Apple + Raisin
A good pairing. Cooks put them together in 1,920 recipes, and they share 118 flavor molecules: the top 13% of all ingredient pairs.
Do apple and raisin go together?
Yes. 1,920 recipes in our collection combine them, and they share 118 flavor molecules. That places them in the top 13% of every ingredient pair we score.
Why they work
Almost everything raisin carries, apple has too: 118 of raisin's 129 flavor molecules also occur in apple. Among the shared key aromas are beta-damascenone (apple, rose) and decanal (soap, orange peel).
What each one brings
apple
The fruit. Fruity notes make up 27% of its labelled aroma molecules, against 7% for raisin. It carries 404 molecules raisin doesn't have.
raisin
The tartness. Sour notes make up 18% of its labelled aroma molecules, against 14% for apple. It carries 11 molecules apple doesn't have.
Add a third ingredient
- Cinnamon: the best fit for both, top 4% of pairs with apple, top 1% with raisin.
- Fig: top 4% of pairs with apple, top 7% with raisin.
- Pear: top 1% of pairs with apple, top 17% with raisin.
- Quince: top 1% of pairs with apple, top 16% with raisin.
Ranked by the average of its two pairing scores. Only foods used in at least 100 recipes are suggested.
Recipes with apple and raisin
Mostly desserts: 4 of the 8 recipes with a course label are desserts.
Can you swap one for the other?
Only partly. Almost all of raisin's flavor molecules (118 of 129) are also found in apple, but apple has 404 that raisin lacks. Raisin 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 118 shared molecules
See every shared molecule grouped by chemical class, with key aromas marked, plus the 404 only in apple and the 11 only in raisin.
Apple and raisin questions
Do apple and raisin go together?
A good pairing. Cooks put them together in 1,920 recipes, and they share 118 flavor molecules: the top 13% of all ingredient pairs.
Why do apple and raisin taste good together?
Almost everything raisin carries, apple has too: 118 of raisin's 129 flavor molecules also occur in apple. Among the shared key aromas are beta-damascenone (apple, rose) and decanal (soap, orange peel).
What goes with apple and raisin?
Cinnamon is the best third ingredient: top 4% of pairs with apple and top 1% with raisin. Fig and pear also fit both.
What can you make with apple and raisin?
Mostly desserts: 4 of the 8 recipes with a course label are desserts. Common dishes include Apple Pie Breakfast Bowl, Peanut Butter Apple Sandwiches, Haroset Afghani-style, Huckleberry Pie.
Can I use raisin instead of apple?
Only partly. Almost all of raisin's flavor molecules (118 of 129) are also found in apple, but apple has 404 that raisin lacks. Raisin 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 Raisin. https://compkitchen.com/compare/apple-vs-raisin. Accessed 2026-11-04.
@misc{compkitchen_compare_compound_similarity_analysis_apple_vs_raisin_2026,
title = {Compound similarity analysis: Apple vs Raisin},
author = {{Compound Kitchen}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://compkitchen.com/compare/apple-vs-raisin},
note = {Accessed: 2026-11-04}
}
Methodology DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.19719459 · CC BY 4.0 · Citations are a request, not a requirement.