Perfect Pairings & Recipes for
Gravy

Top flavour pairings and recipes for gravy, according to analysis of thousands of recipes.

Gravy instantly conjures the embrace of poultry and the bracing kiss of garlic, but beneath its umami surface lies a nuanced symphony of subtle flavour notes: thyme, beef, and even hints of protease. These are the notes that lend it such remarkable, resonant depth. And the gastronomic enchantment begins when we seek out partners that allow these notes to truly sing, to harmonise in unexpected and delightful ways.

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 exploration reveals, for instance, how the fresh, green cis-3-hexen-1-ol in spinach can carry gravy, and how roast potato's tuberosus notes forge a beautiful synergy with its delicate meatiness.

An ingredient's flavour stems from its core characteristics, such as maillard, carnal, or vegetal, combined with layers of subtle flavour notes (outer bars). For a balanced dish, pair ingredients with a variety of core flavours, and choose complementary aroma notes for 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 Poultry Notes

Our analysis shows that the flavour of poultry is strongly associated with the flavour of potato. This suggests we should look for ingredients with a potatoey flavour, such as roast potato, when pairing with the chickeny aroma notes of gravy.

The recipe below provides inspiration for pairing gravy with roast potato.

Harmonious Flavours Of Gravy

Just as our analysis showed that poultry and leather flavours frequently pair together, we can identify the full profile of flavours that harmonise with each of the flavours present in gravy. For instance, the garlicy flavours of gravy are strongly associated with fatty and seaweedy flavours.

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

Matching Flavour Profiles

The flavour profile of spinach offers many of the aroma notes complementary to gravy, including spinach and grassy aromas. Because the flavour profile of spinach has many of the of the features that are complementary to gravy, they are likely to pair very well together.

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

Recipes That Pair Gravy With Spinach

Linked Flavour Notes

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

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

What To Drink With Gravy

The rice notes in honjozo make it a perfect pairing with gravy. Likewise, the rice flavours in genmaicha tea create a match made in heaven. Explore a variety of ingredients below that beautifully complement the unique character of gravy below.

Which Vegetables Go With Gravy?

Choose vegetables that cut through its meatiness or anchor its fermented aroma. Spinach offers vibrant, clean counterpoints, its verdant freshness lifting the palate. Pea add a gentle, oniony brightness, while green bean introduces a sophisticated, anise-tinged elegance.

Alternatively, embrace vegetables that harmonise with gravy's herbalness. The addition of butternut squash, with its subtle ovine notes, can complement the sage beautifully. Sweet potato bridges earthiness and citrus zest, while potato lends a sheepy meatiness.

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