Clove + Molasses
A good pairing. Cooks put them together in 3,483 recipes, and they share 20 flavor molecules: the top 13% of all ingredient pairs.
Do clove and molasses go together?
Yes. 3,483 recipes in our collection combine them, and they share 20 flavor molecules. That places them in the top 13% of every ingredient pair we score.
Why they work
More than half of molasses's flavor molecules (20 of 26) also occur in clove. Among the shared key aromas are ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal) and decanoic acid (soapy, waxy). 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 fruit. Fruity notes make up 17% of its labelled aroma molecules, against 4% for molasses. It carries 291 molecules molasses doesn't have.
molasses
The tartness. Sour notes make up 29% of its labelled aroma molecules, against 12% for clove. It carries 6 molecules clove doesn't have.
Add a third ingredient
- Cinnamon: the best fit for both, top 1% of pairs with clove, top 11% with molasses.
- Allspice: top 1% of pairs with clove, top 14% with molasses.
- Ginger: top 1% of pairs with clove, top 14% with molasses.
- Nutmeg: top 1% of pairs with clove, top 21% with molasses.
Ranked by the average of its two pairing scores. Only foods used in at least 100 recipes are suggested.
Recipes with clove and molasses
Mostly desserts: 182 of the 235 recipes with a course label are desserts.
Can you swap one for the other?
Only partly. Most of molasses's flavor molecules (20 of 26) are also found in clove, but clove has 291 that molasses lacks. Molasses gives you part of clove's character without most of its fruit. This compares flavor only; texture, moisture and the job each does in a dish matter too.
All 20 shared molecules
See every shared molecule grouped by chemical class, with key aromas marked, plus the 291 only in clove and the 6 only in molasses.
Clove and molasses questions
Do clove and molasses go together?
A good pairing. Cooks put them together in 3,483 recipes, and they share 20 flavor molecules: the top 13% of all ingredient pairs.
Why do clove and molasses taste good together?
More than half of molasses's flavor molecules (20 of 26) also occur in clove. Among the shared key aromas are ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal) and decanoic acid (soapy, waxy). Most of what they share is background chemistry many foods carry, so the overlap does little for the smell.
What goes with clove and molasses?
Cinnamon is the best third ingredient: top 1% of pairs with clove and top 11% with molasses. Allspice and ginger also fit both.
What can you make with clove and molasses?
Mostly desserts: 182 of the 235 recipes with a course label are desserts. Common dishes include Molasses Cookies, Bread Fried with Molasses, Hard Molasses Gingerbread, Molasses Crinkles.
Can I use molasses instead of clove?
Only partly. Most of molasses's flavor molecules (20 of 26) are also found in clove, but clove has 291 that molasses lacks. Molasses gives you part of clove'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: Clove vs Molasses. https://compkitchen.com/compare/clove-vs-molasses. Accessed 2026-11-04.
@misc{compkitchen_compare_compound_similarity_analysis_clove_vs_molasses_2026,
title = {Compound similarity analysis: Clove vs Molasses},
author = {{Compound Kitchen}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://compkitchen.com/compare/clove-vs-molasses},
note = {Accessed: 2026-11-04}
}
Methodology DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.19719459 · CC BY 4.0 · Citations are a request, not a requirement.