Perfect Pairings & Recipes for
Hazelnut

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

Roasted nut aroma and amygdaline notes are at the forefront of hazelnut'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 caramel, butter, and hints of vanilla. 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 findings reveal, for instance, how carrot's saccharine tones can lift hazelnut, or how blue cheese's mouldy notes create an unexpectedly harmonious bridge with the roasted nut aroma.

An ingredient's flavour stems from its core characteristics, such as woody, maillard, or spice, 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.

Flavour Pairing Method

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 Hazelnut Notes

Our analysis reveals a strong connection between hazelnut and mould flavours. Since hazelnut has a distinct hazelnut flavour, try pairing it with the mouldy flavours of blue cheese.

The recipes below provide inspiration for pairing hazelnut with blue cheese.

Harmonious Flavours Of Hazelnut

Just as our statistical analysis showed that hazelnut and mouldy flavour accents are commonly paired, we can identify the full profile of flavours that harmonise with each of the flavour notes present in hazelnut. E.g. the almond notes of hazelnut are often used with astringent and tannic notes.

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

Matching Flavour Profiles

The flavour profile of carrot offers many of the aroma accents complementary to hazelnut, including sugary and petrichor accents. Because the flavour profile of carrot has many of the of the features that are complementary to hazelnut, they are likely to pair very well together.

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

Recipes That Pair Hazelnut With Carrot

Linked Flavour Notes

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

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

What To Drink With Hazelnut

The graphite notes in saumur champigny make it a perfect pairing with hazelnut. Likewise, the graphite flavours in faugères create a match made in heaven. Explore a variety of ingredients below that beautifully complement the unique character of hazelnut below.

Which Cheese Go With Hazelnut?

Choose cheese that embrace its roastyness or infuse with its roasted nut aroma. Gorgonzola dolce offers vibrant, clean counterpoints, its verdant freshness lifting the palate. Gorgonzola add a gentle, oniony brightness, while ricotta salata introduces a sophisticated, anise-tinged elegance.

Alternatively, embrace cheese that harmonise with hazelnut's nuttiness. The addition of mozzarella, with its subtle saccharine notes, can complement the hazelnut beautifully. Mascarpone bridges earthiness and citrus zest, while berkswell cheese lends a mild creaminess.

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