Perfect Pairings & Recipes for
Vegan Cheese

Discover the best flavour pairings for vegan cheese based on data analysis of thousands of recipes. Find perfect ingredient matches & delicious recipes.
Vegan cheese conjures the embrace of glutamate and the kiss of coconut, woven with delicate hints of lactic acid, malt, and yeast that contribute remarkable depth. And the culinary wizardry begins when we seek out pairings that allow these notes to truly sing, to harmonise in unexpected and delightful ways.
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 oregano's thymic tones awaken vegan cheese, and how bay leaf's laurelled notes create a surprising synergy with its savoury richness.
Flavour Profile Of Vegan Cheese Across 150 Dimensions Of Flavour
Flavour wheel chart showing the dominant flavour notes of Vegan cheese: Glutamic, Coconut, Lactic, Yeasty, Maltol, Buttery, Acetic, Proteolytic, Almond, Milky
An ingredient's flavour profile is determined by its core characteristics (e.g. acidic, vegetal, 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 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 Glutamic Notes
Strength of Association Between Flavours
The flavours most associated with glutamic notes are: Bay leaf, Thyme, Basil, Leafy, Sage, Grassy, Rosemary, Starch, Capsicum, Capsaicin, Mustard, Wheat, Brassica, Oaky, Cucumber.
Our analysis reveals a strong connection between glutamate and bay leaf flavours. Since vegan cheese has a distinct glutamic flavour, try pairing it with bay leaf flavours.
The recipe below provides inspiration for pairing vegan cheese with bay leaf.
Harmonious Flavours Of Vegan Cheese
Just as our analysis reveals that glutamate and bay leaf notes are often associated, we can identify the full profile of flavours that harmonise with each of the flavours present in vegan cheese. For instance, the coconut flavours of vegan cheese are strongly associated with bergamot and cedar notes.
The aromas complementary to the various aromas of vegan cheese can be seen highlighted in the pink bars below.
Flavour Profile Of Vegan Cheese And Its Complementary Flavour Notes
Flavour wheel chart showing the dominant flavour notes of Vegan cheese: Glutamic, Coconut, Lactic, Yeasty, Maltol, Buttery, Acetic, Proteolytic, Almond, Milky
Matching Flavour Profiles
The flavour profile of oregano offers many of the aromas complementary to vegan cheese, including thyme and rosemary aromas. Because the flavour profile of oregano has many of the of the features that are complementary to vegan cheese, they are likely to pair very well together.
Prominent Flavour Notes Of Oregano Are Represented By Longer Bars
Flavour wheel chart showing the dominant flavour notes of Oregano: Resinous, Thyme, Rosemary, Basil, Sage, Camphor, Eucalyptol, Bay leaf, Balsam, Poivre, Pine, Fennel, Hay, Menthol
The chart above shows the unique profile of oregano across 150 dimensions of flavour, while the recipes below offer inspiration for bringing these flavours together with vegan cheese.
Recipes That Pair Vegan Cheese With Oregano
Linked Flavour Notes
Looking at the aroma accents that are most strongly associated with the various flavours of vegan cheese, we can identify other ingredients that are likely to pair well.
Vegan Cheese's Harmonious Flavours And Complementary Ingredients
Vegan cheese's Strongest Flavours
Complementary Flavours
Ingredients with Complementary Flavours
Flavour groups:
Acidic
Floral
Herbal
Spice
Maillard
Earthy
Woody
Carnal
The left side of the chart above highlights the aroma notes of vegan cheese, 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 vegan cheese.
What To Drink With Vegan Cheese
The bay leaf notes in perricone make it a perfect pairing with vegan cheese. Likewise, the thyme flavours in rasteau create a match made in heaven. Explore a variety of ingredients below that beautifully complement the unique character of vegan cheese below.
Which Vegetables Go With Vegan Cheese?
Choose vegetables that infuse with its nuttyness or anchor its sharp acidity. Lettuce offers vibrant, clean counterpoints, its verdant freshness lifting the palate. Green bell pepper add a gentle, oniony brightness, while spinach introduces a sophisticated, anise-tinged elegance.
Alternatively, embrace vegetables that harmonise with vegan cheese's savoriness. The addition of celeriac, with its subtle thymic notes, can complement the glutamate beautifully. Parsnip bridges earthiness and citrus zest, while carrot 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., Vegan cheese), analyse its detailed flavour profile, and accurately reveal its complementary flavours and perfect ingredient partners.
Explore More
Discover more ingredient profiles and expand your culinary knowledge. Each ingredient page offers detailed analysis of flavour profiles, pairing insights, and culinary applications.
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.