Perfect Pairings & Recipes for
Chilli

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

Fiery sensation and capsicum notes are at the forefront of chilli'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 grass, black pepper, and hints of resin. 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 chicken's glutamic tones enrich chilli, and how fenugreek's sotolon notes create a surprising synergy with its fiery sensation.

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

Our analysis reveals a strong connection between chilli and fenugreek flavours. Since chilli has a distinct hot flavour, try pairing it with fenugreek flavours.

The recipes below provide inspiration for pairing chilli with fenugreek.

Harmonious Flavours Of Chilli

Just as our ingredient analysis revealed that chilli and fenugreek flavours are harmonious, we can identify the full profile of flavours that harmonise with each of the notes present in chilli. For instance, the capsicum flavours of chilli are strongly associated with corn-like and briney accents.

The accents linked to the various aromas of chilli can be seen highlighted in the pink bars below.

Matching Flavour Profiles

The flavour profile of chicken offers many of the notes complementary to chilli, including glutamic and poultry aromas. Because the flavour profile of chicken has many of the of the features that are complementary to chilli, they are likely to pair very well together.

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

Recipes That Pair Chilli With Chicken

Linked Flavour Notes

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

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

What To Drink With Chilli

The fenugreek notes in savagnin make it a perfect pairing with chilli. Likewise, the fenugreek flavours in vin jaune create a match made in heaven. Explore a variety of ingredients below that beautifully complement the unique character of chilli below.

Which Cheese Go With Chilli?

Choose cheese that resonate with its sharpness or awaken its fresh aroma. Pecorino Romano and feta offer vibrant, clean counterpoints, their verdant freshness lifting the palate. Parmesan add a gentle, oniony brightness, while manchego introduces a sophisticated, anise-tinged elegance.

Alternatively, embrace cheese that harmonise with chilli's greenness. The addition of cotija, with its subtle glutamic notes, can complement the grass beautifully, while halloumi lends a salty character.

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