Perfect Pairings & Recipes for
Black Sesame Paste

Analysing hundreds of thousands of recipes uncovers black sesame paste's optimal flavour pairings.

Roasted aroma and seminal notes are at the forefront of black sesame paste'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 walnut, fenugreek, and hints of burnt. We need to understand how these notes affect each other and which complementary flavors they harmonise with.

To chart these harmonies, we analysed thousands of ingredients, each deconstructed across 150 distinct flavour dimensions, pinpointing the notes that best complement this ingredient’s profile. Our analysis reveals, for example, how green chilli's capsaicin tones infuse with black sesame paste, and how chilli oil's capsaicin notes create a surprising synergy with its roasted aroma.

An ingredient's flavour profile is determined by its core characteristics (e.g. maillard, earthy, 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.

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 Sesame Notes

Our analysis shows that the flavour of sesame is strongly associated with the flavour of chilli. This suggests we should look for ingredients with a hot flavour, such as chilli oil, when pairing with the sesame aroma accents of black sesame paste.

The recipe below provides inspiration for pairing black sesame paste with chilli oil.

Harmonious Flavours Of Black Sesame Paste

Just as our analysis reveals that sesame and hot notes are often used together, we can identify the full profile of flavours that harmonise with each of the flavour notes present in black sesame paste. Similarly, the seedy flavours of black sesame paste frequently pair with lactic acid and butyric accents.

The notes linked to the various aroma notes of black sesame paste can be seen highlighted in the pink bars below.

Matching Flavour Profiles

The flavour profile of green chilli offers many of the aromas complementary to black sesame paste, including capsaicin and capsicum aroma notes. Because the flavour profile of green chilli has many of the of the features that are complementary to black sesame paste, they are likely to pair very well together.

The chart above shows the unique profile of green chilli across 150 dimensions of flavour, while the recipes below offer inspiration for bringing these flavours together with black sesame paste.

Recipes That Pair Black Sesame Paste With Green Chilli

Linked Flavour Notes

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

The left side of the chart above highlights the aroma notes of black sesame paste, 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 sesame paste.

What To Drink With Black Sesame Paste

The garlic notes in l' una rossa make it a perfect pairing with black sesame paste. Likewise, the capsaicin flavours in chorizo-infused beer create a match made in heaven. Explore a variety of ingredients below that beautifully complement the unique character of black sesame paste below.

Which Fruit Go With Black Sesame Paste?

Choose fruit that infuse with its earthiness or carry its juicy aroma. Lime and lemon zest offer vibrant, clean counterpoints, their verdant freshness lifting the palate. Yuzu juice add a gentle, oniony brightness, while pineapple introduces a sophisticated, anise-tinged elegance.

Alternatively, embrace fruit that harmonise with black sesame paste's seediness. The addition of pumpkin, with its subtle capsaicin notes, can complement the sesame beautifully, while banana lends a fiery sensation.

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