Celery + Lovage
A proven pairing. Cooks put them together in 10 recipes, and they share 247 flavor molecules: the top 1% of all ingredient pairs.
Do celery and lovage go together?
Yes. 10 recipes in our collection combine them, and they share 247 flavor molecules. That places them in the top 1% of every ingredient pair we score.
Why they work
Almost everything lovage carries, celery has too: 247 of lovage's 278 flavor molecules also occur in celery. Among the shared key aromas are myristicin (spice, warm) and 2-methoxy-4-vinylphenol (clove, smoky).
What each one brings
celery
The tartness. Sour notes make up 16% of its labelled aroma molecules, against 13% for lovage. It carries 145 molecules lovage doesn't have.
lovage
The fresh, green side. Green notes make up 11% of its labelled aroma molecules, against 8% for celery. It carries 31 molecules celery doesn't have.
Add a third ingredient
- Carrot: the best fit for both, top 1% of pairs with celery, top 1% with lovage.
- Parsley: top 1% of pairs with celery, top 1% with lovage.
- Turmeric: top 4% of pairs with celery, top 4% with lovage.
- Dill: top 3% of pairs with celery, top 5% with lovage.
Ranked by the average of its two pairing scores. Only foods used in at least 100 recipes are suggested.
Recipes with celery and lovage
Almost always mains: 2 of the 2 recipes with a course label are mains.
Can you swap one for the other?
Only partly. Almost all of lovage's flavor molecules (247 of 278) are also found in celery, but celery has 145 that lovage lacks. Lovage gives you part of celery's character without most of its tartness. This compares flavor only; texture, moisture and the job each does in a dish matter too.
All 247 shared molecules
See every shared molecule grouped by chemical class, with key aromas marked, plus the 145 only in celery and the 31 only in lovage.
Celery and lovage questions
Do celery and lovage go together?
A proven pairing. Cooks put them together in 10 recipes, and they share 247 flavor molecules: the top 1% of all ingredient pairs.
Why do celery and lovage taste good together?
Almost everything lovage carries, celery has too: 247 of lovage's 278 flavor molecules also occur in celery. Among the shared key aromas are myristicin (spice, warm) and 2-methoxy-4-vinylphenol (clove, smoky).
What goes with celery and lovage?
Carrot is the best third ingredient: top 1% of pairs with celery and top 1% with lovage. Parsley and turmeric also fit both.
What can you make with celery and lovage?
Almost always mains: 2 of the 2 recipes with a course label are mains. Common dishes include Septembergryde, Sour Soup with Veal.
Can I use lovage instead of celery?
Only partly. Almost all of lovage's flavor molecules (247 of 278) are also found in celery, but celery has 145 that lovage lacks. Lovage gives you part of celery's character without most of its tartness. 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: Celery vs Lovage. https://compkitchen.com/compare/celery-vs-lovage. Accessed 2026-11-04.
@misc{compkitchen_compare_compound_similarity_analysis_celery_vs_lovage_2026,
title = {Compound similarity analysis: Celery vs Lovage},
author = {{Compound Kitchen}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://compkitchen.com/compare/celery-vs-lovage},
note = {Accessed: 2026-11-04}
}
Methodology DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.19719459 · CC BY 4.0 · Citations are a request, not a requirement.