Perfect Pairings & Recipes for
Pork

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

Pork conjures the embrace of thiamine and the kiss of animal fat, woven with delicate hints of protease, glutamate, and caramel that contribute remarkable depth. The key to finding the perfect pairing for pork 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 carrot's saccharine tones can lift pork, or how herbes de Provence's rosmarinic notes create an unexpectedly harmonious bridge with the porky meatiness.

An ingredient's flavour profile is determined by its core characteristics (e.g. carnal, maillard, and nectarous) 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 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 Porcine Notes

Our analysis shows that the flavour of pork is strongly associated with the flavour of rosemary. This suggests we should look for ingredients with a rosemary flavour, such as herbes de Provence, when pairing with the porky aromas of pork.

The recipes below provide inspiration for pairing pork with herbes de Provence.

Harmonious Flavours Of Pork

Just as our analysis revealed that pork and violic flavour notes often complement each other, we can identify the full profile of flavours that harmonise with each of the flavours present in pork. For instance, the fermented proteins notes of pork are strongly associated with green and grassy notes.

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

Matching Flavour Profiles

The flavour profile of carrot offers many of the accents complementary to pork, including sugary and grassy aroma notes. Because the flavour profile of carrot has many of the of the features that are complementary to pork, they are likely to pair very well together.

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

Recipes That Pair Pork With Carrot

Linked Flavour Notes

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

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

What To Drink With Pork

The rosemary notes in côtes du rhône make it a perfect pairing with pork. Likewise, the violet flavours in crème de violette create a match made in heaven. Explore a variety of ingredients below that beautifully complement the unique character of pork below.

Which Fruit Go With Pork?

Choose fruit that cut through its meatiness or cut through its unctuous richness. Red bell pepper and persimmon offer vibrant, clean counterpoints, their verdant freshness lifting the palate. Sultana add a gentle, oniony brightness, while strawberry introduces a sophisticated, anise-tinged elegance.

Alternatively, embrace fruit that harmonise with pork's tanginess. The addition of dried cherry, with its subtle brambly notes, can complement the lactic acid beautifully, while strawberry jam lends a clean sweetness.

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., Pork), analyse its detailed flavour profile, and accurately reveal its complementary flavours and perfect ingredient partners.