Supports a bounded hypothesis-generating method; “likely” is retained and should not become “will.”
Explanation of the matrix’s central comparison metric.
The source compares ingredients by the percentage of aromatic compounds they share and says flavor-pairing theory treats significant shared quantities or concentrations as an indication that ingredients will likely taste good together.
PDF sheet 66
Introduction — flavor-pairing theory
2026-09-28: Fresh text and detailed page-render verification at PDF 66. A shared-compound count is not a concentration-weighted or threshold-weighted preference test; reproducible underlying data are not supplied. Verification concerns faithful source representation, not independent validation. Original source retains a material visual-layout gap.
September 28 — Audit Qualification
2026-09-28: Fresh text and detailed page-render verification at PDF 66. A shared-compound count is not a concentration-weighted or threshold-weighted preference test; reproducible underlying data are not supplied. Verification concerns faithful source representation, not independent validation. Original source retains a material visual-layout gap.
Verified excerpt record from The Flavor Matrix.
Evidence
The matrix compares the percentage of aromatic compounds shared by ingredients. Flavor-pairing theory is presented as indicating that ingredients with significant shared compounds will likely work together.
Locator
PDF sheet 66
Research use
Retain probabilistic language; this is not a guarantee.
Verification
Checked against the supplied local PDF on 2026-08-25. Linked to LIT-59 and CLM-52.