Perfect Pairings & Recipes for
Salt Cod

Exquisite salt cod flavour pairings and recipes, revealed through data science.

Salt cod instantly conjures the evocative embrace of iodine and the bracing kiss of sardine, woven with delicate hints of brine, sulfur, and rancio, giving it remarkable depth. Understanding how these elements interplay is the secret to unlocking truly exceptional pairings.

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 parsley's hexenal tones carry salt cod, and how flat-leaf parsley's basilicum notes create a surprising synergy with its marine aroma.

An ingredient's flavour comes from its core characteristics, like earthy, carnal, and vegetal, 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 Flavour Code

To understand exactly which flavours harmonise, we compiled a database of over 50,000 ingredient pairings commonly used in cooking. We then analysed these pairings, identifying the specific flavour notes that frequently appear together.

The Flavours That Harmonise With Oceanic Notes

Our analysis reveals a strong connection between iodine and basil flavours. Since salt cod has a distinct oceanic flavour, try pairing it with the basil-like flavours of flat-leaf parsley.

The recipes below provide inspiration for pairing salt cod with flat-leaf parsley.

Harmonious Flavours Of Salt Cod

Just as our analysis highlighted that iodine and basil-like flavour notes are often associated, we can identify the full profile of flavours that harmonise with each of the flavours present in salt cod. For instance, the fishy notes of salt cod are strongly associated with rice-like and cucumber flavours.

The aroma accents complementary to the various aroma accents of salt cod can be seen highlighted in the pink bars below.

Matching Flavour Profiles

The flavour profile of parsley offers many of the notes complementary to salt cod, including grassy and leafy notes. Because the flavour profile of parsley has many of the of the features that are complementary to salt cod, they are likely to pair very well together.

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

Recipes That Pair Salt Cod With Parsley

Linked Flavour Notes

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

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

What To Drink With Salt Cod

The grassy notes in genmaicha tea make it a perfect pairing with salt cod. Likewise, the grassy flavours in sauvignon blanc (bordeaux) create a match made in heaven. Explore a variety of ingredients below that beautifully complement the unique character of salt cod below.

Which Vegetables Go With Salt Cod?

Choose vegetables that lift its salinity or cut through its marine aroma. Green bell pepper and artichoke offer vibrant, clean counterpoints, their verdant freshness lifting the palate. Green tomato add a gentle, oniony brightness, while pea shoots introduces a sophisticated, anise-tinged elegance.

Alternatively, embrace vegetables that harmonise with salt cod's salinity. The addition of padrón pepper, with its subtle leafy notes, can complement the brine beautifully, while broad bean lends a fresh 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., Salt cod), analyse its detailed flavour profile, and accurately reveal its complementary flavours and perfect ingredient partners.