Palate

Flavor Atlas

Not tonight's dinner — the whole sky. Step back and look at 2,272 dishes across 95 cuisines, mapped by their objective flavor embeddings — drinks are held out so each cuisine's average reflects its food. Wander when you're curious; tonight's three are waiting on the home table.

Cuisine map

Each cuisine placed by its average flavor (PCA, 32% of variance). Cuisines that sit close together taste alike. Hover for a cuisine's signature.

→ salinity / umami / sweetness↑ citrus / sourness / fruityAmericanAmerican BBQAmerican SouthernAmerican classicAmerican dinerAmerican takeout-styleArgentineArgentine-AmericanAsian-AmericanAsian-inspiredBaja MexicanBaja-inspiredBrazilianBritishBritish-AmericanCajunCajun-ItalianCajun-TexCajun-inspiredCajun/CreoleCantoneseCaribbeanChineseChinese-AmericanCreoleCubanEastern EuropeanEgyptianEthiopianFilipinoFrenchFrench-inspiredFusionGeorgianGermanGreekGreek-inspiredHawaiianHunanHungarianIndianIndian-ChineseIndian-InspiredIndian-inspiredIndonesianIrishItalianItalian-AmericanJamaicanJapaneseJapanese-AmericanJapanese-inspiredKoreanKorean-AmericanKorean-inspiredLatin AmericanLebaneseMalaysianMediterraneanMediterranean-inspiredMexicanMexican-AmericanMexican-inspiredMiddle EasternMiddle Eastern FusionMoroccanNigerianNorth AfricanNorth African-inspiredOtherPersianPeruvianPolishPortuguesePortuguese-AfricanRussianScandinavianScandinavian-AmericanSichuanSouthernSouthern BBQSouthern USSouthern/CreoleSouthern/LowcountrySouthwesternSpanishSpanish-ItalianTex-MexThaiThai-inspiredTurkishVietnameseVietnamese-inspiredWest African-InspiredXinjiang

Flavor signatures

How distinctive each cuisine is on every flavor dimension, vs. the corpus average (z-score). Terracotta = stands out high, sage = stands out low.

Umami
Sweetness
Sourness
Bitterness
Heat
Richness
Salinity
Funk & Ferment
Smoke
Earthy
Herbaceous
Citrus
Allium
Nutty
Floral
Warm Spice
Fruity
Marine & Briny
Portuguese-African
Cajun-Tex
Cajun-inspired
Korean-American
Southern/Lowcountry
American BBQ
Mexican-American
Southern/Creole
North African-inspired
Japanese-inspired
Southern BBQ
Xinjiang
North African
Mexican-inspired
West African-Inspired
Spanish-Italian
Vietnamese
Jamaican
Asian-American
Baja-inspired
Thai
Vietnamese-inspired
Korean-inspired
French-inspired
Argentine-American
Cantonese
Cajun
Baja Mexican
Malaysian
American takeout-style
Indian-inspired
Mediterranean-inspired
Korean
Indian
Japanese-American
Cajun-Italian
Asian-inspired
American Southern
Greek-inspired
Sichuan
Irish
Thai-inspired
Southwestern
Hunan
Indian-Inspired
Caribbean
British
Ethiopian
Indian-Chinese
Chinese-American
Eastern European
Moroccan
Middle Eastern Fusion
Lebanese
American diner
Egyptian
Latin American
Cajun/Creole
Greek
Fusion
Mexican
German
Southern
Creole
Peruvian
Scandinavian-American
Persian
Cuban
Mediterranean
Tex-Mex
Filipino
Italian-American
Middle Eastern
Chinese
Hawaiian
Hungarian
Japanese
Turkish
Indonesian
French
Italian
Nigerian
American
American classic
Portuguese
Polish
Southern US
British-American
Scandinavian
Other
Argentine
Georgian
Brazilian
Spanish
Russian

Recipe galaxy

Every recipe as a point in flavor space, colored by cuisine. Highlight one to see its spread.