Perfect Pairings & Recipes for
Game

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

Wild meatiness and ferrous notes are at the forefront of game'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 musk, leather, and hints of copper. 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 exploration reveals, for instance, how the grassy, fatty hexanal in pork belly can enrich game, and how celery's selinon notes forge a beautiful synergy with its wild meatiness.

An ingredient's flavour profile is determined by its core characteristics (e.g. carnal, earthy, and maillard) 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.

Flavour Pairing Method

To understand exactly which flavours harmonise, we compiled a database of over 50,000 ingredient pairings commonly used in cooking. We then analysed these pairings, identifying the specific flavour notes that frequently appear together.

The Flavours That Harmonise With Gamey Notes

Our analysis shows that the flavour of game is strongly associated with the flavour of celery. This suggests we should look for ingredients with a celery-like flavour, such as celery, when pairing with the gamey aromas of game.

The recipe below provides inspiration for pairing game with celery.

Harmonious Flavours Of Game

Just as our analysis reveals that game and hoppy flavour notes are commonly paired, we can identify the full profile of flavours that harmonise with each of the notes present in game. For instance, the ironny notes of game are strongly associated with wheaty and malty flavours.

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

Matching Flavour Profiles

The flavour profile of pork belly offers many of the aroma notes complementary to game, including porcine and fatty aroma notes. Because the flavour profile of pork belly has many of the of the features that are complementary to game, they are likely to pair very well together.

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

Recipes That Pair Game With Pork Belly

Linked Flavour Notes

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

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

What To Drink With Game

The wheat notes in wheat beer make it a perfect pairing with game. Likewise, the hoppy flavours in san miguel create a match made in heaven. Explore a variety of ingredients below that beautifully complement the unique character of game below.

Which Fruit Go With Game?

Choose fruit that anchor its savoryness or resonate with its sweet-spicy aroma. Green apple and apple offer vibrant, clean counterpoints, their verdant freshness lifting the palate. White grape add a gentle, oniony brightness, while quince introduces a sophisticated, anise-tinged elegance.

Alternatively, embrace fruit that harmonise with game's meatiness. The addition of lemon, with its subtle hoppy notes, can complement the game beautifully, while orange zest lends a grassy aroma.

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