Apricot + Dates
A proven pairing. Cooks put them together in 35 recipes, and they share 95 flavor molecules: the top 10% of all ingredient pairs.
Do apricot and dates go together?
Yes. 35 recipes in our collection combine them, and they share 95 flavor molecules. That places them in the top 10% of every ingredient pair we score.
Why they work
Almost everything dates carries, apricot has too: 95 of dates's 110 flavor molecules also occur in apricot. Among the shared key aromas are anethole (sweet, anise) and acetic acid (sour, vinegar).
What each one brings
apricot
The herbal side. Herbal notes make up 10% of its labelled aroma molecules, against 7% for dates. It carries 287 molecules dates doesn't have.
dates
The fresh, green side. Green notes make up 18% of its labelled aroma molecules, against 9% for apricot. It carries 15 molecules apricot doesn't have.
Add a third ingredient
- Fig: the best fit for both, top 1% of pairs with apricot, top 2% with dates.
- Vanilla: top 2% of pairs with apricot, top 8% with dates.
- Plum: top 1% of pairs with apricot, top 14% with dates.
- Pear: top 1% of pairs with apricot, top 12% with dates.
Ranked by the average of its two pairing scores. Only foods used in at least 100 recipes are suggested.
Recipes with apricot and dates
Mostly desserts: 14 of the 21 recipes with a course label are desserts.
Can you swap one for the other?
Only partly. Almost all of dates's flavor molecules (95 of 110) are also found in apricot, but apricot has 287 that dates lacks. Dates gives you part of apricot's character without most of its herbal side. This compares flavor only; texture, moisture and the job each does in a dish matter too.
All 95 shared molecules
See every shared molecule grouped by chemical class, with key aromas marked, plus the 287 only in apricot and the 15 only in dates.
Apricot and dates questions
Do apricot and dates go together?
A proven pairing. Cooks put them together in 35 recipes, and they share 95 flavor molecules: the top 10% of all ingredient pairs.
Why do apricot and dates taste good together?
Almost everything dates carries, apricot has too: 95 of dates's 110 flavor molecules also occur in apricot. Among the shared key aromas are anethole (sweet, anise) and acetic acid (sour, vinegar).
What goes with apricot and dates?
Fig is the best third ingredient: top 1% of pairs with apricot and top 2% with dates. Vanilla and plum also fit both.
What can you make with apricot and dates?
Mostly desserts: 14 of the 21 recipes with a course label are desserts. Common dishes include Apple Sauce for Roast Pork, Christmas Fruitcake Cookies, Chrov Plav, Fruit Cake Bread.
Can I use dates instead of apricot?
Only partly. Almost all of dates's flavor molecules (95 of 110) are also found in apricot, but apricot has 287 that dates lacks. Dates gives you part of apricot's character without most of its herbal side. This compares flavor only; texture, moisture and the job each does in a dish matter too.
Compare other ingredients
Ranks compare this pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. Molecule counts are what the studies and databases we aggregate have reported for each ingredient: a measure of coverage, not a full census. How we score pairs
Cite this analysis
Compound Kitchen (2026). Compound similarity analysis: Apricot vs Dates. https://compkitchen.com/compare/apricot-vs-dates. Accessed 2026-11-04.
@misc{compkitchen_compare_compound_similarity_analysis_apricot_vs_dates_2026,
title = {Compound similarity analysis: Apricot vs Dates},
author = {{Compound Kitchen}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://compkitchen.com/compare/apricot-vs-dates},
note = {Accessed: 2026-11-04}
}
Methodology DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.19719459 · CC BY 4.0 · Citations are a request, not a requirement.