Licorice + Pine
Not a natural pairing: they share little aroma and few recipes use both, which puts them in the top 50% of all ingredient pairs.
Do licorice and pine go together?
Not really. 2 recipes in our collection combine them, and they share 13 flavor molecules. That places them in the top 50% of every ingredient pair we score.
What they have in common
They overlap on 13 flavor molecules: 37% of licorice's 35. Among the shared key aromas are guaiacol (smoky, sweet) and 1-octen-3-ol (mushroom, earthy). Most of what they share is background chemistry many foods carry, so the overlap does little for the smell.
What each one brings
licorice
The caramel side. Caramel notes make up 13% of its labelled aroma molecules, against 1% for pine. It carries 22 molecules pine doesn't have.
pine
The herbal side. Herbal notes make up 16% of its labelled aroma molecules, against 10% for licorice. It carries 271 molecules licorice doesn't have.
Add a third ingredient
- Fennel: the best fit for both, top 31% of pairs with licorice, top 1% with pine.
- Cinnamon: top 35% of pairs with licorice, top 3% with pine.
- Walnut: top 42% of pairs with licorice, top 1% with pine.
- Almond: top 40% of pairs with licorice, top 2% with pine.
Ranked by the average of its two pairing scores. Only foods used in at least 100 recipes are suggested.
Recipes with licorice and pine
We have no browsable recipe that lists both licorice and pine.
Can you swap one for the other?
Not really. Each has a lot the other lacks: licorice has 22 molecules pine doesn't, and pine has 271 that licorice 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 22 only in licorice and the 271 only in pine.
Licorice and pine questions
Do licorice and pine go together?
Not a natural pairing: they share little aroma and few recipes use both, which puts them in the top 50% of all ingredient pairs.
What do licorice and pine have in common?
They overlap on 13 flavor molecules: 37% of licorice's 35. Among the shared key aromas are guaiacol (smoky, sweet) and 1-octen-3-ol (mushroom, earthy). Most of what they share is background chemistry many foods carry, so the overlap does little for the smell.
What goes with licorice and pine?
Fennel is the best third ingredient: top 31% of pairs with licorice and top 1% with pine. Cinnamon and walnut also fit both.
Can I use pine instead of licorice?
Not really. Each has a lot the other lacks: licorice has 22 molecules pine doesn't, and pine has 271 that licorice 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: Licorice vs Pine. https://compkitchen.com/compare/licorice-vs-pine. Accessed 2026-11-06.
@misc{compkitchen_compare_compound_similarity_analysis_licorice_vs_pine_2026,
title = {Compound similarity analysis: Licorice vs Pine},
author = {{Compound Kitchen}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://compkitchen.com/compare/licorice-vs-pine},
note = {Accessed: 2026-11-06}
}
Methodology DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.19719459 · CC BY 4.0 · Citations are a request, not a requirement.