Perfect Pairings & Recipes for
Soda
Analysing hundreds of thousands of recipes uncovers soda's optimal flavour pairings.
Soda is defined by the unmistakable flavours of sugar and vanilla, but beneath its saltiness lies a complex symphony of subtle flavour notes, such as caramel, honey, and grapefruit, that give it remarkable depth. The key to finding the perfect pairing for soda is understanding how these notes harmonise.
To map these harmonies, we analysed thousands of ingredients, breaking each one down across 150 flavour dimensions, identifying which notes complement and contrast. Our analysis reveals, for example, how cocoa powder's cocoa tones ground soda, and how instant espresso's javaine notes create a surprising synergy with its clean sweetness.
Flavour Profile Of Soda Across 150 Dimensions Of Flavour
An ingredient's flavour profile is determined by its core characteristics (e.g. acidic, spice, 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 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.
Our analysis shows that the flavour of sugar is strongly associated with the flavour of coffee. This suggests we should look for ingredients with a coffee-like flavour, such as instant espresso, when pairing with the sugary accents of soda.
The recipe below provides inspiration for pairing soda with instant espresso.
Harmonious Flavours Of Soda
Just as our analysis showed that sugar and tea-like flavour accents frequently pair together, we can identify the full profile of flavours that harmonise with each of the notes present in soda. For instance, the vanillic notes of soda are strongly associated with burnt and pear-like accents.
The aroma notes complementary to the various notes of soda can be seen highlighted in the pink bars below.
Flavour Profile Of Soda And Its Complementary Flavour Notes
Matching Flavour Profiles
The flavour profile of cocoa powder offers many of the accents complementary to soda, including cocoa and coffee aroma notes. Because the flavour profile of cocoa powder has many of the of the features that are complementary to soda, they are likely to pair very well together.
Prominent Flavour Notes Of Cocoa Powder Are Represented By Longer Bars
The chart above shows the unique profile of cocoa powder across 150 dimensions of flavour, while the recipes below offer inspiration for bringing these flavours together with soda.
Recipes That Pair Soda With Cocoa Powder
Linked Flavour Notes
Looking at the aroma accents that are most strongly associated with the various flavours of soda, we can identify other ingredients that are likely to pair well.
The Flavour Notes That Harmonise With Soda And The Ingredients That Share Some Of These Notes
Soda's Strongest Flavours
Complementary Flavours
Ingredients with Complementary Flavours
Flavour groups:
Nectarous
Acidic
Herbal
Vegetal
Maillard
Earthy
Woody
The left side of the chart above highlights the aroma notes of soda, 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 soda.
What To Drink With Soda
The coffee notes in black coffee make it a perfect pairing with soda. Likewise, the coffee flavours in black americano coffee create a match made in heaven. Explore a variety of ingredients below that beautifully complement the unique character of soda below.
The content on our analysis blog is semi-automated. All of the words were manually written by a human, but the content is updated dynamically based on the data.