Apple + Nutmeg
A good pairing. Cooks put them together in 3,790 recipes, and they share 244 flavor molecules: the top 12% of all ingredient pairs.
Do apple and nutmeg go together?
Yes. 3,790 recipes in our collection combine them, and they share 244 flavor molecules. That places them in the top 12% of every ingredient pair we score.
Why they work
Almost everything nutmeg carries, apple has too: 244 of nutmeg's 301 flavor molecules also occur in apple. Among the shared key aromas are estragole (anise, licorice) and eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).
What each one brings
apple
The fruit. Fruity notes make up 27% of its labelled aroma molecules, against 10% for nutmeg. It carries 278 molecules nutmeg doesn't have.
nutmeg
The herbal side. Herbal notes make up 14% of its labelled aroma molecules, against 6% for apple. It carries 57 molecules apple doesn't have.
Add a third ingredient
- Cinnamon: the best fit for both, top 4% of pairs with apple, top 1% with nutmeg.
- Clove: top 6% of pairs with apple, top 1% with nutmeg.
- Allspice: top 13% of pairs with apple, top 1% with nutmeg.
- Butternut squash: top 10% of pairs with apple, top 1% with nutmeg.
Ranked by the average of its two pairing scores. Only foods used in at least 100 recipes are suggested.
Recipes with apple and nutmeg
Mostly desserts: 172 of the 246 recipes with a course label are desserts.
Can you swap one for the other?
Only partly. Most of nutmeg's flavor molecules (244 of 301) are also found in apple, but apple has 278 that nutmeg lacks. Nutmeg 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 244 shared molecules
See every shared molecule grouped by chemical class, with key aromas marked, plus the 278 only in apple and the 57 only in nutmeg.
Apple and nutmeg questions
Do apple and nutmeg go together?
A good pairing. Cooks put them together in 3,790 recipes, and they share 244 flavor molecules: the top 12% of all ingredient pairs.
Why do apple and nutmeg taste good together?
Almost everything nutmeg carries, apple has too: 244 of nutmeg's 301 flavor molecules also occur in apple. Among the shared key aromas are estragole (anise, licorice) and eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).
What goes with apple and nutmeg?
Cinnamon is the best third ingredient: top 4% of pairs with apple and top 1% with nutmeg. Clove and allspice also fit both.
What can you make with apple and nutmeg?
Mostly desserts: 172 of the 246 recipes with a course label are desserts. Common dishes include Apple Cake, Apple Fritters, Apple Meringue, Apple Parsnip Soup.
Can I use nutmeg instead of apple?
Only partly. Most of nutmeg's flavor molecules (244 of 301) are also found in apple, but apple has 278 that nutmeg lacks. Nutmeg 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 Nutmeg. https://compkitchen.com/compare/apple-vs-nutmeg. Accessed 2026-11-04.
@misc{compkitchen_compare_compound_similarity_analysis_apple_vs_nutmeg_2026,
title = {Compound similarity analysis: Apple vs Nutmeg},
author = {{Compound Kitchen}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://compkitchen.com/compare/apple-vs-nutmeg},
note = {Accessed: 2026-11-04}
}
Methodology DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.19719459 · CC BY 4.0 · Citations are a request, not a requirement.