Clove + Banana
A good pairing. Cooks put them together in 137 recipes, and they share 224 flavor molecules: the top 13% of all ingredient pairs.
Do clove and banana go together?
Yes. 137 recipes in our collection combine them, and they share 224 flavor molecules. That places them in the top 13% of every ingredient pair we score.
Why they work
More than half of clove's flavor molecules (224 of 311) also occur in banana. Among the shared key aromas are ethyl caproate (fruity, apple peel) and ethyl benzoate (fruity, sweet).
What each one brings
clove
The herbal side. Herbal notes make up 11% of its labelled aroma molecules, against 5% for banana. It carries 87 molecules banana doesn't have.
banana
The fruit. Fruity notes make up 28% of its labelled aroma molecules, against 17% for clove. It carries 133 molecules clove doesn't have.
Add a third ingredient
- Cinnamon: the best fit for both, top 1% of pairs with clove, top 11% with banana.
- Vanilla: top 6% of pairs with clove, top 1% with banana.
- Cardamom: top 1% of pairs with clove, top 10% with banana.
- Allspice: top 1% of pairs with clove, top 16% with banana.
Ranked by the average of its two pairing scores. Only foods used in at least 100 recipes are suggested.
Recipes with clove and banana
Mostly mains: 15 of the 21 recipes with a course label are mains.
Can you swap one for the other?
Only partly. Most of clove's flavor molecules (224 of 311) are also found in banana, but banana has 133 that clove lacks. Clove gives you part of banana's character without most of its fruit. This compares flavor only; texture, moisture and the job each does in a dish matter too.
All 224 shared molecules
See every shared molecule grouped by chemical class, with key aromas marked, plus the 87 only in clove and the 133 only in banana.
Clove and banana questions
Do clove and banana go together?
A good pairing. Cooks put them together in 137 recipes, and they share 224 flavor molecules: the top 13% of all ingredient pairs.
Why do clove and banana taste good together?
More than half of clove's flavor molecules (224 of 311) also occur in banana. Among the shared key aromas are ethyl caproate (fruity, apple peel) and ethyl benzoate (fruity, sweet).
What goes with clove and banana?
Cinnamon is the best third ingredient: top 1% of pairs with clove and top 11% with banana. Vanilla and cardamom also fit both.
What can you make with clove and banana?
Mostly mains: 15 of the 21 recipes with a course label are mains. Common dishes include Banana Blossom Salad, Banana Ketchup, Chicken and Banana Korma Recipe, Cachupa Rica.
Can I use banana instead of clove?
Only partly. Most of clove's flavor molecules (224 of 311) are also found in banana, but banana has 133 that clove lacks. Clove gives you part of banana'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: Clove vs Banana. https://compkitchen.com/compare/clove-vs-banana. Accessed 2026-11-05.
@misc{compkitchen_compare_compound_similarity_analysis_clove_vs_banana_2026,
title = {Compound similarity analysis: Clove vs Banana},
author = {{Compound Kitchen}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://compkitchen.com/compare/clove-vs-banana},
note = {Accessed: 2026-11-05}
}
Methodology DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.19719459 · CC BY 4.0 · Citations are a request, not a requirement.