Perfect Pairings & Recipes for
Basil Oil

Discover the best flavour pairings for basil oil based on data analysis of thousands of recipes. Find perfect ingredient matches & delicious recipes.

Aromatic herbalness and liquorice notes are at the forefront of basil oil'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 clove, fennel, and hints of eucalyptus. We need to understand how these notes affect each other and which complementary flavors they harmonise with.

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 marine, briny iodine in langoustine can enrich basil oil, and how anchovy's oceanic notes forge a beautiful synergy with its aromatic herbalness.

An ingredient's flavour profile is determined by its core characteristics (e.g. herbal, floral, and spice) 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.

The Flavour Code

To understand exactly which flavours harmonise, we compiled a database of over 50,000 ingredient pairings commonly used in cooking. We then analysed these pairings, identifying the specific flavour notes that frequently appear together.

The Flavours That Harmonise With Basil Notes

Our analysis shows that the flavour of basil is strongly associated with the flavour of iodine. This suggests we should look for ingredients with a oceanic flavour, such as anchovy, when pairing with the basil-like accents of basil oil.

The recipe below provides inspiration for pairing basil oil with anchovy.

Harmonious Flavours Of Basil Oil

Just as our analysis found that basil and oceanic flavours are harmonious, we can identify the full profile of flavours that harmonise with each of the flavour notes present in basil oil. E.g. the liquorice accents of basil oil are often used with copper and oystery accents.

The notes linked to the various accents of basil oil can be seen highlighted in the pink bars below.

Matching Flavour Profiles

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

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

Recipes That Pair Basil Oil With Langoustine

Linked Flavour Notes

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

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

What To Drink With Basil Oil

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

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