Clove + Capers
A proven pairing. Cooks put them together in 412 recipes, and they share 205 flavor molecules: the top 8% of all ingredient pairs.
Do clove and capers go together?
Yes. 412 recipes in our collection combine them, and they share 205 flavor molecules. That places them in the top 8% of every ingredient pair we score.
Why they work
Almost everything capers carries, clove has too: 205 of capers's 213 flavor molecules also occur in clove. Among the shared key aromas are coumarin (sweet, hay) and 2-methylbutyraldehyde (malty, chocolate).
What each one brings
clove
The fruit. Fruity notes make up 17% of its labelled aroma molecules, against 10% for capers. It carries 106 molecules capers doesn't have.
capers
The tartness. Sour notes make up 16% of its labelled aroma molecules, against 12% for clove. It carries 8 molecules clove doesn't have.
Add a third ingredient
- Shallot: the best fit for both, top 5% of pairs with clove, top 1% with capers.
- Artichoke: top 7% of pairs with clove, top 1% with capers.
- Chervil: top 8% of pairs with clove, top 1% with capers.
- Atlantic herring: top 11% of pairs with clove, top 1% with capers.
Ranked by the average of its two pairing scores. Only foods used in at least 100 recipes are suggested.
Recipes with clove and capers
Mostly mains: 17 of the 24 recipes with a course label are mains.
Can you swap one for the other?
Only partly. Almost all of capers's flavor molecules (205 of 213) are also found in clove, but clove has 106 that capers lacks. Capers gives you part of clove's character without most of its fruit. This compares flavor only; texture, moisture and the job each does in a dish matter too.
All 205 shared molecules
See every shared molecule grouped by chemical class, with key aromas marked, plus the 106 only in clove and the 8 only in capers.
Clove and capers questions
Do clove and capers go together?
A proven pairing. Cooks put them together in 412 recipes, and they share 205 flavor molecules: the top 8% of all ingredient pairs.
Why do clove and capers taste good together?
Almost everything capers carries, clove has too: 205 of capers's 213 flavor molecules also occur in clove. Among the shared key aromas are coumarin (sweet, hay) and 2-methylbutyraldehyde (malty, chocolate).
What goes with clove and capers?
Shallot is the best third ingredient: top 5% of pairs with clove and top 1% with capers. Artichoke and chervil also fit both.
What can you make with clove and capers?
Mostly mains: 17 of the 24 recipes with a course label are mains. Common dishes include Tomato Caper Relish, Black Olive Dressing, Briam-stuffed Halloumi Wrapped in Lountza, Brown Sauces.
Can I use capers instead of clove?
Only partly. Almost all of capers's flavor molecules (205 of 213) are also found in clove, but clove has 106 that capers lacks. Capers gives you part of clove'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 Capers. https://compkitchen.com/compare/clove-vs-capers. Accessed 2026-11-05.
@misc{compkitchen_compare_compound_similarity_analysis_clove_vs_capers_2026,
title = {Compound similarity analysis: Clove vs Capers},
author = {{Compound Kitchen}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://compkitchen.com/compare/clove-vs-capers},
note = {Accessed: 2026-11-05}
}
Methodology DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.19719459 · CC BY 4.0 · Citations are a request, not a requirement.