Perfect Pairings & Recipes for
Black Bean Sauce

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

Black bean sauce instantly conjures the embrace of glutamate and the kiss of brine. But look beneath its obvious umaminess and you'll discover a captivating symphony of softer notes, a whisper of bean, a hint of molasses, and subtle accents reminiscent of char that contribute remarkable depth. And the magic of the kitchen begins when we seek out partners that allow these notes to truly sing, to harmonise in unexpected and delightful ways.

To map these harmonies, we analysed thousands of ingredients, breaking each one down across 150 flavour dimensions, identifying which notes complement and contrast. Our analysis reveals, for example, how flat-leaf parsley's leafy tones carry black bean sauce, and how vegetable stock's thymic notes create a surprising synergy with its savoury richness.

An ingredient's flavour stems from its core characteristics, such as maillard, acidic, or woody, 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.

Unlocking Flavour Combinations

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 Glutamic Notes

Our analysis shows that the flavour of glutamate is strongly associated with the flavour of thyme. This suggests we should look for ingredients with a thyme-like flavour, such as vegetable stock, when pairing with the glutamic aromas of black bean sauce.

The recipe below provides inspiration for pairing black bean sauce with vegetable stock.

Harmonious Flavours Of Black Bean Sauce

Just as our analysis found that glutamate and bay leaf flavour notes are harmonious, we can identify the full profile of flavours that harmonise with each of the flavour notes present in black bean sauce. E.g. the beany notes of black bean sauce are often used with celery-like and pencil-lead accents.

The aroma accents associated with the various accents of black bean sauce can be seen highlighted in the pink bars below.

Matching Flavour Profiles

The flavour profile of flat-leaf parsley offers many of the aromas complementary to black bean sauce, including leafy and grassy aroma notes. Because the flavour profile of flat-leaf parsley has many of the of the features that are complementary to black bean sauce, they are likely to pair very well together.

The chart above shows the unique profile of flat-leaf parsley across 150 dimensions of flavour, while the recipes below offer inspiration for bringing these flavours together with black bean sauce.

Recipes That Pair Black Bean Sauce With Flat-leaf Parsley

Linked Flavour Notes

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

The left side of the chart above highlights the aroma notes of black bean sauce, 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 black bean sauce.

What To Drink With Black Bean Sauce

The leafy notes in carrot juice make it a perfect pairing with black bean sauce. Likewise, the leafy flavours in les baux de provence create a match made in heaven. Explore a variety of ingredients below that beautifully complement the unique character of black bean sauce 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., Black bean sauce), analyse its detailed flavour profile, and accurately reveal its complementary flavours and perfect ingredient partners.