Perfect Pairings & Recipes for
Ras El Hanout

Top flavour pairings and ras el hanout recipes, revealed through the hidden methmatics of flavour.

Ras el hanout immediately conjures the evocative embrace of clove and the bracing kiss of cinnamon, but beneath its bitterness lies a complex symphony of subtle flavour notes, such as resin, ginger, and hints of coriander that contribute remarkable depth. The key to a truly exceptional harmony lies in understanding how these accents combine harmoniously.

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 lamb shank's gamey tones can enrich ras el hanout, or how chicken thigh's glutamic notes create an unexpectedly harmonious bridge with the turpentine sweetness.

An ingredient's flavour profile is determined by its core characteristics (e.g. spice, floral, and herbal) 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 Resin Notes

Our analysis shows that the flavour of resin is strongly associated with the flavour of glutamate. This suggests we should look for ingredients with a glutamic flavour, such as chicken thigh, when pairing with the resinous notes of ras el hanout.

The recipes below provide inspiration for pairing ras el hanout with chicken thigh.

Harmonious Flavours Of Ras El Hanout

Just as our analysis indicated that resin and glutamic flavour notes combine harmoniously, we can identify the full profile of flavours that harmonise with each of the flavour notes present in ras el hanout. For instance, the saffron flavours of ras el hanout are strongly associated with rice-like and capsicum notes.

The aroma accents linked to the various aroma notes of ras el hanout can be seen highlighted in the pink bars below.

Matching Flavour Profiles

The flavour profile of lamb shank offers many of the aromas complementary to ras el hanout, including gamey and ovine notes. Because the flavour profile of lamb shank has many of the of the features that are complementary to ras el hanout, they are likely to pair very well together.

The chart above shows the unique profile of lamb shank across 150 dimensions of flavour, while the recipes below offer inspiration for bringing these flavours together with ras el hanout.

Recipes That Pair Ras El Hanout With Lamb Shank

Linked Flavour Notes

Looking at the notes that are most strongly associated with the various flavours of ras el hanout, we can identify other ingredients that are likely to pair well.

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

What To Drink With Ras El Hanout

The rice notes in sake make it a perfect pairing with ras el hanout. Likewise, the rice flavours in rice wine create a match made in heaven. Explore a variety of ingredients below that beautifully complement the unique character of ras el hanout below.

Which Fruit Go With Ras El Hanout?

Choose fruit that resonate with its fragrancy or ground its turpentine sweetness. Grape tomato and red bell pepper offer vibrant, clean counterpoints, their verdant freshness lifting the palate. Sultana add a gentle, oniony brightness, while raisin introduces a sophisticated, anise-tinged elegance.

Alternatively, embrace fruit that harmonise with ras el hanout's pungency. The addition of dried cherry, with its subtle malic notes, can complement the clove beautifully, while coconut lends a dried-fruit 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., Ras el hanout), analyse its detailed flavour profile, and accurately reveal its complementary flavours and perfect ingredient partners.