In fact, we only experience 6 tastes: sweet, bitter, salty, sour, umami (pleasant, enhances taste) and oleogustus (fatty). Food descriptions such as fruity or earthy are actually aroma, not taste.
Our taste buds are unable to taste vanilla. Because of this, it seems tasteless to us. However, we are accustomed to thinking of vanilla as sweet. This happens because our brain forms such associations thanks to its smell.
Sweet and salty foods reduce bitterness. That’s why bitter beer goes so well with salty chips.
Some foods go well together, while others don’t.
A good combination can be either congruent (made up of similar elements) or contrastive (different components that complement each other). For example, strawberries and cream contain similar flavor compounds. Therefore, these products go well together.
But similarity works better with aromas than with food flavors. Because if you combine sweet with sweet, the taste may turn out to be too cloying.
Contrast is a harmonious combination of dissimilar components. For example, fish and lemon: the delicate taste of fish balances the sourness of lemon.
The perception of the taste of food is formed through vision, smell and hearing, and not just through taste buds. Even music affects the way we taste food. For example, listening to low-frequency music while eating increases the sweetness of the food.