Perfect Pairings & Recipes for
Prosciutto

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

Prosciutto is marked by the unmistakable flavour of thiamine and brine, yet its initial umaminess is only the overtone. Beneath lies a complex tapestry of delicate lactic acid, whispers of glutamate, and the fermented aroma of protease. These are the notes that lend it such remarkable, resonant depth. And the culinary wizardry begins when we seek out partners that allow these notes to truly sing, to harmonise in unexpected and delightful ways.

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 flat-leaf parsley's leafy tones carry prosciutto, and how sage's rosmarinic notes create a surprising synergy with its porky meatiness.

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

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 sage, when pairing with the porky notes of prosciutto.

The recipes below provide inspiration for pairing prosciutto with sage.

Harmonious Flavours Of Prosciutto

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

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

Matching Flavour Profiles

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

The chart above shows the unique profile of flat-leaf parsley across 150 dimensions of flavour, while the recipes below offer inspiration for bringing these flavours together with prosciutto.

Recipes That Pair Prosciutto With Flat-leaf Parsley

Linked Flavour Notes

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

The left side of the chart above highlights the aroma notes of prosciutto, along with the complementary aromas associated with each note. While the right side shows some of the ingredients that share many of the notes complementary to prosciutto.

What To Drink With Prosciutto

The rosemary notes in côtes du rhône make it a perfect pairing with prosciutto. Likewise, the leafy flavours in carrot juice create a match made in heaven. Explore a variety of ingredients below that beautifully complement the unique character of prosciutto below.

Which Fruit Go With Prosciutto?

Choose fruit that anchor its savoryness or lift its salty character. Red bell pepper and grape tomato offer vibrant, clean counterpoints, their verdant freshness lifting the palate. Apple add a gentle, oniony brightness, while strawberry introduces a sophisticated, anise-tinged elegance.

Alternatively, embrace fruit that harmonise with prosciutto's sweetness. The addition of lemon, with its subtle cedrine notes, can complement the honey beautifully, while avocado lends a fresh leafiness.

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