Red currant + Clove
A good pairing. Cooks put them together in 128 recipes, and they share 101 flavor molecules: the top 11% of all ingredient pairs.
Do red currant and clove go together?
Yes. 128 recipes in our collection combine them, and they share 101 flavor molecules. That places them in the top 11% of every ingredient pair we score.
Why they work
More than half of red currant's flavor molecules (101 of 144) also occur in clove. Among the shared key aromas are ethyl benzoate (fruity, sweet) and alpha-pinene (pine, turpentine).
What each one brings
red currant
The floral side. Floral notes make up 18% of its labelled aroma molecules, against 12% for clove. It carries 43 molecules clove doesn't have.
clove
The herbal side. Herbal notes make up 11% of its labelled aroma molecules, against 7% for red currant. It carries 210 molecules red currant doesn't have.
Add a third ingredient
- Cinnamon: the best fit for both, top 11% of pairs with red currant, top 1% with clove.
- Black currant: top 1% of pairs with red currant, top 7% with clove.
- Allspice: top 13% of pairs with red currant, top 1% with clove.
- Thyme: top 5% of pairs with red currant, top 2% with clove.
Ranked by the average of its two pairing scores. Only foods used in at least 100 recipes are suggested.
Recipes with red currant and clove
Almost always mains: 1 of the 1 recipes with a course label are mains.
Can you swap one for the other?
Only partly. Most of red currant's flavor molecules (101 of 144) are also found in clove, but clove has 210 that red currant lacks. Red currant gives you part of clove's character without most of its herbal side. This compares flavor only; texture, moisture and the job each does in a dish matter too.
All 101 shared molecules
See every shared molecule grouped by chemical class, with key aromas marked, plus the 43 only in red currant and the 210 only in clove.
Red currant and clove questions
Do red currant and clove go together?
A good pairing. Cooks put them together in 128 recipes, and they share 101 flavor molecules: the top 11% of all ingredient pairs.
Why do red currant and clove taste good together?
More than half of red currant's flavor molecules (101 of 144) also occur in clove. Among the shared key aromas are ethyl benzoate (fruity, sweet) and alpha-pinene (pine, turpentine).
What goes with red currant and clove?
Cinnamon is the best third ingredient: top 11% of pairs with red currant and top 1% with clove. Black currant and allspice also fit both.
What can you make with red currant and clove?
Almost always mains: 1 of the 1 recipes with a course label are mains. Common dishes include Medieval Lenten Tart.
Can I use clove instead of red currant?
Only partly. Most of red currant's flavor molecules (101 of 144) are also found in clove, but clove has 210 that red currant lacks. Red currant gives you part of clove's character without most of its herbal side. 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: Red Currant vs Clove. https://compkitchen.com/compare/red-currant-vs-clove. Accessed 2026-11-04.
@misc{compkitchen_compare_compound_similarity_analysis_red_currant_vs_clove_2026,
title = {Compound similarity analysis: Red Currant vs Clove},
author = {{Compound Kitchen}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://compkitchen.com/compare/red-currant-vs-clove},
note = {Accessed: 2026-11-04}
}
Methodology DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.19719459 · CC BY 4.0 · Citations are a request, not a requirement.