Perfect Pairings & Recipes for
Curry Paste
Exquisite curry paste flavour pairings and recipes, revealed through data science.
Curry paste instantly conjures the evocative embrace of chilli and the kiss of bell pepper, woven with delicate hints of garlic, glutamate, and resin that give it remarkable depth. The key to finding the perfect pairing for curry paste is understanding how these notes harmonise.
To map these harmonies, we analysed thousands of ingredients, breaking each one down across 150 flavour dimensions, identifying which notes complement and contrast. Our exploration reveals, for instance, how the metallic, rusty ferrous ion in beef mince can ground curry paste, and how curry powder's sotolon notes forge a beautiful synergy with its fiery sensation.
Flavour Profile Of Curry Paste Across 150 Dimensions Of Flavour
Flavour wheel chart showing the dominant flavour notes of Curry paste: Capsaicin, Capsicum, Allicin, Glutamic, Resinous, Coriander seed, Ginger, Sulfurous, Cinnamon, Saline, Sotolon, Camphor, Balsam, Basil, Chlorophyll, Poivre, Onion, Musky, Smoky, Fishy
An ingredient's flavour profile is determined by its core characteristics (e.g. spice, 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 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 Capsaicin Notes
Strength of Association Between Flavours
The flavours most associated with capsaicin notes are: Fenugreek, Seedy, Coconut, Eucalyptus, Camphor, Rice, Maple, Sesame, Seaweed, Corn, Bean, Basil, Brassica, Saline, Ginger.
Our analysis reveals a strong connection between chilli and fenugreek flavours. Since curry paste has a distinct hot flavour, try pairing it with the fenugreek flavours of curry powder.
The recipes below provide inspiration for pairing curry paste with curry powder.
Harmonious Flavours Of Curry Paste
Just as our ingredient analysis revealed that chilli and fenugreek flavour notes are often used together, we can identify the full profile of flavours that harmonise with each of the flavours present in curry paste. For instance, the capsicum flavours of curry paste are strongly associated with corn-like and briney flavours.
The aroma notes associated with the various accents of curry paste can be seen highlighted in the pink bars below.
Flavour Profile Of Curry Paste And Its Complementary Flavour Notes
Flavour wheel chart showing the dominant flavour notes of Curry paste: Capsaicin, Capsicum, Allicin, Glutamic, Resinous, Coriander seed, Ginger, Sulfurous, Cinnamon, Saline, Sotolon, Camphor, Balsam, Basil, Chlorophyll, Poivre, Onion, Musky, Smoky, Fishy
Matching Flavour Profiles
The flavour profile of beef mince offers many of the aroma notes complementary to curry paste, including ferrous and glutamic notes. Because the flavour profile of beef mince has many of the of the features that are complementary to curry paste, they are likely to pair very well together.
Prominent Flavour Notes Of Beef Mince Are Represented By Longer Bars
Flavour wheel chart showing the dominant flavour notes of Beef mince: Iron, Glutamic, Lactic, Charred, Bovine, Adipose, Proteolytic, Caramel, Cocoa, Smoky, Poultry
The chart above shows the unique profile of beef mince across 150 dimensions of flavour, while the recipes below offer inspiration for bringing these flavours together with curry paste.
Recipes That Pair Curry Paste With Beef Mince
Linked Flavour Notes
Looking at the aroma accents that are most strongly associated with the various flavours of curry paste, we can identify other ingredients that are likely to pair well.
Curry Paste's Harmonious Flavours And Complementary Ingredients
Curry paste's Strongest Flavours
Complementary Flavours
Ingredients with Complementary Flavours
Flavour groups:
Nectarous
Herbal
Spice
Vegetal
Maillard
Earthy
Woody
Carnal
The left side of the chart above highlights the aroma notes of curry 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 curry paste.
What To Drink With Curry Paste
The fenugreek notes in savagnin make it a perfect pairing with curry paste. 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 curry paste below.
Which Vegetables Go With Curry Paste?
Choose vegetables that lift its salinity or ground its turpentine sweetness. Enoki mushroom and bell pepper offer vibrant, clean counterpoints, their verdant freshness lifting the palate. Pea add a gentle, oniony brightness, while baby corn introduces a sophisticated, anise-tinged elegance.
Alternatively, embrace vegetables that harmonise with curry paste's fieriness. The addition of tomato, with its subtle seminal notes, can complement the chilli beautifully, while edamame lends a savoury richness.
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., Curry paste), analyse its detailed flavour profile, and accurately reveal its complementary flavours and perfect ingredient partners.
Explore More
Discover more ingredient profiles and expand your culinary knowledge. Each ingredient page offers detailed analysis of flavour profiles, pairing insights, and culinary applications.
The content on our analysis blog is semi-automated. All of the words were manually written by a human, but the content is updated dynamically based on the data.