Perfect Pairings & Recipes for
Cabernet Franc

Exquisite Cabernet Franc flavour pairings and recipes, revealed through data science.

Cabernet Franc is marked by the unmistakable flavour of tomato and graphite. But look beneath its obvious sourness and you'll discover a captivating symphony of softer notes, a whisper of tannin, a hint of oak, and subtle accents reminiscent of polyphenol that give it remarkable depth. And the epicurean alchemy begins when we seek out partners that allow these notes to truly sing.

To map these harmonies, we analysed thousands of ingredients, breaking each one down across 150 flavour dimensions, identifying which notes complement and contrast. Our findings reveal, for instance, how lamb stock's ovine tones can enrich Cabernet Franc, or how asparagus's methanethiol notes create an unexpectedly harmonious bridge with the green sweetness.

An ingredient's flavour profile is determined by its core characteristics (e.g. acidic, vegetal, and herbal) 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 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 Tomato Notes

Our analysis shows that the flavour of tomato is strongly associated with the flavour of asparagus. This suggests we should look for ingredients with a asparagus flavour, such as asparagus, when pairing with the tomatoey accents of Cabernet Franc.

The recipes below provide inspiration for pairing Cabernet Franc with asparagus.

Harmonious Flavours Of Cabernet Franc

Just as our analysis revealed that tomato and seaweedy flavours tend to pair together, we can identify the full profile of flavours that harmonise with each of the flavour accents present in Cabernet Franc. E.g. the pencil-lead notes of Cabernet Franc are often used with beefy and musky notes.

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

Matching Flavour Profiles

The flavour profile of lamb stock offers many of the notes complementary to Cabernet Franc, including ovine and oyster aroma accents. Because the flavour profile of lamb stock has many of the of the features that are complementary to Cabernet Franc, they are likely to pair very well together.

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

Recipes That Pair Cabernet Franc With Lamb Stock

Linked Flavour Notes

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

The left side of the chart above highlights the aroma notes of Cabernet Franc, 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 Cabernet Franc.

Which Vegetables Go With Cabernet Franc?

Choose vegetables that lift its minerality or awaken its green sweetness. Jersey Royal potato and new potato offer vibrant, clean counterpoints, their verdant freshness lifting the palate. Spring onion add a gentle, oniony brightness, while pearl onion introduces a sophisticated, anise-tinged elegance.

Alternatively, embrace vegetables that harmonise with Cabernet Franc's bitterness. The addition of green olive, with its subtle laurelled notes, can complement the burnt beautifully, while shallot lends a pungent herbiness.

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