Cinnamon + Hops
Not a natural pairing: they share little aroma and few recipes use both, which puts them in the top 33% of all ingredient pairs.
Do cinnamon and hops go together?
Not really. 4 recipes in our collection combine them, and they share 28 flavor molecules. That places them in the top 33% of every ingredient pair we score.
What they have in common
They overlap on 28 flavor molecules: 24% of hops's 115. Among the shared key aromas are guaiacol (smoky, sweet) and eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal). Most of what they share is background chemistry many foods carry, so the overlap does little for the smell.
What each one brings
cinnamon
The tartness. Sour notes make up 15% of its labelled aroma molecules, against 6% for hops. It carries 296 molecules hops doesn't have.
hops
The fruit. Fruity notes make up 35% of its labelled aroma molecules, against 12% for cinnamon. It carries 87 molecules cinnamon doesn't have.
Add a third ingredient
- Nutmeg: the best fit for both, top 1% of pairs with cinnamon, top 37% with hops.
- Clove: top 1% of pairs with cinnamon, top 33% with hops.
- Ginger: top 1% of pairs with cinnamon, top 24% with hops.
- Cardamom: top 1% of pairs with cinnamon, top 45% with hops.
Ranked by the average of its two pairing scores. Only foods used in at least 100 recipes are suggested.
Recipes with cinnamon and hops
Almost always drinks: 1 of the 1 recipes with a course label are drinks.
Can you swap one for the other?
Not really. Each has a lot the other lacks: cinnamon has 296 molecules hops doesn't, and hops has 87 that cinnamon doesn't. Treat them as partners, not stand-ins. This compares flavor only; texture, moisture and the job each does in a dish matter too.
All 28 shared molecules
See every shared molecule grouped by chemical class, with key aromas marked, plus the 296 only in cinnamon and the 87 only in hops.
Cinnamon and hops questions
Do cinnamon and hops go together?
Not a natural pairing: they share little aroma and few recipes use both, which puts them in the top 33% of all ingredient pairs.
What do cinnamon and hops have in common?
They overlap on 28 flavor molecules: 24% of hops's 115. Among the shared key aromas are guaiacol (smoky, sweet) and eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal). Most of what they share is background chemistry many foods carry, so the overlap does little for the smell.
What goes with cinnamon and hops?
Nutmeg is the best third ingredient: top 1% of pairs with cinnamon and top 37% with hops. Clove and ginger also fit both.
What can you make with cinnamon and hops?
Almost always drinks: 1 of the 1 recipes with a course label are drinks. Common dishes include Methelin, or Honey Wine.
Can I use hops instead of cinnamon?
Not really. Each has a lot the other lacks: cinnamon has 296 molecules hops doesn't, and hops has 87 that cinnamon doesn't. Treat them as partners, not stand-ins. 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: Cinnamon vs Hops. https://compkitchen.com/compare/cinnamon-vs-hops. Accessed 2026-11-05.
@misc{compkitchen_compare_compound_similarity_analysis_cinnamon_vs_hops_2026,
title = {Compound similarity analysis: Cinnamon vs Hops},
author = {{Compound Kitchen}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://compkitchen.com/compare/cinnamon-vs-hops},
note = {Accessed: 2026-11-05}
}
Methodology DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.19719459 · CC BY 4.0 · Citations are a request, not a requirement.