Perfect Pairings & Recipes for
Cheddar

Exquisite cheddar flavour pairings and recipes, revealed through data science.

Cheddar conjures the embrace of protease and the kiss of butter, but beneath its umaminess lies a complex symphony of subtle flavour notes, such as lactic acid, sulfur, and hints of butyric acid, giving it remarkable depth. And the alchemy of the kitchen begins when we seek out pairings that allow these notes to truly sing.

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 flat-leaf parsley's leafy tones carry cheddar, and how bay leaf's laurelled notes create a surprising synergy with its fermented aroma.

An ingredient's flavour comes from its core characteristics, like acidic, maillard, and earthy, combined with its unique aroma notes (outer bars). When pairing ingredients, aim to include a broad variety of core characteristics for a balanced dish. And choose aroma notes that complement each other for a harmonious combination.

The Art of Flavour Pairing

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 Proteolytic Notes

Our analysis shows that the flavour of protease is strongly associated with the flavour of bay leaf. This suggests we should look for ingredients with a bay leaf flavour when pairing with the fermented proteins aromas of cheddar.

The recipes below provide inspiration for pairing cheddar with bay leaf.

Harmonious Flavours Of Cheddar

Just as our analysis showed that protease and bay leaf notes are harmonious, we can identify the full profile of flavours that harmonise with each of the flavour accents present in cheddar. For instance, the lactic acid flavours of cheddar are strongly associated with cocoa and blackberry flavours.

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

Matching Flavour Profiles

The flavour profile of flat-leaf parsley offers many of the accents complementary to cheddar, including leafy and thyme accents. Because the flavour profile of flat-leaf parsley has many of the of the features that are complementary to cheddar, 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 cheddar.

Recipes That Pair Cheddar With Flat-leaf Parsley

Linked Flavour Notes

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

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

What To Drink With Cheddar

The blackberry notes in ribera del duero make it a perfect pairing with cheddar. Likewise, the bay leaf flavours in rasteau create a match made in heaven. Explore a variety of ingredients below that beautifully complement the unique character of cheddar below.

Which Fruit Go With Cheddar?

Choose fruit that cut through its creaminess or anchor its pungent aroma. Raspberry jam and raspberry offer vibrant, clean counterpoints, their verdant freshness lifting the palate. Prune add a gentle, oniony brightness, while red bell pepper introduces a sophisticated, anise-tinged elegance.

Alternatively, embrace fruit that harmonise with cheddar's savoryness. The addition of grape tomato, with its subtle leafy notes, can complement the protease beautifully, while cranberry jelly lends a clean sweetness.

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