Perfect Pairings & Recipes for
Lapsang Souchong

Analysing hundreds of thousands of recipes uncovers lapsang souchong's optimal flavour pairings.

Lapsang souchong immediately conjures the evocative embrace of smoke and the kiss of resin, yet its initial bitterness is only the opening note. Beneath lies a sophisticated tapestry of tea, whispers of pine, and the aromatic bitterness of char that contribute remarkable depth. Understanding how these elements interplay is the secret to unlocking lapsang souchong's pairing potential.

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 analysis reveals, for example, how egg yolk's adipose tones enrich lapsang souchong, and how onion's cepaceous notes create a surprising synergy with its smoky depths.

An ingredient's flavour comes from its core characteristics, like woody, maillard, and earthy, combined with its unique aroma notes (outer bars). When pairing ingredients, aim to include a broad variety of core characteristics for a balanced dish. And choose aroma notes that complement each other for a harmonious combination.

The Art of Flavour Pairing

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 Smoky Notes

Our analysis reveals a strong connection between smoke and onion flavours. Since lapsang souchong has a distinct smoky flavour, try pairing it with oniony flavours.

The recipe below provides inspiration for pairing lapsang souchong with onion.

Harmonious Flavours Of Lapsang Souchong

Just as our analysis reveals that smoke and oniony flavour notes often complement each other, we can identify the full profile of flavours that harmonise with each of the flavour notes present in lapsang souchong. For instance, the resinous flavours of lapsang souchong are strongly associated with glutamic and fatty flavours.

The aromas complementing the various accents of lapsang souchong can be seen highlighted in the pink bars below.

Matching Flavour Profiles

The flavour profile of egg yolk offers many of the aroma accents complementary to lapsang souchong, including fatty and glutamic aroma notes. Because the flavour profile of egg yolk has many of the of the features that are complementary to lapsang souchong, they are likely to pair very well together.

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

Recipes That Pair Lapsang Souchong With Egg Yolk

Linked Flavour Notes

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

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

What To Drink With Lapsang Souchong

The rice notes in sake make it a perfect pairing with lapsang souchong. Likewise, the glutamic flavours in cheese create a match made in heaven. Explore a variety of ingredients below that beautifully complement the unique character of lapsang souchong below.

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