Photo: Gulcin Ragiboglu (Shutterstock)
You’re probably already familiar with classic fruit/flavor pairings like apples and cinnamon, or cranberries and oranges. But what about grapefruit and tarragon? Or peaches and maple syrup?
It’s easy to get in a flavor rut, but there’s a simple way out of it—at least when it comes to fruit: A chart that tells you which flavors and fruits belong together. Here’s what to know.
How to use the fruit pairings chart
Leslie Jeon, the professionally trained pastry chef behind The Baker’s Almanac, has put together this handy chart that clearly lays out which flavors taste the best when paired with a variety of fruits.
If you enjoy baking, cooking, or making craft cocktails with fruit, this is a page you’re going to want to bookmark. (You can also download a tidier-looking PDF version if you subscribe to the site’s mailing list.)
The fruits are listed in alphabetical order in the column all the way on the left, followed by columns with the other fruits, herbs and spices, nuts, spirits, and additional miscellaneous foods (like syrups, coffee, chocolate, honey, etc) that make the best flavor pairings. You can also use the search bar at the top right of the chart to search for a particular fruit or flavor.
If you’re unable to find the fruit or other ingredient you’re looking for on the chart, simply leave Jeon a comment below it, and she’ll try to include it in the next update. (She routinely adds new fruits and flavors.)
The chart is especially useful when you end up with a large amount of a particular type of fruit, whether it’s one you grow yourself, or get a lot of at your local farmers’ market or CSA.
For example, let’s say the trees you have in your backyard produce a bumper crop of pears, and you’ve run out of ways to incorporate them into salads, and are tired of eating them on their own. Though you’ve probably already paired the pears with ginger, what about rosemary or basil? Or mascarpone and vanilla? Maybe pistachio and cardamom? Get ready to make (and eat) a lot of desserts.
