Perfect Pairings & Recipes for
Bacon

Unlock the perfect flavour pairings for bacon according to data science. Explore unique recipes and discover the hidden mathematics of flavour.

Bacon conjures the evocative embrace of thiamine and the bracing kiss of smoke. But look beneath its obvious umaminess and you'll discover a captivating symphony of softer notes, a whisper of glutamate, a hint of protease, and subtle accents reminiscent of animal fat, giving it remarkable depth. Understanding how these elements interplay is the secret to unlocking bacon's pairing potential.

To map these harmonies, we analysed thousands of ingredients, breaking each one down across 150 flavour dimensions, identifying which notes complement and contrast. Our exploration reveals, for instance, how the fresh, green cis-3-hexenol in greens can carry bacon, and how brown onion's cepaceous notes forge a beautiful synergy with its smoky depths.

An ingredient's flavour profile is determined by its core characteristics (e.g. maillard, carnal, and woody) enhanced by layers of subtle aroma notes (outer bars). When pairing ingredients, aim for a mix of core traits to build balance, and select complementary aroma notes to create harmony.

Flavour Pairing Method

To understand how flavour notes harmonise, we analysed more than 50,000 popular ingredient combinations. By exploring these pairings, we identified specific flavour notes that frequently occur together, indicating they share a harmonious relationship.

The Flavours That Harmonise With Smoky Notes

Our analysis shows that the flavour of smoke is strongly associated with the flavour of onion. This suggests we should look for ingredients with a oniony flavour, such as brown onion, when pairing with the smoky aroma notes of bacon.

The recipe below provides inspiration for pairing bacon with brown onion.

Harmonious Flavours Of Bacon

Just as our analysis showed that smoke and oniony flavours combine harmoniously, we can identify the full profile of flavours that harmonise with each of the flavours present in bacon. For instance, the fermented proteins flavours of bacon are strongly associated with bay leaf and green flavours.

The accents associated with the various accents of bacon can be seen highlighted in the pink bars below.

Matching Flavour Profiles

The flavour profile of greens offers many of the aromas complementary to bacon, including leafy and grassy notes. Because the flavour profile of greens has many of the of the features that are complementary to bacon, they are likely to pair very well together.

The chart above shows the unique profile of greens across 150 dimensions of flavour, while the recipes below offer inspiration for bringing these flavours together with bacon.

Recipes That Pair Bacon With Greens

Linked Flavour Notes

Looking at the accents that are most strongly associated with the various flavours of bacon, we can identify other ingredients that are likely to pair well.

The left side of the chart above highlights the aroma notes of bacon, along with the complementary aromas associated with each note. While the right side shows some of the ingredients that share many of the aroma notes complementary to bacon.

What To Drink With Bacon

The violet notes in crème de violette make it a perfect pairing with bacon. Likewise, the leafy flavours in carrot juice create a match made in heaven. Explore a variety of ingredients below that beautifully complement the unique character of bacon below.

Which Fruit Go With Bacon?

Choose fruit that enrich its toastiness or cut through its unctuous richness. Red bell pepper and pear offer vibrant, clean counterpoints, their verdant freshness lifting the palate. Golden Delicious apple add a gentle, oniony brightness, while grape tomato introduces a sophisticated, anise-tinged elegance.

Alternatively, embrace fruit that harmonise with bacon's meatiness. The addition of persimmon, with its subtle violic notes, can complement the pork beautifully, while cranberry sauce lends a sweet floralness.

How Flavonomics Works

We've pioneered a unique, data-driven approach to decode the intricate art of flavour pairing. Our goal is to move beyond intuition and uncover the science of why certain ingredients harmonise beautifully. This rigorous methodology allows us to provide you with insightful and reliable pairing recommendations.

Our analysis begins with over 50,000 carefully selected recipes from acclaimed chefs like Galton Blackiston, Marcello Tully, and Pierre Lambinon. This premium dataset ensures our model distils genuine culinary excellence and creativity.

Each ingredient from these recipes is deconstructed across 150 distinct flavour dimensions, creating a unique numerical "flavour fingerprint." This quantification allows us to apply advanced analytical methods to identify complex patterns between flavour notes.

We identify popular ingredient combinations that frequently appear in our recipe database. Regression analysis is then performed on these pairings to statistically validate and pinpoint truly harmonious flavours.

These insights drive our predictive model, which allows us to take any ingredient (e.g., Bacon), analyse its detailed flavour profile, and accurately reveal its complementary flavours and perfect ingredient partners.