Perfect Pairings & Recipes for
Maple Syrup

Unlock the perfect flavour pairings for maple syrup according to data science. Explore unique recipes and discover the hidden mathematics of flavour.

Woody sweetness and caramel notes are at the forefront of maple syrup'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 sugar, vanilla, and hints of honey. We need to understand how these notes affect each other and which complementary flavors they harmonise with.

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 sweet, nutty sesamol in sesame seed can resonate with maple syrup, and how sunflower oil's seminal notes forge a beautiful synergy with its woody sweetness.

An ingredient's flavour stems from its core characteristics, such as woody, nectarous, or maillard, 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 Secret Language of Flavour

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 Maple Notes

Our analysis reveals a strong connection between maple and seed flavours. Since maple syrup has a distinct maple flavour, try pairing it with the seedy flavours of sunflower oil.

The recipes below provide inspiration for pairing maple syrup with sunflower oil.

Harmonious Flavours Of Maple Syrup

Just as our analysis revealed that maple and seedy notes frequently pair together, we can identify the full profile of flavours that harmonise with each of the flavour notes present in maple syrup. E.g. the caramel notes of maple syrup are often used with cabbagy and rosemary notes.

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

Matching Flavour Profiles

The flavour profile of sesame seed offers many of the aroma notes complementary to maple syrup, including sesame and seedy notes. Because the flavour profile of sesame seed has many of the of the features that are complementary to maple syrup, they are likely to pair very well together.

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

Recipes That Pair Maple Syrup With Sesame Seed

Linked Flavour Notes

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

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

What To Drink With Maple Syrup

The cedar notes in lemonade make it a perfect pairing with maple syrup. 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 maple syrup below.

Which Fruit Go With Maple Syrup?

Choose fruit that ground its sweetness or ground its clean sweetness. Blood orange and cranberry sauce offer vibrant, clean counterpoints, their verdant freshness lifting the palate. Lingonberry add a gentle, oniony brightness, while red bell pepper introduces a sophisticated, anise-tinged elegance.

Alternatively, embrace fruit that harmonise with maple syrup's sweetness. The addition of lemon, with its subtle aurantium notes, can complement the fig beautifully, while coconut lends a crisp 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., Maple syrup), analyse its detailed flavour profile, and accurately reveal its complementary flavours and perfect ingredient partners.