Perfect Pairings & Recipes for
XO Sauce

Exquisite XO sauce flavour pairings and recipes, revealed through data science.

XO sauce is defined by the unmistakable flavour of iodine and glutamate, but beneath its umaminess lies a complex symphony of subtle flavour notes, such as brine, protease, and hints of garlic that contribute remarkable depth. Understanding how these layered flavours work together is the secret to unlocking truly exceptional pairings.

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 flat-leaf parsley's leafy tones carry XO sauce, and how oregano's thymic notes create a surprising synergy with its savoury richness.

An ingredient's flavour comes from its core characteristics, like maillard, carnal, and nectarous, 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 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 Glutamic Notes

Our analysis reveals a strong connection between glutamate and thyme flavours. Since XO sauce has a distinct glutamic flavour, try pairing it with the thyme-like flavours of oregano.

The recipe below provides inspiration for pairing XO sauce with oregano.

Harmonious Flavours Of XO Sauce

Just as our analysis highlighted that glutamate and bay leaf flavours tend to pair together, we can identify the full profile of flavours that harmonise with each of the notes present in XO sauce. E.g. the briney notes of XO sauce are often used with rice-like and pea-ish flavours.

The aromas associated with the various accents of XO sauce can be seen highlighted in the pink bars below.

Matching Flavour Profiles

The flavour profile of flat-leaf parsley offers many of the aroma notes complementary to XO sauce, including leafy and grassy notes. Because the flavour profile of flat-leaf parsley has many of the of the features that are complementary to XO sauce, they are likely to pair very well together.

The chart above shows the unique profile of flat-leaf parsley across 150 dimensions of flavour, while the recipes below offer inspiration for bringing these flavours together with XO sauce.

Recipes That Pair XO Sauce With Flat-leaf Parsley

Linked Flavour Notes

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

The left side of the chart above highlights the aroma notes of XO sauce, 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 XO sauce.

What To Drink With XO Sauce

The leafy notes in kale juice make it a perfect pairing with xo sauce. Likewise, the grassy flavours in sauvignon blanc (loire valley) create a match made in heaven. Explore a variety of ingredients below that beautifully complement the unique character of xo sauce below.

Which Vegetables Go With XO Sauce?

Choose vegetables that lift its salinity or cut through its marine aroma. Artichoke offers vibrant, clean counterpoints, its verdant freshness lifting the palate. Green tomato add a gentle, oniony brightness, while asparagus introduces a sophisticated, anise-tinged elegance.

Alternatively, embrace vegetables that harmonise with XO sauce's savoriness. The addition of sugar snap pea, with its subtle thymic notes, can complement the glutamate beautifully. Spring onion bridges earthiness and citrus zest, while baby bok choy 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., XO sauce), analyse its detailed flavour profile, and accurately reveal its complementary flavours and perfect ingredient partners.