Perfect Pairings & Recipes for
Pico De Gallo

Discover the best flavour pairings for pico de gallo based on data analysis of thousands of recipes. Find perfect ingredient matches & delicious recipes.

Pico de gallo immediately conjures the evocative embrace of tomato and the kiss of onion, but beneath its salty surface lies a nuanced symphony of subtle flavour notes: chilli, coriander, and even hints of sulfur that contribute remarkable depth. The key to an exceptional harmony lies in understanding how these elements interact and 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 exploration reveals, for instance, how the pure, salty sodium chloride in salt can ground pico de gallo, and how flour tortilla's triticeous notes forge a beautiful synergy with its green sweetness.

An ingredient's flavour stems from its core characteristics, such as herbal, vegetal, or acidic, 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 Art of Flavour Pairing

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 Tomato Notes

Our analysis shows that the flavour of tomato is strongly associated with the flavour of wheat. This suggests we should look for ingredients with a wheaty flavour, such as flour tortilla, when pairing with the tomatoey notes of pico de gallo.

The recipes below provide inspiration for pairing pico de gallo with flour tortilla.

Harmonious Flavours Of Pico De Gallo

Just as our statistical analysis showed that tomato and briney flavours combine harmoniously, we can identify the full profile of flavours that harmonise with each of the flavour accents present in pico de gallo. For instance, the oniony flavours of pico de gallo are strongly associated with fatty and glutamic notes.

The aroma accents complementary to the various accents of pico de gallo can be seen highlighted in the pink bars below.

Matching Flavour Profiles

The flavour profile of salt offers many of the aroma notes complementary to pico de gallo, including saline and glutamic accents. Because the flavour profile of salt has many of the of the features that are complementary to pico de gallo, they are likely to pair very well together.

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

Recipes That Pair Pico De Gallo With Salt

Linked Flavour Notes

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

The left side of the chart above highlights the aroma notes of pico de gallo, 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 pico de gallo.

What To Drink With Pico De Gallo

The saline notes in pecorino make it a perfect pairing with pico de gallo. 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 pico de gallo 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., Pico de gallo), analyse its detailed flavour profile, and accurately reveal its complementary flavours and perfect ingredient partners.