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The Flavor Universe: A Star Map of 450 Ingredients
The Flavor Universe maps 450 ingredients as a night sky. Each star is an ingredient, its brightness the number of aroma compounds it carries; each flavor family is traced into its own constellation. Positions come from a 2D UMAP of the volatile compounds ingredients share, so proximity = molecular kinship. Hit "Show the bridges" to reveal the ingredients sitting closer to a foreign family than their own — the cross-category pairings molecular gastronomy chases. Built on peer-reviewed volatile-compound data through CompKitchen's flavor-pairing engine. → compkitchen.com
ScienceAIMotherDuckDuckDBShowcaseData VizAstronomy
Author: Mark Johnson · June 23, 2026 Region: us-east-1
AI Prompts Used
1Prompt 1
Build an interactive star map from my flavor_universe table — 450 ingredients placed by 2D UMAP coordinates of the aroma compounds they share, so proximity = molecular similarity. Stars sized/brightened by compound_count, colored by category, with each flavor family traced into a constellation. Dark editorial night-sky background.
2Prompt 2
Add a derived "bridges" metric: for each ingredient, find its nearest neighbor in a different flavor family vs. its own, and surface the dozen that sit closer to a foreign family — drawn as comet-streaks with a "Show the bridges" toggle. These are the cross-category pairings.
3Prompt 3
Polish it: name each constellation like a star atlas, add a vignette and extra glow on the brightest stars, make the bridges toggle pulse, and sign it compkitchen.com in the corner.
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