Clove + Currant
A good pairing. Cooks put them together in 3,038 recipes, and they share 13 flavor molecules: the top 15% of all ingredient pairs.
Do clove and currant go together?
Yes. 3,038 recipes in our collection combine them, and they share 13 flavor molecules. That places them in the top 15% of every ingredient pair we score.
Why they work
They overlap on 13 flavor molecules: 30% of currant's 43. Among the shared key aromas are ethyl cinnamate (sweet, balsamic) and ethyl benzoate (fruity, sweet). Most of what they share is background chemistry many foods carry, so the overlap does little for the smell.
What each one brings
clove
The roast. Roasted notes make up 6% of its labelled aroma molecules, against 0% for currant. It carries 298 molecules currant doesn't have.
currant
The floral side. Floral notes make up 20% of its labelled aroma molecules, against 12% for clove. It carries 30 molecules clove doesn't have.
Add a third ingredient
- Allspice: the best fit for both, top 1% of pairs with clove, top 10% with currant.
- Cinnamon: top 1% of pairs with clove, top 15% with currant.
- Nutmeg: top 1% of pairs with clove, top 16% with currant.
- Red currant: top 11% of pairs with clove, top 5% with currant.
Ranked by the average of its two pairing scores. Only foods used in at least 100 recipes are suggested.
Recipes with clove and currant
Spread across courses: desserts lead with 4 of the 12 recipes with a course label, then mains (4).
Can you swap one for the other?
Not really. Each has a lot the other lacks: clove has 298 molecules currant doesn't, and currant has 30 that clove 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 13 shared molecules
See every shared molecule grouped by chemical class, with key aromas marked, plus the 298 only in clove and the 30 only in currant.
Clove and currant questions
Do clove and currant go together?
A good pairing. Cooks put them together in 3,038 recipes, and they share 13 flavor molecules: the top 15% of all ingredient pairs.
Why do clove and currant taste good together?
They overlap on 13 flavor molecules: 30% of currant's 43. Among the shared key aromas are ethyl cinnamate (sweet, balsamic) and ethyl benzoate (fruity, sweet). Most of what they share is background chemistry many foods carry, so the overlap does little for the smell.
What goes with clove and currant?
Allspice is the best third ingredient: top 1% of pairs with clove and top 10% with currant. Cinnamon and nutmeg also fit both.
What can you make with clove and currant?
Spread across courses: desserts lead with 4 of the 12 recipes with a course label, then mains (4). Common dishes include Black Currant Cordial, Black Currant Wine, Currant Soy, Baked Plum Pudding.
Can I use currant instead of clove?
Not really. Each has a lot the other lacks: clove has 298 molecules currant doesn't, and currant has 30 that clove 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: Clove vs Currant. https://compkitchen.com/compare/clove-vs-currant. Accessed 2026-11-04.
@misc{compkitchen_compare_compound_similarity_analysis_clove_vs_currant_2026,
title = {Compound similarity analysis: Clove vs Currant},
author = {{Compound Kitchen}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://compkitchen.com/compare/clove-vs-currant},
note = {Accessed: 2026-11-04}
}
Methodology DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.19719459 · CC BY 4.0 · Citations are a request, not a requirement.