Cardamom + Clove
A proven pairing. Cooks put them together in 1,114 recipes, and they share 226 flavor molecules: the top 1% of all ingredient pairs.
Do cardamom and clove go together?
Yes. 1,114 recipes in our collection combine them, and they share 226 flavor molecules. That places them in the top 1% of every ingredient pair we score.
Why they work
More than half of cardamom's flavor molecules (226 of 303) also occur in clove. Among the shared key aromas are eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal) and alpha-pinene (pine, turpentine).
What each one brings
cardamom
The floral side. Floral notes make up 15% of its labelled aroma molecules, against 12% for clove. It carries 77 molecules clove doesn't have.
clove
The fruit. Fruity notes make up 17% of its labelled aroma molecules, against 11% for cardamom. It carries 85 molecules cardamom doesn't have.
Add a third ingredient
- Cinnamon: the best fit for both, top 1% of pairs with cardamom, top 1% with clove.
- Allspice: top 2% of pairs with cardamom, top 1% with clove.
- Nutmeg: top 1% of pairs with cardamom, top 1% with clove.
- Star anise: top 1% of pairs with cardamom, 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 cardamom and clove
Mostly mains: 122 of the 159 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 (75% of cardamom's and 73% of clove's are shared). This compares flavor only; texture, moisture and the job each does in a dish matter too.
All 226 shared molecules
See every shared molecule grouped by chemical class, with key aromas marked, plus the 77 only in cardamom and the 85 only in clove.
Cardamom and clove questions
Do cardamom and clove go together?
A proven pairing. Cooks put them together in 1,114 recipes, and they share 226 flavor molecules: the top 1% of all ingredient pairs.
Why do cardamom and clove taste good together?
More than half of cardamom's flavor molecules (226 of 303) also occur in clove. Among the shared key aromas are eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal) and alpha-pinene (pine, turpentine).
What goes with cardamom and clove?
Cinnamon is the best third ingredient: top 1% of pairs with cardamom and top 1% with clove. Allspice and nutmeg also fit both.
What can you make with cardamom and clove?
Mostly mains: 122 of the 159 recipes with a course label are mains. Common dishes include Chicken Biryani, Kashmiri Pulao, Arisa (Malaysian Blended Chicken), Ash and Sarah's Chai Tea.
Can I use clove instead of cardamom?
Fairly well, for flavor. Each carries most of the other's flavor molecules (75% of cardamom's and 73% 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: Cardamom vs Clove. https://compkitchen.com/compare/cardamom-vs-clove. Accessed 2026-11-03.
@misc{compkitchen_compare_compound_similarity_analysis_cardamom_vs_clove_2026,
title = {Compound similarity analysis: Cardamom vs Clove},
author = {{Compound Kitchen}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://compkitchen.com/compare/cardamom-vs-clove},
note = {Accessed: 2026-11-03}
}
Methodology DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.19719459 · CC BY 4.0 · Citations are a request, not a requirement.