As people become more health-conscious and food becomes more globalized, more and more restaurants are allowing customers to choose their own favorite staple foods in addition to white rice and bread.
For example, curry, a staple of the lunch menu. For what reason do you choose your favorite staple food?
In this issue, we focus on “compatibility” and unravel the possibilities of minor grains as indicated by artificial intelligence AI.
What is the best rice for curry, as proven by the AI taste sensor?
Curry is a national dish of Japanese people. In recent years, European-style curry and rice, Indian curry, Sri Lankan curry, and a unique genre of curry called spiced curry have emerged, offering a wide variety of ways to enjoy curry. In addition, there are endless combinations, such as using turmeric rice or naan as the staple food, or choosing brown rice, sprouted rice, or cereal rice among rice dishes.
The latest AI technology has revealed what kind of rice goes well with what kind of curry.
(*1)(*2) Sixteen-grain rice is made from “Hakubaku Jurokkoku-Gohan” and Glutinous barley is made from “Hakubaku MOCHI MUGI” mixed with white rice.
The AI taste sensor*3 developed by Keio University is used to reproduce the human sense of taste. It is a revolutionary machine that calculates the strength of the five basic tastes of sweetness, Umami, saltiness, acidity, and bitterness, and uses artificial intelligence to quantify the ratio of these tastes, changes in taste perception due to combinations of ingredients, and even the degree of compatibility.
According to this compatibility test by the AI taste sensor, more than 90% of the results were “compatible. In addition, when “beef curry,” “vegetable curry,” and “seafood curry” were crossed with “white rice,” “Sixteen-grain rice,” and “Glutinous barley,” respectively, the results were as shown above.
All of the rice is “very compatible” with more than 94% of the rice. However, it is important to note here that Sixteen-grain rice and Glutinous barley are more compatible than white rice in all curries!
According to Dr. Ryuichi Suzuki, a doctor of flavor who supervised the study, “Minor grains, including Glutinous barley, have a stronger flavor and richness than white rice, which brings out the contrast in flavor between the curry and the rice.
Furthermore, Glutinous barley was shown to be the best match for two types of curry: vegetable curry and seafood curry.
(*3) Analysis by taste sensor “Leo”
Curry compensates for Glutinous barley’s weakness?
Now, with the help of a generative AI*4, we will try to find out why Glutinous barley is a good match for curry. We asked the AI, “What does Glutinous barley lack in taste? The answer is as follows.
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Glutinous barley is a healthy and nutritious food, but you can enhance its flavor by adding the following elements
● Salt: Glutinous barley is low in salt, so add a small amount of salt to enhance the flavor.
● Spices: Spices such as curry, cumin, coriander, cinnamon, and turmeric can be used to give Glutinous barley a deeper flavor.
● Herbs: Fresh herbs (e.g. parsley, basil, mint, etc.) can be added to add freshness and flavor to Glutinous barley.
● Sourness: Lemon juice or vinegar can be added to add sourness to the flavor of Glutinous barley.
● Olive oil: Olive oil can be added to give Glutinous barley a richer flavor and smoother texture.
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Surprisingly, the things that improve the flavor of Glutinous barley are all typical ingredients used in curries. This is only a reference answer as the AI is still incomplete, but considering that the answer is based on a vast amount of data from around the world, it can be said that Glutinous barley and curry are still a highly probable match.
In the future, the use of AI will become more widespread in the food world. Curry can be enjoyed in a variety of ways, including white rice, cereal rice, and sometimes oatmeal. It may be fun to choose the staple food to match based on scientific evidence, not to mention the health aspect.
(*4) Using chat GPT. Answers are examples.
