Nutmeg + Apple
A good pairing. Cooks put them together in 3,790 recipes, and they share 244 flavor molecules: the top 12% of all ingredient pairs.
Do nutmeg and apple go together?
Yes. 3,790 recipes in our collection combine them, and they share 244 flavor molecules. That places them in the top 12% of every ingredient pair we score.
Why they work
Almost everything nutmeg carries, apple has too: 244 of nutmeg's 301 flavor molecules also occur in apple. Among the shared key aromas are estragole (anise, licorice) and eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).
What each one brings
nutmeg
The herbal side. Herbal notes make up 14% of its labelled aroma molecules, against 6% for apple. It carries 57 molecules apple doesn't have.
apple
The fruit. Fruity notes make up 27% of its labelled aroma molecules, against 10% for nutmeg. It carries 278 molecules nutmeg doesn't have.
Add a third ingredient
- Cinnamon: the best fit for both, top 1% of pairs with nutmeg, top 4% with apple.
- Clove: top 1% of pairs with nutmeg, top 6% with apple.
- Allspice: top 1% of pairs with nutmeg, top 13% with apple.
- Butternut squash: top 1% of pairs with nutmeg, top 10% with apple.
Ranked by the average of its two pairing scores. Only foods used in at least 100 recipes are suggested.
Recipes with nutmeg and apple
Mostly desserts: 172 of the 246 recipes with a course label are desserts.
Can you swap one for the other?
Only partly. Most of nutmeg's flavor molecules (244 of 301) are also found in apple, but apple has 278 that nutmeg lacks. Nutmeg gives you part of apple's character without most of its fruit. This compares flavor only; texture, moisture and the job each does in a dish matter too.
All 244 shared molecules
See every shared molecule grouped by chemical class, with key aromas marked, plus the 57 only in nutmeg and the 278 only in apple.
Nutmeg and apple questions
Do nutmeg and apple go together?
A good pairing. Cooks put them together in 3,790 recipes, and they share 244 flavor molecules: the top 12% of all ingredient pairs.
Why do nutmeg and apple taste good together?
Almost everything nutmeg carries, apple has too: 244 of nutmeg's 301 flavor molecules also occur in apple. Among the shared key aromas are estragole (anise, licorice) and eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).
What goes with nutmeg and apple?
Cinnamon is the best third ingredient: top 1% of pairs with nutmeg and top 4% with apple. Clove and allspice also fit both.
What can you make with nutmeg and apple?
Mostly desserts: 172 of the 246 recipes with a course label are desserts. Common dishes include Apple Cake, Apple Fritters, Apple Meringue, Apple Parsnip Soup.
Can I use apple instead of nutmeg?
Only partly. Most of nutmeg's flavor molecules (244 of 301) are also found in apple, but apple has 278 that nutmeg lacks. Nutmeg gives you part of apple'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: Nutmeg vs Apple. https://compkitchen.com/compare/nutmeg-vs-apple. Accessed 2026-11-04.
@misc{compkitchen_compare_compound_similarity_analysis_nutmeg_vs_apple_2026,
title = {Compound similarity analysis: Nutmeg vs Apple},
author = {{Compound Kitchen}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://compkitchen.com/compare/nutmeg-vs-apple},
note = {Accessed: 2026-11-04}
}
Methodology DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.19719459 · CC BY 4.0 · Citations are a request, not a requirement.