Cinnamon + Raisin
A proven pairing. Cooks put them together in 5,390 recipes, and they share 111 flavor molecules: the top 1% of all ingredient pairs.
Do cinnamon and raisin go together?
Yes. 5,390 recipes in our collection combine them, and they share 111 flavor molecules. That places them in the top 1% of every ingredient pair we score.
Why they work
Almost everything raisin carries, cinnamon has too: 111 of raisin's 129 flavor molecules also occur in cinnamon. Among the shared key aromas are 1-octen-3-ol (mushroom, earthy) and alpha-terpineol (lilac, floral).
What each one brings
cinnamon
The herbal side. Herbal notes make up 12% of its labelled aroma molecules, against 6% for raisin. It carries 213 molecules raisin doesn't have.
raisin
The tartness. Sour notes make up 18% of its labelled aroma molecules, against 15% for cinnamon. It carries 18 molecules cinnamon doesn't have.
Add a third ingredient
- Nutmeg: the best fit for both, top 1% of pairs with cinnamon, top 6% with raisin.
- Clove: top 1% of pairs with cinnamon, top 9% with raisin.
- Almond: top 1% of pairs with cinnamon, top 2% with raisin.
- Cardamom: top 1% of pairs with cinnamon, top 8% with raisin.
Ranked by the average of its two pairing scores. Only foods used in at least 100 recipes are suggested.
Recipes with cinnamon and raisin
Mostly desserts: 8 of the 12 recipes with a course label are desserts.
Can you swap one for the other?
Only partly. Almost all of raisin's flavor molecules (111 of 129) are also found in cinnamon, but cinnamon has 213 that raisin lacks. Raisin gives you part of cinnamon's character without most of its herbal side. This compares flavor only; texture, moisture and the job each does in a dish matter too.
All 111 shared molecules
See every shared molecule grouped by chemical class, with key aromas marked, plus the 213 only in cinnamon and the 18 only in raisin.
Cinnamon and raisin questions
Do cinnamon and raisin go together?
A proven pairing. Cooks put them together in 5,390 recipes, and they share 111 flavor molecules: the top 1% of all ingredient pairs.
Why do cinnamon and raisin taste good together?
Almost everything raisin carries, cinnamon has too: 111 of raisin's 129 flavor molecules also occur in cinnamon. Among the shared key aromas are 1-octen-3-ol (mushroom, earthy) and alpha-terpineol (lilac, floral).
What goes with cinnamon and raisin?
Nutmeg is the best third ingredient: top 1% of pairs with cinnamon and top 6% with raisin. Clove and almond also fit both.
What can you make with cinnamon and raisin?
Mostly desserts: 8 of the 12 recipes with a course label are desserts. Common dishes include Raisin Rolled Strudel, Apple Pie Breakfast Bowl, Belizean Carrot Cake, Breakfast Bread Pudding.
Can I use raisin instead of cinnamon?
Only partly. Almost all of raisin's flavor molecules (111 of 129) are also found in cinnamon, but cinnamon has 213 that raisin lacks. Raisin gives you part of cinnamon's character without most of its herbal side. 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 Raisin. https://compkitchen.com/compare/cinnamon-vs-raisin. Accessed 2026-11-03.
@misc{compkitchen_compare_compound_similarity_analysis_cinnamon_vs_raisin_2026,
title = {Compound similarity analysis: Cinnamon vs Raisin},
author = {{Compound Kitchen}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://compkitchen.com/compare/cinnamon-vs-raisin},
note = {Accessed: 2026-11-03}
}
Methodology DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.19719459 · CC BY 4.0 · Citations are a request, not a requirement.