Apricot + Nutmeg
A good pairing. Cooks put them together in 207 recipes, and they share 242 flavor molecules: the top 13% of all ingredient pairs.
Do apricot and nutmeg go together?
Yes. 207 recipes in our collection combine them, and they share 242 flavor molecules. That places them in the top 13% of every ingredient pair we score.
Why they work
Almost everything nutmeg carries, apricot has too: 242 of nutmeg's 301 flavor molecules also occur in apricot. Among the shared key aromas are eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal) and alpha-pinene (pine, turpentine).
What each one brings
apricot
The fruit. Fruity notes make up 23% of its labelled aroma molecules, against 10% for nutmeg. It carries 140 molecules nutmeg doesn't have.
nutmeg
The herbal side. Herbal notes make up 14% of its labelled aroma molecules, against 10% for apricot. It carries 59 molecules apricot doesn't have.
Add a third ingredient
- Cinnamon: the best fit for both, top 8% of pairs with apricot, top 1% with nutmeg.
- Cardamom: top 7% of pairs with apricot, top 1% with nutmeg.
- Fig: top 1% of pairs with apricot, top 7% with nutmeg.
- Clove: top 11% of pairs with apricot, top 1% with nutmeg.
Ranked by the average of its two pairing scores. Only foods used in at least 100 recipes are suggested.
Recipes with apricot and nutmeg
Mostly desserts: 11 of the 17 recipes with a course label are desserts.
Can you swap one for the other?
Only partly. Most of nutmeg's flavor molecules (242 of 301) are also found in apricot, but apricot has 140 that nutmeg lacks. Nutmeg gives you part of apricot's character without most of its fruit. This compares flavor only; texture, moisture and the job each does in a dish matter too.
All 242 shared molecules
See every shared molecule grouped by chemical class, with key aromas marked, plus the 140 only in apricot and the 59 only in nutmeg.
Apricot and nutmeg questions
Do apricot and nutmeg go together?
A good pairing. Cooks put them together in 207 recipes, and they share 242 flavor molecules: the top 13% of all ingredient pairs.
Why do apricot and nutmeg taste good together?
Almost everything nutmeg carries, apricot has too: 242 of nutmeg's 301 flavor molecules also occur in apricot. Among the shared key aromas are eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal) and alpha-pinene (pine, turpentine).
What goes with apricot and nutmeg?
Cinnamon is the best third ingredient: top 8% of pairs with apricot and top 1% with nutmeg. Cardamom and fig also fit both.
What can you make with apricot and nutmeg?
Mostly desserts: 11 of the 17 recipes with a course label are desserts. Common dishes include Apricot Aperitif, Apricot Aperitif II, Apricot Brandy Bread, Apricot Party Fruit Dip.
Can I use nutmeg instead of apricot?
Only partly. Most of nutmeg's flavor molecules (242 of 301) are also found in apricot, but apricot has 140 that nutmeg lacks. Nutmeg gives you part of apricot's character without most of its fruit. 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 Nutmeg. https://compkitchen.com/compare/apricot-vs-nutmeg. Accessed 2026-11-04.
@misc{compkitchen_compare_compound_similarity_analysis_apricot_vs_nutmeg_2026,
title = {Compound similarity analysis: Apricot vs Nutmeg},
author = {{Compound Kitchen}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://compkitchen.com/compare/apricot-vs-nutmeg},
note = {Accessed: 2026-11-04}
}
Methodology DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.19719459 · CC BY 4.0 · Citations are a request, not a requirement.