In the world of food, opposites attract. Choose your favorite: milk and cookies, tomato soup and grilled cheese, chocolate, and peanut butter — the possibilities are seemingly limitless. Including opposing flavors, textures, and colors in any main course is always worthwhile. Why not pair scallops with something bitter because they are rich and sweet? Fine Taste Club explores the scientific approach to food pairing and discusses how opposing flavors attract. Much of it comes down to "molecules harmonizing", where the more similar flavors tend to increase the lusciousness of each other on a molecular level. Including "odd-plate fellows" in the meal often results in a different approach to flavor blending.

Spinach may not appear to be an unusual choice because it is a common go-to. Spinach is an excellent foundation for scallops when spread out on a plate. Because scallops have a small surface area, a delicious sauce will often end up on the plate rather than in your mouth, making spinach an excellent sauce catcher. Serving steamed spinach with a squirt of lemon allows the sweet rug to be pulled out from under the scallops by opposing flavors. Bringing some bitterness to the forefront allows for deeper dives back into sweetness. Consider entering an air-conditioned room on a hot summer day.

Scallops are usually sold out of their shells, cleaned, and ready to cook when purchased from your local fishmonger. One disadvantage of this seafood is that scallops are somewhat expensive and, due to their small size, may appear intimidating to cook. If you've cooked scallops before, you're probably already aware of the common mistakes everyone makes. However, searing is simple, and you'll probably spend more time perusing sauce options. Unless you eat them right out of the shell, scallops shine best in a sauce.

There are a plethora of sauces to choose from, and most white fish sauces will suffice. The lemon caper butter sauce complements the brininess of the scallop, while the buttery orange ginger sauce adds a citrine and spicy twist. But here's the catch. Sea scallops, particularly bay scallops, have a narrow top surface. This is why mashed potatoes will come in handy when it comes to "sauce catching". Make a batch of this creamy mashed potatoes recipe and serve it alongside your scallops. Mashed potatoes are relatively innocuous and allow the sweet scallops and your sauce of choice to sing while taking a back seat in the texture department to the scallops.

A bitter-based fresh spinach salad with pomegranates adds a bit of sparkle and "pop" to the otherwise silky scallop texture. They enjoy the distraction as much as they enjoy hacking your taste buds. When the environment of a taste bud changes, it behaves differently. Your tongue delivers the five taste sensations: sourness, bitterness, sweetness, saltiness, and umami. Each sensation is triggered by taste-sensitive cells in the tongue, which are made up of proteins. Food molecules activate the proteins that send messages to the brain. Pomegranate and scallops provide opposing sensations: the fruit bursts with a sweet and sour flush, while the scallops offer melting salty umami.

But don't overlook some of our other senses. Add sliced apples to your salad to take your senses on a magical mystery tour. Now we're getting serious about contrasting flavors and textures! Furthermore, because of their high vitamin and nutrient content, leafy greens are an excellent dietary addition.

From November to March, bay scallops are more delicate popcorn-sized bivalves. Aside from size, the difference between bay scallops and sea scallops is that bay scallops are sweeter and more tender, making them more desirable. A tenderloin with garlic butter sauce is the ideal accompaniment. Of course, you now have obvious antagonistic foods. Beef and scallops literally come from another world, blending together like sunshine and whiskey.

Add a recipe for buttery garlic sauce to slather over the entire plate (and perhaps a luscious red Burgundy wine) and you've created "second date at my place" magic. Serve a small, whole tenderloin with a giant sea scallop on top for a touch of class. Also, bay scallops are small and sweet, almost like candy, and great as a quick fix. Fresh asparagus or broccoli would make an excellent third course with their earthy bitterness.

Mexican menus frequently feature shrimp, fish, and tuna, but scallops should not be overlooked! The journal Developments in Aquaculture and Fisheries Science investigates Mexico's many trials and tribulations since first introducing bay scallops to commercial fisheries in the 1980s. Scallops have since become a staple in Mexico, providing delectable competition to the contrasting Peruvian ceviche. While scallops are deliciously stuffed into a fire-charred taco with salsa verde, sour cream, chopped lettuce, and tomato skip the tortilla and "deconstruct" your ceviche for a more "grown-up" dinner! Fresh citrus fruits complement the brininess of either type of scallop and add to the coastal call of the wild.

A touch of papaya or mango adds a Caribbean flair. Whatever fruits you choose, drizzle with honey, squirt with lime, and top with coconut flakes. The avocado cuts through the citrus and acts as a creamy go-between, while the honey softens the sweetness. If you really want to feel like you're on vacation, save some of the avocado (or, better yet, buy extra!) and make quick and easy guacamole to serve with the scallops. This will add creaminess to contrast the juicy fruits and add color without hiding the scallops.

Brussels sprouts are currently having a moment and are as common on restaurant menus as Nicholas Cage movies on Netflix. Unlike spinach, Brussels sprouts provide a contrasting bitterness and crunch to the softer, buttery scallop. Numerous websites, including reputable medical-based sites such as the US Department of Agriculture and Medical News Today, as well as Harvard, adore these little gadgets. Brussels sprouts are high in nutrients, antioxidants, fiber, vitamins C and K, and omega 3 fatty acids, help maintain healthy blood sugar levels, and reduce inflammation, according to all of them.

Brussels sprouts are also simple to prepare. Simply clean them, cut them in half, parboil them in salt water until fork-soft, and roast them in the oven. Adding something sweet or tangy to your sprouts before baking them is a great way to add a bit of flash to your mouth, and the possibilities are endless-thinly sliced apples, raisins, dried cranberries, or onions all work well. After taking them out of the oven, drizzle them with honey, cider vinegar, or balsamic reduction.

Let's say you're serving scallops and you've figured out the bitter component, but you still need a second side. Let's try something else. Sweet potatoes are available all year and make an excellent sweet accompaniment to scallops. If you like sweet potato skin, this antioxidant-rich tuberous root can add a crisp bitterness to your meal. But nothing beats the candied goodness of butternut squash for our purposes.

Butternut squash is an excellent source of fiber and vitamin A, and it adds sweetness to any dish (via Verywell Fit). Butternuts are available all year, but they shine in the early fall and winter. Butternuts, like spinach, can be a great "sauce catcher" in the velvety form of savory mashed butternut squash purée. Although you're still pairing a saccharine squash with a sweeter variety of seafood, the textures complement each other well.

Seared scallops are rich, buttery, and slightly nutty. Adding a flavor component to your scallops can help them taste better. Something sweet and something salty come to mind. As corny as it may sound, adding bacon to almost anything rarely disappoints. Frying maple smoked bacon ahead of time provides flavorful fat to sear the scallops in. Everyone at your table will be smiling from ear to ear. You now have all of the fantastic scallop components in a wide range of flavors.

Adding cheese, bacon, and maple syrup to grits is a delicious way to jazz up traditional shrimp and grits. You should substitute one marine animal for another with scallops, and because shrimp and scallops are as interchangeable as drummers in a rock-and-roll tribute band. An argument heard around the breakfast table at sunrise is whether grits or oatmeal are healthier.

Indigenous populations first introduced succotash to European settlers. Although originally a cream dish, succotash has come to refer to any combination of chopped vegetables. Beans are also required; any of the most popular beans will suffice. Whatever bean floats your boat: wax, lima, black, kidney, navy, chick, edamame. Succotash frequently contains meat, so adding fresh bacon bits or slices of grilled sausage to scallops adds smokiness and a surf-and-turf component. But the most important aspect of any great succotash is its freshness.

When winter bay scallops are in season, fresh summer vegetables for succotash are still available. Websites like the National Center for Food Preservation provide quick instructions on canning your vegetables so that you can provide fresh goods even after the season has passed. Now that you've made certain that your succotash is fresh, the textures should stand out and provide an equally pleasurable sensation. With succotash, all of the scallops' closest friends arrive at the party at the same time.

Making Italian risotto is as "old school" as it gets. According to Eataly, the origins of risotto can be traced back to the Middle Ages, when the Moors introduced rice to the country. The Mediterranean's high humidity was ideal for growing short-grained rice with high starch content. Because short-grain rice has a higher starch content, it is less absorbent and lends a pasta-like texture to cooked risotto. Risotto captures every last drop of whatever delicious sauce coats your scallops while adding dimensions and flavors.

Because opposing flavors and textures attract, adding asparagus to the risotto adds dimension and another texture to the plate, offsetting the creamy base and the supple scallop to give the dish a bit of crunch. Toplist recommends a grilled asparagus recipe for some smokiness. Simply roll raw asparagus in a large plastic bag with lemon, olive oil, salt, and pepper and grill until lightly charred.

If you've been scrolling and scrolling, this is your destination. Cauliflower, which is low in carbs and high in nutrients, has made a significant impact on the Keto diet world. According to Brittanica, it's scientifically known as Brassica oleracea, a variety botrytis, but it's been spotted around town disguised as everything from pizza crust and rice to the "mac" in mac and cheese.

You can roast cauliflower, and it would be an excellent accompaniment to your scallops, but you need to think about that sauce. You'll prefer the creamy cauliflower consistency for the same reasons you prefer mashed potatoes. Furthermore, mashed cauliflower purée recipes are extremely simple to prepare. Simply remove the florets, blanch them in a pot until soft, and then place them in a food processor.

Despite their name, mushy peas have a long history in English cuisine. They add a sense of grandeur to any dish, according to British Magazine. In fact, mushy peas now have their own national holiday. In this case, you should use a mix of whole and mashed peas. Because our pea and scallop meal is pretty spherical, a nest of mashed peas keeps things in order. It's also nice to combine the soft and the snap. Green is also a lovely color to contrast with the pearly-white scallops.

WebMD reminds us that the pea packs a big punch and isn't as "humble" as they appear, bringing a not-so-pea-sized list of nutrients and health benefits to the table, including eye, heart, and digestive health. Peas also do double duty in the mouth, combining sweet and vegetal with savory and earthy flavors. Fresh mint added just before serving creates a bright and refreshing sensation. After you've made your mushy peas, add a dash of truffle oil to the minted peas and seared scallops to elevate this simple dish.