Perfect Pairings & Recipes for
Hake

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

Hake immediately conjures the embrace of brine and the kiss of iodine, but beneath its umaminess lies a complex symphony of subtle flavour notes, such as sardine, butter, and hints of glutamate. These are the notes that lend it such remarkable, resonant depth. The key to a truly exceptional harmony lies in understanding how these accents harmonise and interact.

To illuminate these harmonies, we embarked on an ambitious journey, analysing thousands of ingredients. Each was meticulously deconstructed across 150 distinct flavour dimensions, allowing us to pinpoint precisely which notes complement in both classic and unexpected ways. Our analysis reveals, for example, how parsley's hexenal tones carry hake, and how pea's hexenal notes create a surprising synergy with its salty character.

An ingredient's flavour profile is determined by its core characteristics (e.g. vegetal, nectarous, and earthy) 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 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 Saline Notes

Our analysis shows that the flavour of brine is strongly associated with the flavour of grass. This suggests we should look for ingredients with a grassy flavour, such as pea, when pairing with the briney aromas of hake.

The recipes below provide inspiration for pairing hake with pea.

Harmonious Flavours Of Hake

Just as our analysis showed that brine and grassy flavour notes combine harmoniously, we can identify the full profile of flavours that harmonise with each of the flavour notes present in hake. For instance, the oceanic flavours of hake are strongly associated with asparagus and hot notes.

The aroma accents complementary to the various aroma notes of hake can be seen highlighted in the pink bars below.

Matching Flavour Profiles

The flavour profile of parsley offers many of the accents complementary to hake, including grassy and leafy accents. Because the flavour profile of parsley has many of the of the features that are complementary to hake, they are likely to pair very well together.

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

Recipes That Pair Hake With Parsley

Linked Flavour Notes

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

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

What To Drink With Hake

The grassy notes in sauvignon blanc (bordeaux) make it a perfect pairing with hake. Likewise, the grassy flavours in green tea create a match made in heaven. Explore a variety of ingredients below that beautifully complement the unique character of hake below.

Which Vegetables Go With Hake?

Choose vegetables that awaken its greenness or lift its salty character. Pea shoots and green bean offer vibrant, clean counterpoints, their verdant freshness lifting the palate. Broad bean add a gentle, oniony brightness, while artichoke introduces a sophisticated, anise-tinged elegance.

Alternatively, embrace vegetables that harmonise with hake's salinity. The addition of spinach, with its subtle leafy notes, can complement the brine beautifully, while celeriac lends a fresh 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., Hake), analyse its detailed flavour profile, and accurately reveal its complementary flavours and perfect ingredient partners.