The holy trinity of cuisine are the three ingredients key to a particular cuisine. Because these three ingredients are so common in recipes of a specific cuisine they are almost indivisible and end up being treated as a single ingredient. They also provide the distinctive flavoring of specific cuisines. The name is an allusion to the Holy Trinity of the Christian faith. Common holy trinities in cuisine are:
- the Indian "wet" trinity of garlic, ginger and onion
- the Chinese trinity of scallions, ginger and garlic
- the Szechuan trinity of green garlic, ginger and chili peppers
- the Thai trinity of galangal, kaffir lime and lemon grass
- the French Mirepoix trinity of celery, onion and carrot
- the Lebanese trinity of garlic, lemon juice and olive oil
- the Italian Soffritto trinity of tomato, garlic and onion
- the Spanish Sofrito trinity of garlic, onion and tomato cooked in olive oil
- the Louisiana Creole or Cajun trinity of chopped celery, bell peppers, and onions
- the Mexican cuisine trinity of corn, beans and chilies
