Dates + Clove
A good pairing. Cooks put them together in 150 recipes, and they share 89 flavor molecules: the top 13% of all ingredient pairs.
Do dates and clove go together?
Yes. 150 recipes in our collection combine them, and they share 89 flavor molecules. That places them in the top 13% of every ingredient pair we score.
Why they work
Almost everything dates carries, clove has too: 89 of dates's 110 flavor molecules also occur in clove. Among the shared key aromas are estragole (anise, licorice) and coumarin (sweet, hay).
What each one brings
dates
The fresh, green side. Green notes make up 18% of its labelled aroma molecules, against 8% for clove. It carries 21 molecules clove doesn't have.
clove
The woody side. Woody notes make up 5% of its labelled aroma molecules, against 1% for dates. It carries 222 molecules dates doesn't have.
Add a third ingredient
- Cinnamon: the best fit for both, top 7% of pairs with dates, top 1% with clove.
- Allspice: top 15% of pairs with dates, top 1% with clove.
- Fig: top 2% of pairs with dates, top 6% with clove.
- Nutmeg: top 13% of pairs with dates, top 1% with clove.
Ranked by the average of its two pairing scores. Only foods used in at least 100 recipes are suggested.
Recipes with dates and clove
Mostly desserts: 31 of the 41 recipes with a course label are desserts.
Can you swap one for the other?
Only partly. Most of dates's flavor molecules (89 of 110) are also found in clove, but clove has 222 that dates lacks. Dates gives you part of clove's character without most of its woody side. This compares flavor only; texture, moisture and the job each does in a dish matter too.
All 89 shared molecules
See every shared molecule grouped by chemical class, with key aromas marked, plus the 21 only in dates and the 222 only in clove.
Dates and clove questions
Do dates and clove go together?
A good pairing. Cooks put them together in 150 recipes, and they share 89 flavor molecules: the top 13% of all ingredient pairs.
Why do dates and clove taste good together?
Almost everything dates carries, clove has too: 89 of dates's 110 flavor molecules also occur in clove. Among the shared key aromas are estragole (anise, licorice) and coumarin (sweet, hay).
What goes with dates and clove?
Cinnamon is the best third ingredient: top 7% of pairs with dates and top 1% with clove. Allspice and fig also fit both.
What can you make with dates and clove?
Mostly desserts: 31 of the 41 recipes with a course label are desserts. Common dishes include Marie Paidar, Apple Sauce Cake, Basic Sugar-Free Vegetarian Mincemeat, Billy Goat Whiskers.
Can I use clove instead of dates?
Only partly. Most of dates's flavor molecules (89 of 110) are also found in clove, but clove has 222 that dates lacks. Dates gives you part of clove's character without most of its woody 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: Dates vs Clove. https://compkitchen.com/compare/dates-vs-clove. Accessed 2026-11-04.
@misc{compkitchen_compare_compound_similarity_analysis_dates_vs_clove_2026,
title = {Compound similarity analysis: Dates vs Clove},
author = {{Compound Kitchen}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://compkitchen.com/compare/dates-vs-clove},
note = {Accessed: 2026-11-04}
}
Methodology DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.19719459 · CC BY 4.0 · Citations are a request, not a requirement.