Pork + Clove
A good pairing. Cooks put them together in 4,515 recipes, and they share 139 flavor molecules: the top 15% of all ingredient pairs.
Do pork and clove go together?
Yes. 4,515 recipes in our collection combine them, and they share 139 flavor molecules. That places them in the top 15% of every ingredient pair we score.
Why they work
They overlap on 139 flavor molecules: 45% of clove's 311. Among the shared key aromas are ethyl octanoate (fruity, wine) and gamma-decalactone (peach, creamy).
What each one brings
pork
The fresh, green side. Green notes make up 14% of its labelled aroma molecules, against 8% for clove. It carries 285 molecules clove doesn't have.
clove
The herbal side. Herbal notes make up 11% of its labelled aroma molecules, against 2% for pork. It carries 172 molecules pork doesn't have.
Add a third ingredient
- Allspice: the best fit for both, top 16% of pairs with pork, top 1% with clove.
- Cinnamon: top 25% of pairs with pork, top 1% with clove.
- Ginger: top 15% of pairs with pork, top 1% with clove.
- Nutmeg: top 18% of pairs with pork, 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 pork and clove
Almost always mains: 199 of the 236 recipes with a course label are mains.
Can you swap one for the other?
Not really. Each has a lot the other lacks: pork has 285 molecules clove doesn't, and clove has 172 that pork 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 139 shared molecules
See every shared molecule grouped by chemical class, with key aromas marked, plus the 285 only in pork and the 172 only in clove.
Pork and clove questions
Do pork and clove go together?
A good pairing. Cooks put them together in 4,515 recipes, and they share 139 flavor molecules: the top 15% of all ingredient pairs.
Why do pork and clove taste good together?
They overlap on 139 flavor molecules: 45% of clove's 311. Among the shared key aromas are ethyl octanoate (fruity, wine) and gamma-decalactone (peach, creamy).
What goes with pork and clove?
Allspice is the best third ingredient: top 16% of pairs with pork and top 1% with clove. Cinnamon and ginger also fit both.
What can you make with pork and clove?
Almost always mains: 199 of the 236 recipes with a course label are mains. Common dishes include Pork Cake, Baked Pork, Baked Pork with Potatoes, Bean Soup with Knuckle of Pork.
Can I use clove instead of pork?
Not really. Each has a lot the other lacks: pork has 285 molecules clove doesn't, and clove has 172 that pork 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: Pork vs Clove. https://compkitchen.com/compare/pork-vs-clove. Accessed 2026-11-04.
@misc{compkitchen_compare_compound_similarity_analysis_pork_vs_clove_2026,
title = {Compound similarity analysis: Pork vs Clove},
author = {{Compound Kitchen}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://compkitchen.com/compare/pork-vs-clove},
note = {Accessed: 2026-11-04}
}
Methodology DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.19719459 · CC BY 4.0 · Citations are a request, not a requirement.