Perfect Pairings & Recipes for
Mayonnaise

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

Mayonnaise immediately conjures the evocative embrace of vinegar and the kiss of lactic acid, yet its initial sourness is only the opening note. Beneath lies a sophisticated tapestry of delicate oleic acid, whispers of glutamate, and the rich creaminess of butter. These are the notes that lend it such remarkable, resonant depth. The key to an exceptional synergy lies in recognising how these elements 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 findings reveal, for instance, how red leaf lettuce's leafy tones can carry mayonnaise, or how chlorophyll's hexenal notes create an unexpectedly harmonious bridge with the sharp acidity.

An ingredient's flavour comes from its core characteristics, like acidic, maillard, and carnal, 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 Flavour Code

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 Acetic Notes

Our analysis shows that the flavour of vinegar is strongly associated with the flavour of grass. This suggests we should look for ingredients with a grassy flavour, such as chlorophyll, when pairing with the vinegary accents of mayonnaise.

The recipes below provide inspiration for pairing mayonnaise with chlorophyll.

Harmonious Flavours Of Mayonnaise

Just as our ingredient analysis revealed that vinegar and grassy flavour notes harmonise well, we can identify the full profile of flavours that harmonise with each of the flavours present in mayonnaise. For instance, the lactic acid accents of mayonnaise are strongly associated with cocoa and blackberry notes.

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

Matching Flavour Profiles

The flavour profile of red leaf lettuce offers many of the aromas complementary to mayonnaise, including leafy and grassy accents. Because the flavour profile of red leaf lettuce has many of the of the features that are complementary to mayonnaise, they are likely to pair very well together.

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

Recipes That Pair Mayonnaise With Red Leaf Lettuce

Linked Flavour Notes

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

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

What To Drink With Mayonnaise

The leafy notes in carrot juice make it a perfect pairing with mayonnaise. Likewise, the grassy flavours in les baux de provence create a match made in heaven. Explore a variety of ingredients below that beautifully complement the unique character of mayonnaise 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., Mayonnaise), analyse its detailed flavour profile, and accurately reveal its complementary flavours and perfect ingredient partners.