Perfect Pairings & Recipes for
Nougat

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

Nougat is defined by the unmistakable taste of honey and sugar, but beneath its sweetness lies a complex symphony of subtle flavour notes, such as almond, caramel, and hints of blossom that give it remarkable depth. The key to finding the perfect pairing for nougat is understanding how these notes harmonise.

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 findings reveal, for instance, how whole milk's lacteal tones can enrich nougat, or how whipping cream's lacteal notes create an unexpectedly harmonious bridge with the golden sweetness.

An ingredient's flavour comes from its core characteristics, like nectarous, floral, and spice, 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 Honey Notes

Our analysis reveals a strong connection between honey and milk flavours. Since nougat has a distinct honeyed flavour, try pairing it with the milky flavours of whipping cream.

The recipes below provide inspiration for pairing nougat with whipping cream.

Harmonious Flavours Of Nougat

Just as our analysis revealed that honey and milky flavour notes are harmonious, we can identify the full profile of flavours that harmonise with each of the flavour accents present in nougat. E.g. the sugary notes of nougat are often used with tea-like and grapefruity notes.

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

Matching Flavour Profiles

The flavour profile of whole milk offers many of the accents complementary to nougat, including lacteal and fatty aroma notes. Because the flavour profile of whole milk has many of the of the features that are complementary to nougat, they are likely to pair very well together.

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

Recipes That Pair Nougat With Whole Milk

Linked Flavour Notes

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

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

What To Drink With Nougat

The cedar notes in citrus vodka make it a perfect pairing with nougat. Likewise, the cedar flavours in bitter create a match made in heaven. Explore a variety of ingredients below that beautifully complement the unique character of nougat 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., Nougat), analyse its detailed flavour profile, and accurately reveal its complementary flavours and perfect ingredient partners.