Clove + Lime
A proven pairing. Cooks put them together in 909 recipes, and they share 225 flavor molecules: the top 7% of all ingredient pairs.
Do clove and lime go together?
Yes. 909 recipes in our collection combine them, and they share 225 flavor molecules. That places them in the top 7% of every ingredient pair we score.
Why they work
More than half of lime's flavor molecules (225 of 299) also occur in clove. Among the shared key aromas are eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal) and alpha-pinene (pine, turpentine).
What each one brings
clove
The fruit. Fruity notes make up 17% of its labelled aroma molecules, against 10% for lime. It carries 86 molecules lime doesn't have.
lime
The herbal side. Herbal notes make up 15% of its labelled aroma molecules, against 11% for clove. It carries 74 molecules clove doesn't have.
Add a third ingredient
- Cardamom: the best fit for both, top 1% of pairs with clove, top 1% with lime.
- Allspice: top 1% of pairs with clove, top 4% with lime.
- Lemon grass: top 7% of pairs with clove, top 1% with lime.
- Cinnamon: top 1% of pairs with clove, top 5% with lime.
Ranked by the average of its two pairing scores. Only foods used in at least 100 recipes are suggested.
Recipes with clove and lime
Mostly mains: 72 of the 103 recipes with a course label are mains.
Can you swap one for the other?
Fairly well, for flavor. Each carries most of the other's flavor molecules (72% of clove's and 75% of lime's are shared). This compares flavor only; texture, moisture and the job each does in a dish matter too.
All 225 shared molecules
See every shared molecule grouped by chemical class, with key aromas marked, plus the 86 only in clove and the 74 only in lime.
Clove and lime questions
Do clove and lime go together?
A proven pairing. Cooks put them together in 909 recipes, and they share 225 flavor molecules: the top 7% of all ingredient pairs.
Why do clove and lime taste good together?
More than half of lime's flavor molecules (225 of 299) also occur in clove. Among the shared key aromas are eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal) and alpha-pinene (pine, turpentine).
What goes with clove and lime?
Cardamom is the best third ingredient: top 1% of pairs with clove and top 1% with lime. Allspice and lemon grass also fit both.
What can you make with clove and lime?
Mostly mains: 72 of the 103 recipes with a course label are mains. Common dishes include Braised Duck with Orange-and-Lime Sauce, Green Pancakes with Lime Butter, Lime Fish Skewers, Lime Garlic Marinade.
Can I use lime instead of clove?
Fairly well, for flavor. Each carries most of the other's flavor molecules (72% of clove's and 75% of lime's are shared). 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 Lime. https://compkitchen.com/compare/clove-vs-lime. Accessed 2026-11-04.
@misc{compkitchen_compare_compound_similarity_analysis_clove_vs_lime_2026,
title = {Compound similarity analysis: Clove vs Lime},
author = {{Compound Kitchen}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://compkitchen.com/compare/clove-vs-lime},
note = {Accessed: 2026-11-04}
}
Methodology DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.19719459 · CC BY 4.0 · Citations are a request, not a requirement.