Perfect Pairings & Recipes for
Sake

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

Sake instantly conjures the embrace of rice and the kiss of glutamate, but beneath its sweetness lies a complex symphony of subtle flavour notes, such as starch, lactic acid, and hints of sour apple. These are the notes that lend it such remarkable, resonant depth. The key to a remarkable pairing lies in appreciating how these notes combine harmoniously.

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 findings reveal, for instance, how sesame seed's sesamol tones can resonate with sake, or how koji rice's koji-like notes create an unexpectedly harmonious bridge with the starchy aroma.

An ingredient's flavour profile is determined by its core characteristics (e.g. floral, nectarous, and acidic) 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 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 Rice Notes

Our analysis reveals a strong connection between rice and koji flavours. Since sake has a distinct rice-like flavour, try pairing it with the koji flavours of koji rice.

The recipe below provides inspiration for pairing sake with koji rice.

Harmonious Flavours Of Sake

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

The accents complementing the various notes of sake can be seen highlighted in the pink bars below.

Matching Flavour Profiles

The flavour profile of sesame seed offers many of the notes complementary to sake, including sesame and cocoa notes. Because the flavour profile of sesame seed has many of the of the features that are complementary to sake, they are likely to pair very well together.

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

Recipes That Pair Sake With Sesame Seed

Linked Flavour Notes

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

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

Which Fruit Go With Sake?

Choose fruit that anchor its pungency or anchor its crisp tartness. Red bell pepper offers vibrant, clean counterpoints, its verdant freshness lifting the palate. Pomegranate molasses add a gentle, oniony brightness, while raisin introduces a sophisticated, anise-tinged elegance.

Alternatively, embrace fruit that harmonise with sake's oceaness. The addition of pink grapefruit, with its subtle pomeloide notes, can complement the seaweed beautifully. Coconut bridges earthiness and citrus zest, while citron lends a crisp aroma.

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