Cardamom + Raisin
A proven pairing. Cooks put them together in 69 recipes, and they share 105 flavor molecules: the top 8% of all ingredient pairs.
Do cardamom and raisin go together?
Yes. 69 recipes in our collection combine them, and they share 105 flavor molecules. That places them in the top 8% of every ingredient pair we score.
Why they work
Almost everything raisin carries, cardamom has too: 105 of raisin's 129 flavor molecules also occur in cardamom. Among the shared key aromas are alpha-terpineol (lilac, floral) and isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
What each one brings
cardamom
The herbal side. Herbal notes make up 13% of its labelled aroma molecules, against 6% for raisin. It carries 198 molecules raisin doesn't have.
raisin
The tartness. Sour notes make up 18% of its labelled aroma molecules, against 15% for cardamom. It carries 24 molecules cardamom doesn't have.
Add a third ingredient
- Cinnamon: the best fit for both, top 1% of pairs with cardamom, top 1% with raisin.
- Saffron: top 1% of pairs with cardamom, top 7% with raisin.
- Almond: top 1% of pairs with cardamom, top 2% with raisin.
- Nutmeg: top 1% of pairs with cardamom, top 6% with raisin.
Ranked by the average of its two pairing scores. Only foods used in at least 100 recipes are suggested.
Recipes with cardamom and raisin
Almost always desserts: 1 of the 1 recipes with a course label are desserts.
Can you swap one for the other?
Only partly. Most of raisin's flavor molecules (105 of 129) are also found in cardamom, but cardamom has 198 that raisin lacks. Raisin gives you part of cardamom'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 105 shared molecules
See every shared molecule grouped by chemical class, with key aromas marked, plus the 198 only in cardamom and the 24 only in raisin.
Cardamom and raisin questions
Do cardamom and raisin go together?
A proven pairing. Cooks put them together in 69 recipes, and they share 105 flavor molecules: the top 8% of all ingredient pairs.
Why do cardamom and raisin taste good together?
Almost everything raisin carries, cardamom has too: 105 of raisin's 129 flavor molecules also occur in cardamom. Among the shared key aromas are alpha-terpineol (lilac, floral) and isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
What goes with cardamom and raisin?
Cinnamon is the best third ingredient: top 1% of pairs with cardamom and top 1% with raisin. Saffron and almond also fit both.
What can you make with cardamom and raisin?
Almost always desserts: 1 of the 1 recipes with a course label are desserts. Common dishes include Frances Bissell's Low-Fat Christmas Pudding.
Can I use raisin instead of cardamom?
Only partly. Most of raisin's flavor molecules (105 of 129) are also found in cardamom, but cardamom has 198 that raisin lacks. Raisin gives you part of cardamom'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: Cardamom vs Raisin. https://compkitchen.com/compare/cardamom-vs-raisin. Accessed 2026-11-05.
@misc{compkitchen_compare_compound_similarity_analysis_cardamom_vs_raisin_2026,
title = {Compound similarity analysis: Cardamom vs Raisin},
author = {{Compound Kitchen}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://compkitchen.com/compare/cardamom-vs-raisin},
note = {Accessed: 2026-11-05}
}
Methodology DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.19719459 · CC BY 4.0 · Citations are a request, not a requirement.