Clove + Tomato
A good pairing. Cooks put them together in 3,474 recipes, and they share 238 flavor molecules: the top 12% of all ingredient pairs.
Do clove and tomato go together?
Yes. 3,474 recipes in our collection combine them, and they share 238 flavor molecules. That places them in the top 12% of every ingredient pair we score.
Why they work
More than half of clove's flavor molecules (238 of 311) also occur in tomato. Among the shared key aromas are ethyl caproate (fruity, apple peel) and alpha-pinene (pine, turpentine).
What each one brings
clove
The herbal side. Herbal notes make up 11% of its labelled aroma molecules, against 8% for tomato. It carries 73 molecules tomato doesn't have.
tomato
The fresh, green side. Green notes make up 14% of its labelled aroma molecules, against 8% for clove. It carries 272 molecules clove doesn't have.
Add a third ingredient
- Cinnamon: the best fit for both, top 1% of pairs with clove, top 11% with tomato.
- Oregano: top 4% of pairs with clove, top 2% with tomato.
- Allspice: top 1% of pairs with clove, top 13% with tomato.
- Basil: top 4% of pairs with clove, top 1% with tomato.
Ranked by the average of its two pairing scores. Only foods used in at least 100 recipes are suggested.
Recipes with clove and tomato
Almost always mains: 697 of the 858 recipes with a course label are mains (from a sample of 3,000 recipes that use both).
Can you swap one for the other?
Only partly. Most of clove's flavor molecules (238 of 311) are also found in tomato, but tomato has 272 that clove lacks. Clove gives you part of tomato's character without most of its fresh, green side. This compares flavor only; texture, moisture and the job each does in a dish matter too.
All 238 shared molecules
See every shared molecule grouped by chemical class, with key aromas marked, plus the 73 only in clove and the 272 only in tomato.
Clove and tomato questions
Do clove and tomato go together?
A good pairing. Cooks put them together in 3,474 recipes, and they share 238 flavor molecules: the top 12% of all ingredient pairs.
Why do clove and tomato taste good together?
More than half of clove's flavor molecules (238 of 311) also occur in tomato. Among the shared key aromas are ethyl caproate (fruity, apple peel) and alpha-pinene (pine, turpentine).
What goes with clove and tomato?
Cinnamon is the best third ingredient: top 1% of pairs with clove and top 11% with tomato. Oregano and allspice also fit both.
What can you make with clove and tomato?
Almost always mains: 697 of the 858 recipes with a course label are mains (from a sample of 3,000 recipes that use both). Common dishes include Tomato Catsup, Green Tomato Pickles, Tomato Sauce, Green Tomato Pickle.
Can I use tomato instead of clove?
Only partly. Most of clove's flavor molecules (238 of 311) are also found in tomato, but tomato has 272 that clove lacks. Clove gives you part of tomato's character without most of its fresh, green 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: Clove vs Tomato. https://compkitchen.com/compare/clove-vs-tomato. Accessed 2026-11-04.
@misc{compkitchen_compare_compound_similarity_analysis_clove_vs_tomato_2026,
title = {Compound similarity analysis: Clove vs Tomato},
author = {{Compound Kitchen}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://compkitchen.com/compare/clove-vs-tomato},
note = {Accessed: 2026-11-04}
}
Methodology DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.19719459 · CC BY 4.0 · Citations are a request, not a requirement.