The beauty of a cocktail pairing is that you can match bold flavors with subtle foods and vice versa. Rub the mixture over the duck breasts. Serve a sauce on the plate or on the side with duck. And there is certainly a lot of sense in that recommendation. Prepare the mashed potatoes as you normally do, with plenty of butter and milk. Flavor is really a combination of taste (what your tongue senses) and aroma (what your olfactory epithelium way inside your nose sense). Flavor is the combination of taste experienced on your tongue and the aroma you experience through your nose. Duck tends to be a little fatty, rich but not as strong as game, and either pan fried or roasted. There are many theories having to do with sharing components, balancing, or tradition. Fruit can be a magical accompaniment with meat, from game meats, to poultry and everyday favorites, like pork. Sweet and salty always work wonders. I'm going to be making a whole roast duck with a sour cherry glaze. Remember that dominant food flavors can come from the protein (like beef), the sauce (such as a cream sauce), or the method of preparation (grilling, for example). Duck is often cooked with a sweet glaze because it helps the skin caramelize and crisp up. In the image above a thicker line indicates more shared compounds. Fruity and smoky aromas will pair well with the meat flavors. Sides cannot contain mushrooms, as my man is allergic to them, but other than that, there are no dietary concerns. Rinse duck with cold water, pat dry. Melkohn Khosrovian of Greenbar Distillery suggests that if you are working with a soft-flavored duck or fish, pull out a strong, flavor-filled cocktail. Image from Flavor network and the principles of food pairing. You don’t need to go overboard with this, however, as our recipe below for a Tamari Honey Glaze proves. I'd like other suggestions particularly a starch. A quick and easy sauce for duck is equal parts of ginger ale and jam (peach, apricot, plum, blackberry) and a dash of powdered ginger and garlic. Sides cannot contain mushrooms, as my man is allergic to them, but other than that, there are no dietary concerns. I'd like other suggestions particularly a starch. The one I whip up with mandarin oranges makes for one of the most classic flavor pairings in duck cookery. But, when added to whipped, steamed potatoes -- steaming produces the airiest texture -- brown butter elevates the humble spuds to rustic elegance. For roast duck, barbecued duck or confit, any cooking method that brings out the strong flavors of nearly-burnt duck skin or meat, go for a more tannic and powerful red so the wine is not overpowered. This chart shows shared pairings across different foods. Different types of foods share identical flavor compounds. Remove from pan. Duck's rich-tasting meat and fatty skin go particularly well with the sweet, sour, and spicy flavors of Southeast Asian foods. Flavor the red beet salad with olive oil, salt, a pinch of sugar, a small quantity of horseradish and a generous amount of caraway seeds. Rosé wines are a good middle-ground that will give you the best chance for a reasonably good pairing. ou might not automatically consider meat and fruit to be perfect flavor companions, but recall such classic dishes as lemon pepper chicken, duck à l'orange, turkey with cranberry sauce, and pork with apples.