Bergamot + Clove
A good pairing. Cooks put them together in 51 recipes, and they share 17 flavor molecules: the top 15% of all ingredient pairs.
Do bergamot and clove go together?
Yes. 51 recipes in our collection combine them, and they share 17 flavor molecules. That places them in the top 15% of every ingredient pair we score.
Why they work
They overlap on 17 flavor molecules: 26% of bergamot's 66. Among the shared key aromas are eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal) and linalool (floral, citrus). Most of what they share is background chemistry many foods carry, so the overlap does little for the smell.
What each one brings
bergamot
The herbal side. Herbal notes make up 23% of its labelled aroma molecules, against 11% for clove. It carries 49 molecules clove doesn't have.
clove
The tartness. Sour notes make up 12% of its labelled aroma molecules, against 3% for bergamot. It carries 294 molecules bergamot doesn't have.
Add a third ingredient
- Cinnamon: the best fit for both, top 20% of pairs with bergamot, top 1% with clove.
- Allspice: top 28% of pairs with bergamot, top 1% with clove.
- Rosemary: top 11% of pairs with bergamot, top 3% with clove.
- Ginger: top 18% of pairs with bergamot, top 1% with clove.
Ranked by the average of its two pairing scores. Only foods used in at least 100 recipes are suggested.
Recipes with bergamot and clove
We have no browsable recipe that lists both bergamot and clove.
Can you swap one for the other?
Not really. Each has a lot the other lacks: bergamot has 49 molecules clove doesn't, and clove has 294 that bergamot doesn't. Treat them as partners, not stand-ins. This compares flavor only; texture, moisture and the job each does in a dish matter too.
All 17 shared molecules
See every shared molecule grouped by chemical class, with key aromas marked, plus the 49 only in bergamot and the 294 only in clove.
Bergamot and clove questions
Do bergamot and clove go together?
A good pairing. Cooks put them together in 51 recipes, and they share 17 flavor molecules: the top 15% of all ingredient pairs.
Why do bergamot and clove taste good together?
They overlap on 17 flavor molecules: 26% of bergamot's 66. Among the shared key aromas are eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal) and linalool (floral, citrus). Most of what they share is background chemistry many foods carry, so the overlap does little for the smell.
What goes with bergamot and clove?
Cinnamon is the best third ingredient: top 20% of pairs with bergamot and top 1% with clove. Allspice and rosemary also fit both.
Can I use clove instead of bergamot?
Not really. Each has a lot the other lacks: bergamot has 49 molecules clove doesn't, and clove has 294 that bergamot doesn't. Treat them as partners, not stand-ins. 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: Bergamot vs Clove. https://compkitchen.com/compare/bergamot-vs-clove. Accessed 2026-11-05.
@misc{compkitchen_compare_compound_similarity_analysis_bergamot_vs_clove_2026,
title = {Compound similarity analysis: Bergamot vs Clove},
author = {{Compound Kitchen}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://compkitchen.com/compare/bergamot-vs-clove},
note = {Accessed: 2026-11-05}
}
Methodology DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.19719459 · CC BY 4.0 · Citations are a request, not a requirement.