Nutmeg + Pear
A good pairing. Cooks put them together in 155 recipes, and they share 227 flavor molecules: the top 13% of all ingredient pairs.
Do nutmeg and pear go together?
Yes. 155 recipes in our collection combine them, and they share 227 flavor molecules. That places them in the top 13% of every ingredient pair we score.
Why they work
More than half of nutmeg's flavor molecules (227 of 301) also occur in pear. Among the shared key aromas are estragole (anise, licorice) and alpha-pinene (pine, turpentine).
What each one brings
nutmeg
The herbal side. Herbal notes make up 14% of its labelled aroma molecules, against 6% for pear. It carries 74 molecules pear doesn't have.
pear
The fruit. Fruity notes make up 25% of its labelled aroma molecules, against 10% for nutmeg. It carries 134 molecules nutmeg doesn't have.
Add a third ingredient
- Cinnamon: the best fit for both, top 1% of pairs with nutmeg, top 4% with pear.
- Clove: top 1% of pairs with nutmeg, top 7% with pear.
- Allspice: top 1% of pairs with nutmeg, top 10% with pear.
- Cardamom: top 1% of pairs with nutmeg, top 9% with pear.
Ranked by the average of its two pairing scores. Only foods used in at least 100 recipes are suggested.
Recipes with nutmeg and pear
Mostly desserts: 9 of the 12 recipes with a course label are desserts.
Can you swap one for the other?
Only partly. Most of nutmeg's flavor molecules (227 of 301) are also found in pear, but pear has 134 that nutmeg lacks. Nutmeg gives you part of pear's character without most of its fruit. This compares flavor only; texture, moisture and the job each does in a dish matter too.
All 227 shared molecules
See every shared molecule grouped by chemical class, with key aromas marked, plus the 74 only in nutmeg and the 134 only in pear.
Nutmeg and pear questions
Do nutmeg and pear go together?
A good pairing. Cooks put them together in 155 recipes, and they share 227 flavor molecules: the top 13% of all ingredient pairs.
Why do nutmeg and pear taste good together?
More than half of nutmeg's flavor molecules (227 of 301) also occur in pear. Among the shared key aromas are estragole (anise, licorice) and alpha-pinene (pine, turpentine).
What goes with nutmeg and pear?
Cinnamon is the best third ingredient: top 1% of pairs with nutmeg and top 4% with pear. Clove and allspice also fit both.
What can you make with nutmeg and pear?
Mostly desserts: 9 of the 12 recipes with a course label are desserts. Common dishes include Apple and Pear Crumble, Apple-Pear Tart with Cornmeal Crust, Chilled Apricot-Pear Soup, Pear Chutney.
Can I use pear instead of nutmeg?
Only partly. Most of nutmeg's flavor molecules (227 of 301) are also found in pear, but pear has 134 that nutmeg lacks. Nutmeg gives you part of pear'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 Pear. https://compkitchen.com/compare/nutmeg-vs-pear. Accessed 2026-11-04.
@misc{compkitchen_compare_compound_similarity_analysis_nutmeg_vs_pear_2026,
title = {Compound similarity analysis: Nutmeg vs Pear},
author = {{Compound Kitchen}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://compkitchen.com/compare/nutmeg-vs-pear},
note = {Accessed: 2026-11-04}
}
Methodology DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.19719459 · CC BY 4.0 · Citations are a request, not a requirement.