Wine + Lime
A good pairing. Cooks put them together in 438 recipes, and they share 91 flavor molecules: the top 22% of all ingredient pairs.
Do wine and lime go together?
Yes. 438 recipes in our collection combine them, and they share 91 flavor molecules. That places them in the top 22% of every ingredient pair we score.
Why they work
They overlap on 91 flavor molecules: 30% of lime's 299. Among the shared key aromas are decanal (soap, orange peel) and eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal). Most of what they share is background chemistry many foods carry, so the overlap does little for the smell.
What each one brings
wine
The fruit. Fruity notes make up 31% of its labelled aroma molecules, against 10% for lime. It carries 447 molecules lime doesn't have.
lime
The tartness. Sour notes make up 16% of its labelled aroma molecules, against 6% for wine. It carries 208 molecules wine doesn't have.
Add a third ingredient
- Lemon grass: the best fit for both, top 21% of pairs with wine, top 1% with lime.
- Coriander: top 19% of pairs with wine, top 1% with lime.
- Thyme: top 10% of pairs with wine, top 1% with lime.
- Lemon: top 13% of pairs with wine, top 1% with lime.
Ranked by the average of its two pairing scores. Only foods used in at least 100 recipes are suggested.
Recipes with wine and lime
Mostly mains: 39 of the 62 recipes with a course label are mains.
Can you swap one for the other?
Not really. Each has a lot the other lacks: wine has 447 molecules lime doesn't, and lime has 208 that wine 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 91 shared molecules
See every shared molecule grouped by chemical class, with key aromas marked, plus the 447 only in wine and the 208 only in lime.
Wine and lime questions
Do wine and lime go together?
A good pairing. Cooks put them together in 438 recipes, and they share 91 flavor molecules: the top 22% of all ingredient pairs.
Why do wine and lime taste good together?
They overlap on 91 flavor molecules: 30% of lime's 299. Among the shared key aromas are decanal (soap, orange peel) and eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal). Most of what they share is background chemistry many foods carry, so the overlap does little for the smell.
What goes with wine and lime?
Lemon grass is the best third ingredient: top 21% of pairs with wine and top 1% with lime. Coriander and thyme also fit both.
What can you make with wine and lime?
Mostly mains: 39 of the 62 recipes with a course label are mains. Common dishes include Grilled Lime Chicken, Honey Lime Pork Loin, Papaya with Port Wine, Spaghetti with Clams in White Wine Sauce.
Can I use lime instead of wine?
Not really. Each has a lot the other lacks: wine has 447 molecules lime doesn't, and lime has 208 that wine 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: Wine vs Lime. https://compkitchen.com/compare/wine-vs-lime. Accessed 2026-11-04.
@misc{compkitchen_compare_compound_similarity_analysis_wine_vs_lime_2026,
title = {Compound similarity analysis: Wine vs Lime},
author = {{Compound Kitchen}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://compkitchen.com/compare/wine-vs-lime},
note = {Accessed: 2026-11-04}
}
Methodology DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.19719459 · CC BY 4.0 · Citations are a request, not a requirement.