Apple + Apricot
A proven pairing. Cooks put them together in 777 recipes, and they share 311 flavor molecules: the top 2% of all ingredient pairs.
Do apple and apricot go together?
Yes. 777 recipes in our collection combine them, and they share 311 flavor molecules. That places them in the top 2% of every ingredient pair we score.
Why they work
Almost everything apricot carries, apple has too: 311 of apricot's 382 flavor molecules also occur in apple. Among the shared key aromas are gamma-undecalactone (peach, sweet) and ethyl isobutyrate (fruity, ethereal).
What each one brings
apple
The fruit. Fruity notes make up 27% of its labelled aroma molecules, against 23% for apricot. It carries 211 molecules apricot doesn't have.
apricot
The herbal side. Herbal notes make up 10% of its labelled aroma molecules, against 6% for apple. It carries 71 molecules apple doesn't have.
Add a third ingredient
- Pear: the best fit for both, top 1% of pairs with apple, top 1% with apricot.
- Plum: top 2% of pairs with apple, top 1% with apricot.
- Peach: top 3% of pairs with apple, top 1% with apricot.
- Fig: top 4% of pairs with apple, top 1% with apricot.
Ranked by the average of its two pairing scores. Only foods used in at least 100 recipes are suggested.
Recipes with apple and apricot
Mostly desserts: 29 of the 53 recipes with a course label are desserts.
Can you swap one for the other?
Only partly. Most of apricot's flavor molecules (311 of 382) are also found in apple, but apple has 211 that apricot lacks. Apricot gives you part of apple's character without most of its fruit. This compares flavor only; texture, moisture and the job each does in a dish matter too.
All 311 shared molecules
See every shared molecule grouped by chemical class, with key aromas marked, plus the 211 only in apple and the 71 only in apricot.
Apple and apricot questions
Do apple and apricot go together?
A proven pairing. Cooks put them together in 777 recipes, and they share 311 flavor molecules: the top 2% of all ingredient pairs.
Why do apple and apricot taste good together?
Almost everything apricot carries, apple has too: 311 of apricot's 382 flavor molecules also occur in apple. Among the shared key aromas are gamma-undecalactone (peach, sweet) and ethyl isobutyrate (fruity, ethereal).
What goes with apple and apricot?
Pear is the best third ingredient: top 1% of pairs with apple and top 1% with apricot. Plum and peach also fit both.
What can you make with apple and apricot?
Mostly desserts: 29 of the 53 recipes with a course label are desserts. Common dishes include Apple, Apricot and Sultana Squares, Apricot Pineapple Cake, Apple Sauce for Roast Pork, Apple-Raisin Sauté.
Can I use apricot instead of apple?
Only partly. Most of apricot's flavor molecules (311 of 382) are also found in apple, but apple has 211 that apricot lacks. Apricot gives you part of apple's character without most of its fruit. 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: Apple vs Apricot. https://compkitchen.com/compare/apple-vs-apricot. Accessed 2026-11-04.
@misc{compkitchen_compare_compound_similarity_analysis_apple_vs_apricot_2026,
title = {Compound similarity analysis: Apple vs Apricot},
author = {{Compound Kitchen}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://compkitchen.com/compare/apple-vs-apricot},
note = {Accessed: 2026-11-04}
}
Methodology DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.19719459 · CC BY 4.0 · Citations are a request, not a requirement.