Turmeric + Clove
A proven pairing. Cooks put them together in 1,876 recipes, and they share 220 flavor molecules: the top 4% of all ingredient pairs.
Do turmeric and clove go together?
Yes. 1,876 recipes in our collection combine them, and they share 220 flavor molecules. That places them in the top 4% of every ingredient pair we score.
Why they work
Almost everything turmeric carries, clove has too: 220 of turmeric's 265 flavor molecules also occur in clove. Among the shared key aromas are eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal) and alpha-pinene (pine, turpentine).
What each one brings
turmeric
The herbal side. Herbal notes make up 16% of its labelled aroma molecules, against 11% for clove. It carries 45 molecules clove doesn't have.
clove
The fruit. Fruity notes make up 17% of its labelled aroma molecules, against 10% for turmeric. It carries 91 molecules turmeric doesn't have.
Add a third ingredient
- Cardamom: the best fit for both, top 1% of pairs with turmeric, top 1% with clove.
- Cumin: top 1% of pairs with turmeric, top 4% with clove.
- Cinnamon: top 2% of pairs with turmeric, top 1% with clove.
- Ginger: top 1% of pairs with turmeric, 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 turmeric and clove
Almost always mains: 198 of the 225 recipes with a course label are mains.
Can you swap one for the other?
Fairly well, for flavor. Each carries most of the other's flavor molecules (83% of turmeric's and 71% of clove's are shared). This compares flavor only; texture, moisture and the job each does in a dish matter too.
All 220 shared molecules
See every shared molecule grouped by chemical class, with key aromas marked, plus the 45 only in turmeric and the 91 only in clove.
Turmeric and clove questions
Do turmeric and clove go together?
A proven pairing. Cooks put them together in 1,876 recipes, and they share 220 flavor molecules: the top 4% of all ingredient pairs.
Why do turmeric and clove taste good together?
Almost everything turmeric carries, clove has too: 220 of turmeric's 265 flavor molecules also occur in clove. Among the shared key aromas are eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal) and alpha-pinene (pine, turpentine).
What goes with turmeric and clove?
Cardamom is the best third ingredient: top 1% of pairs with turmeric and top 1% with clove. Cumin and cinnamon also fit both.
What can you make with turmeric and clove?
Almost always mains: 198 of the 225 recipes with a course label are mains. Common dishes include Chow-Chow, Chicken Biryani, Cucumber Mangoes, Green Tomato Pickle.
Can I use clove instead of turmeric?
Fairly well, for flavor. Each carries most of the other's flavor molecules (83% of turmeric's and 71% of clove's are shared). 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: Turmeric vs Clove. https://compkitchen.com/compare/turmeric-vs-clove. Accessed 2026-11-04.
@misc{compkitchen_compare_compound_similarity_analysis_turmeric_vs_clove_2026,
title = {Compound similarity analysis: Turmeric vs Clove},
author = {{Compound Kitchen}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://compkitchen.com/compare/turmeric-vs-clove},
note = {Accessed: 2026-11-04}
}
Methodology DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.19719459 · CC BY 4.0 · Citations are a request, not a requirement.