Perfect Pairings & Recipes for
Basil

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

Aromatic herbalness and eugenolic notes are at the forefront of basil's flavour profile, but identifying its perfect partner requires exploring its subtle nuances. We must examine the complex interplay of notes within its bouquet, like thyme, grass, and hints of resin. We need to understand how these notes affect each other and which complementary flavors they harmonise with.

To illuminate these harmonies, we embarked on an ambitious journey, analysing thousands of ingredients. Each was meticulously deconstructed across 150 distinct flavour dimensions, allowing us to pinpoint precisely which notes complement in both classic and unexpected ways. Our exploration reveals, for instance, how the marine, briny iodine in mackerel can enrich basil, and how anchovy's oceanic notes forge a beautiful synergy with its aromatic herbalness.

An ingredient's flavour stems from its core characteristics, such as herbal, spice, or vegetal, combined with layers of subtle flavour notes (outer bars). For a balanced dish, pair ingredients with a variety of core flavours, and choose complementary aroma notes for harmony.

The Secret Language of Flavour

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 Basil Notes

Our analysis reveals a strong connection between basil and iodine flavours. Since basil has a distinct basil-like flavour, try pairing it with the oceanic flavours of anchovy.

The recipes below provide inspiration for pairing basil with anchovy.

Harmonious Flavours Of Basil

Just as our analysis revealed that basil and oceanic flavour accents are often used together, we can identify the full profile of flavours that harmonise with each of the flavours present in basil. E.g. the clove-like flavours of basil are often used with malic and hay flavours.

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

Matching Flavour Profiles

The flavour profile of mackerel offers many of the aroma notes complementary to basil, including oceanic and fatty accents. Because the flavour profile of mackerel has many of the of the features that are complementary to basil, they are likely to pair very well together.

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

Recipes That Pair Basil With Mackerel

Linked Flavour Notes

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

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

What To Drink With Basil

The oceanic notes in manzanilla sherry make it a perfect pairing with basil. Likewise, the glutamic flavours in pecorino create a match made in heaven. Explore a variety of ingredients below that beautifully complement the unique character of basil below.

Which Cheese Go With Basil?

Choose cheese that ground its turpentiness or awaken its fresh aroma. Pecorino Sardo and parmesan offer vibrant, clean counterpoints, their verdant freshness lifting the palate. Pecorino Romano add a gentle, oniony brightness, while fontina introduces a sophisticated, anise-tinged elegance.

Alternatively, embrace cheese that harmonise with basil's herbalness. The addition of feta, with its subtle oceanic notes, can complement the basil beautifully, while gruyère lends a salty character.

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., Basil), analyse its detailed flavour profile, and accurately reveal its complementary flavours and perfect ingredient partners.