Olive + Maple syrup
A good pairing. Cooks put them together in 588 recipes, and they share 14 flavor molecules: the top 22% of all ingredient pairs.
Do olive and maple syrup go together?
Yes. 588 recipes in our collection combine them, and they share 14 flavor molecules. That places them in the top 22% of every ingredient pair we score.
Why they work
More than half of maple syrup's flavor molecules (14 of 28) also occur in olive. Among the shared key aromas are methyl butyrate (fruity, apple) and linalool (floral, citrus). Most of what they share is background chemistry many foods carry, so the overlap does little for the smell.
What each one brings
olive
The tartness. Sour notes make up 16% of its labelled aroma molecules, against 7% for maple syrup. It carries 352 molecules maple syrup doesn't have.
maple syrup
The caramel side. Caramel notes make up 29% of its labelled aroma molecules, against 1% for olive. It carries 14 molecules olive doesn't have.
Add a third ingredient
- Pumpkin: the best fit for both, top 9% of pairs with olive, top 6% with maple syrup.
- Tomato: top 1% of pairs with olive, top 23% with maple syrup.
- Sweet potato: top 7% of pairs with olive, top 10% with maple syrup.
- Cashew nut: top 5% of pairs with olive, top 14% with maple syrup.
Ranked by the average of its two pairing scores. Only foods used in at least 100 recipes are suggested.
Recipes with olive and maple syrup
Spread across courses: mains lead with 28 of the 69 recipes with a course label, then desserts (20).
Can you swap one for the other?
Not really. Each has a lot the other lacks: olive has 352 molecules maple syrup doesn't, and maple syrup has 14 that olive 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 14 shared molecules
See every shared molecule grouped by chemical class, with key aromas marked, plus the 352 only in olive and the 14 only in maple syrup.
Olive and maple syrup questions
Do olive and maple syrup go together?
A good pairing. Cooks put them together in 588 recipes, and they share 14 flavor molecules: the top 22% of all ingredient pairs.
Why do olive and maple syrup taste good together?
More than half of maple syrup's flavor molecules (14 of 28) also occur in olive. Among the shared key aromas are methyl butyrate (fruity, apple) and linalool (floral, citrus). Most of what they share is background chemistry many foods carry, so the overlap does little for the smell.
What goes with olive and maple syrup?
Pumpkin is the best third ingredient: top 9% of pairs with olive and top 6% with maple syrup. Tomato and sweet potato also fit both.
What can you make with olive and maple syrup?
Spread across courses: mains lead with 28 of the 69 recipes with a course label, then desserts (20). Common dishes include Buckwheat Waffles with Cranberry-Maple Syrup, Hickory Maple Glazed Wings, Maple Balsamic Vinaigrette, Maple Cranberry Vinaigrette.
Can I use maple syrup instead of olive?
Not really. Each has a lot the other lacks: olive has 352 molecules maple syrup doesn't, and maple syrup has 14 that olive 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: Olive vs Maple Syrup. https://compkitchen.com/compare/olive-vs-maple-syrup. Accessed 2026-11-04.
@misc{compkitchen_compare_compound_similarity_analysis_olive_vs_maple_syrup_2026,
title = {Compound similarity analysis: Olive vs Maple Syrup},
author = {{Compound Kitchen}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://compkitchen.com/compare/olive-vs-maple-syrup},
note = {Accessed: 2026-11-04}
}
Methodology DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.19719459 · CC BY 4.0 · Citations are a request, not a requirement.