Perfect Pairings & Recipes for
Fig

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

Fig sweetness and baccate notes are at the forefront of fig'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 raisin, honey, and hints of cucumber. We need to understand how these notes affect each other and which complementary flavors they harmonise with.

To map these harmonies, we analysed thousands of ingredients, breaking each one down across 150 flavour dimensions, identifying which notes complement and contrast. Our analysis reveals, for example, how ascorbic acid's citric tones cut through fig, and how clove's eugenolic notes create a surprising synergy with its fig sweetness.

An ingredient's flavour profile is determined by its core characteristics (e.g. floral, nectarous, 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 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 Ficus Notes

Our analysis shows that the flavour of fig is strongly associated with the flavour of clove. This suggests we should look for ingredients with a clove-like flavour, such as clove, when pairing with the ficus accents of fig.

The recipes below provide inspiration for pairing fig with clove.

Harmonious Flavours Of Fig

Just as our ingredient analysis revealed that fig and clove-like flavour notes harmonise, we can identify the full profile of flavours that harmonise with each of the flavours present in fig. For instance, the berry-like notes of fig are strongly associated with beefy and rosemary notes.

The notes associated with the various notes of fig can be seen highlighted in the pink bars below.

Matching Flavour Profiles

The flavour profile of ascorbic acid offers many of the notes complementary to fig, including citric and grapefruit aroma notes. Because the flavour profile of ascorbic acid has many of the of the features that are complementary to fig, they are likely to pair very well together.

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

Recipes That Pair Fig With Ascorbic Acid

Linked Flavour Notes

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

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

What To Drink With Fig

The clove notes in mulled cider make it a perfect pairing with fig. Likewise, the citric flavours in lemonade create a match made in heaven. Explore a variety of ingredients below that beautifully complement the unique character of fig below.

Which Cheese Go With Fig?

Choose cheese that anchor its berryness or awaken its watery aroma. Parmesan and goat cheese offer vibrant, clean counterpoints, their verdant freshness lifting the palate. Feta add a gentle, oniony brightness, while halloumi introduces a sophisticated, anise-tinged elegance.

Alternatively, embrace cheese that harmonise with fig's tropicality. The addition of labneh, with its subtle lactic notes, can complement the lychee beautifully, while greek yogurt lends a creamy tanginess.

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