kiwi. I stumbled on this pair when I was researching the health benefits of oysters (there are tons, and I can't wait to share soon). Researchers have discovered that smell is a much bigger influence on taste than previously thought. In fact, 80% of a food's taste comes from smell. Only 20% comes from taste buds on the tongue. Which makes sense if you've ever had a cold ... nothing seems to taste good. So why oysters and kiwi?  The theory is that if two foods have the same volatile compounds that produce food aroma, they'll taste good together.  Oysters and kiwi reportedly share 18 of the same compounds, which should make them an ideal match.

Here's some more of the crazy combos the food wizards have suggested:

• Pineapple and Blue Cheese
• Banana and Parsley
• Cauliflower and Cocoa
• Chili Paste and Dried Apricot
• White Chocolate and Caviar
• Mint and Mustard
• Strawberry and Coriander
• Tomato and Black Tea

I don't know about mint and mustard, but I decided - for Oyster Stew - to give the oyster and kiwi taste combo a whirl.

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OYSTERS AND DICED KIWI

First, I tried oysters on the half shell with diced kiwis.  I shucked a fresh Topsail Sound oyster and diced a couple of slices of kiwi.  It looked pretty - but I definitely was unsure. Slurp.

You know what, I really liked it.  I could have been imagining the shared compounds, but they definitely mixed well.  Briny oysters probably work best to get the sour/salty balance right.  I would (and will) serve these for an appetizer soon.

Oyster with diced kiwi

OYSTER AND KIWI JUICE

Second, I tried it with kiwi juice. I put a whole kiwi in a food processor and pureed it. Then, I put it through a strainer and ended up with a little bit of kiwi juice. It was a lot of work and I didn't like it nearly as well. It also looks a little funky. This was definitely a "one and done" for me.

Oyster with fresh kiwi juice

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WHO THOUGHT OF THIS?

A few people have claimed to have thought up the concept, but as far as I can tell, the movement gained momentum when Francois Benzi (a flavor chemist) and Heston Blumenthal (master chef) started messing around with concoctions, made a few new discoveries and took them from the lab to real people.

From their work, many chefs have featured their food pairings in their own restaurants and cookbooks. Here's an interview with Chef David Bouley on CBS This Morning: Saturday (Dec. 29, 2012) describing his recommendations for a New Year's dinner using a few unusual pairings, including kiwi and Wellfleet oysters.  (Sorry, it starts with a 30-sec. ad.)

For you brainiacs, check out this great article from Chemical & Engineering News that further explains the phenomenon.

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Picture by Jean Pierre Gabriel
From L'air du Temps Restaurant
Eghezee, Belgium

I have searched the Internet for oyster and kiwi recipes and the only one I found was on blog.foodpairing.com for a dish made in Belgium. It lists sepia paste, tara gum and methlycellulose as ingredients as well.  It's beautiful and probably tastes delicious, but I'm looking for something a little more ... simple.  If you create an oyster and kiwi dish, please let me know.  I'd like to see what you come up with and would love to share it with the readers of Oyster Stew.