Building a Flavor Profile – The Key to Adapting Recipes

Learning to build a flavor profile can help you adapt recipes easily to fit what you have on hand. Once you understand how to build flavor profiles, substitution becomes second nature.

First of all, what is a flavor profile?

A flavor profile is the combination of flavors and elements used to compose a dish. The combination is what creates the magic! This is my own personal flavor profile cheat sheet, but if you want a more in-depth look at flavor profiles or need some visual aids, I recommend this article from CookSmarts. In fact, they have an awesome email course for beginners!

These are some basic flavor profiles that I often use. If you choose your own basic spice blend, you can then add in missing key flavors for the type of dish you want. 

Mexican/Tex-Mex:

• Garlic
• Cumin
• Chile powder
• Onion powder
• Salt
• Avocado
• Cilantro
• Cheddar Cheese
• Lime
• Hot Sauce (chili pepper)

Italian:

• Garlic
• Basil
• Oregano
• Thyme

Cajun:

• The Cajun Trinity: celery, green bell pepper, onion
• Cayenne pepper
• Garlic
• Tomatoes
• Parsley
• Andouille Sausage

Asian:

• Soy sauce
• Chili oil
• Sesame oil
• Garlic
• Ginger
• Sichuan pepper
• Star Anise
• Hoisin sauce
• Fish sauce
• Rice vinegar
• Miso
• Seaweed

Mediterranean:

• Oregano
• Lemon
• Rosemary
• Bay Leaves
• Thyme
• Olive Oil
• Garlic 
• Feta
• Red Onions

These are my personal favorites, but if you want to explore more flavor profiles, here is an article I have used in the past.