Perfect Pairings & Recipes for
Turkey

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

Turkey instantly conjures the embrace of glutamate and the kiss of protease, woven with delicate hints of caramel, toast, and iron that contribute remarkable depth. The key to finding the perfect pairing for turkey is understanding how these notes harmonise.

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 exploration reveals, for instance, how the fresh, cooling eucalyptol in herbes de Provence can awaken turkey, and how bay leaf's laurelled notes forge a beautiful synergy with its savoury richness.

An ingredient's flavour stems from its core characteristics, such as maillard, carnal, or woody, combined with layers of subtle flavour notes (outer bars). For a balanced dish, pair ingredients with a variety of core flavours, and choose complementary aroma notes for harmony.

The Secret Language of Flavour

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 Glutamic Notes

Our analysis shows that the flavour of glutamate is strongly associated with the flavour of bay leaf. This suggests we should look for ingredients with a bay leaf flavour when pairing with the glutamic accents of turkey.

The recipes below provide inspiration for pairing turkey with bay leaf.

Harmonious Flavours Of Turkey

Just as our ingredient analysis revealed that glutamate and bay leaf flavours often complement each other, we can identify the full profile of flavours that harmonise with each of the flavours present in turkey. E.g. the fermented proteins flavours of turkey are often used with pea-ish and wheaty accents.

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

Matching Flavour Profiles

The flavour profile of herbes de Provence offers many of the notes complementary to turkey, including rosemary and thyme aromas. Because the flavour profile of herbes de Provence has many of the of the features that are complementary to turkey, they are likely to pair very well together.

The chart above shows the unique profile of herbes de Provence across 150 dimensions of flavour, while the recipes below offer inspiration for bringing these flavours together with turkey.

Recipes That Pair Turkey With Herbes De Provence

Linked Flavour Notes

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

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

What To Drink With Turkey

The bay leaf notes in rasteau make it a perfect pairing with turkey. Likewise, the bay leaf flavours in carmenere create a match made in heaven. Explore a variety of ingredients below that beautifully complement the unique character of turkey below.

Which Fruit Go With Turkey?

Choose fruit that lift its metallicity or enrich its warm aroma. Red bell pepper and pear offer vibrant, clean counterpoints, their verdant freshness lifting the palate. Grape tomato add a gentle, oniony brightness, while plum introduces a sophisticated, anise-tinged elegance.

Alternatively, embrace fruit that harmonise with turkey's creaminess. The addition of cranberry sauce, with its subtle prunus notes, can complement the butter beautifully, while dried cranberry lends a juicy 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., Turkey), analyse its detailed flavour profile, and accurately reveal its complementary flavours and perfect ingredient partners.