Identifying complementary cheese, beer pairings key to develop appropriate matches: Study

According to the researchers, establishing whether certain types of beer complement certain types of cheese can "enhance the hedonic experience"​ of the consumer and "increase customer gastronomic satisfaction."​

The researchers, from the Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore in Piacenza, issued their conclusion on the back of a tasting session-based study designed to explore the response of consumers to cheese and beers pairings.

Under the study, A preliminary study investigating consumer preference for cheese and beer pairings​, 80 regular cheese and beer consumers were asked to rate sixteen different pairings of four beers - Standard lager, Hefeweizen, Amber Bock and Vienna Lager – and four cheeses – Parmigiano-Reggiano, Gorgonzola, Mozzarella, and Smoked Provola.

Each participant was required to indicate whether the cheese or the beer flavour dominated each pairing.

Vienna Lager was the preferred beer, finishing ahead of Standard Lager, Amber Bock, and Hefeweizen, respectively. Parmigiano-Reggiano was the most liked cheese, followed in descending order by Smoked Provola, Gorgonzola and Mozzarella.

When paired with Parmigiano-Reggiano, all of the sampled beers were “highly appreciated,”​ while the beers paired with Smoked Provola were “medium to moderately liked.”​

According to the study, these findings demonstrated that cheese is a complementary partner of beer.

“The enjoyment of the beer and the consumer hedonic experience was enhanced if a proper cheese was matched with a proper beer,”​ said the study.

“Therefore, care is required in selecting the two items for a cheese and beer combination; deciding on a pairing based on the consumer preference of each individual component on its own could result in a pairing that is disliked by consumers."​

“As a consequence, these results help to understand whether beer complements cheese to enhance the hedonic experience of consumers, offering restaurateurs basic rules for aligning particular beers and cheeses in the marketplace. These results will provide opportunities to increase customer gastronomic satisfaction as part of the dining experience," ​the study added.

Source: Food Quality and Preference ​

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.foodqual.2013.05.012​​

Title: A preliminary study investigating consumer preference for cheese and beer pairings​

Authors: Gianluca Donadini, Maria Daria Fumi, Milena Lambri​