Guía de maridaje de platos típicos de la ciudad de Riobamba como recurso de información turística

Resumen

Riobamba, located in the heart of Ecuador, enchanted visitors with its wide variety of tourist attractions, including majestic volcanoes, mountains, and picturesque towns, as well as its rich gastronomy. The objective of the study was to develop a pairing guide with the city's typical dishes, highlighting its gastronomy and suggesting to diners how to properly pair the dishes with drinks that enhance their flavors. To create the guide, the focus group technique was used, which included 11 participants who, through sensory analysis, rated the best combinations of foods and drinks using a tasting sheet that evaluated harmony, balance, intensity, and the aromatic phase. The qualitative results were divided into categories of drink, aroma, and dish, demonstrating that the pairing influences the gastronomic experience, revealing curious data about the combination of chicha and wine. It was concluded that beer was the most versatile drink to pair with food, thanks to its freshness and flavor, which turned out to be less invasive on the palate. With these results, the pairing guide was created that presented the best drink suggestions for each dish, recommending their distribution in strategic places so that more people could learn about and experience the combination of foods with each suggested drink.