Perfect Pairings & Recipes for
Passata

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

Passata immediately conjures the evocative embrace of tomato and the bracing kiss of glutamate. But look beneath its obvious umaminess and you'll discover a captivating symphony of softer notes, a whisper of sugar, a hint of grass, and subtle accents reminiscent of basil, giving it remarkable depth. The key to finding the perfect pairing for passata is understanding how these notes harmonise.

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 analysis reveals, for example, how kosher salt's saline tones ground passata, and how anchovy's saline notes create a surprising synergy with its green sweetness.

An ingredient's flavour profile is determined by its core characteristics (e.g. acidic, vegetal, and floral) enhanced by layers of subtle aroma notes (outer bars). When pairing ingredients, aim for a mix of core traits to build balance, and select complementary aroma notes to create harmony.

The Secret Language of Flavour

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 Tomato Notes

Our analysis shows that the flavour of tomato is strongly associated with the flavour of brine. This suggests we should look for ingredients with a briney flavour, such as anchovy, when pairing with the tomatoey aroma accents of passata.

The recipes below provide inspiration for pairing passata with anchovy.

Harmonious Flavours Of Passata

Just as our analysis showed that tomato and briney flavour accents harmonise, we can identify the full profile of flavours that harmonise with each of the flavour notes present in passata. For instance, the glutamic flavours of passata are strongly associated with bay leaf and thyme-like notes.

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

Matching Flavour Profiles

The flavour profile of kosher salt offers many of the aromas complementary to passata, including saline and oceanic notes. Because the flavour profile of kosher salt has many of the of the features that are complementary to passata, they are likely to pair very well together.

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

Recipes That Pair Passata With Kosher Salt

Linked Flavour Notes

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

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

What To Drink With Passata

The saline notes in greek white make it a perfect pairing with passata. Likewise, the saline flavours in soda water create a match made in heaven. Explore a variety of ingredients below that beautifully complement the unique character of passata 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., Passata), analyse its detailed flavour profile, and accurately reveal its complementary flavours and perfect ingredient partners.