Clove + Cardamom
A proven pairing. Cooks put them together in 1,114 recipes, and they share 226 flavor molecules: the top 1% of all ingredient pairs.
Do clove and cardamom go together?
Yes. 1,114 recipes in our collection combine them, and they share 226 flavor molecules. That places them in the top 1% of every ingredient pair we score.
Why they work
More than half of cardamom's flavor molecules (226 of 303) also occur in clove. Among the shared key aromas are eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal) and alpha-pinene (pine, turpentine).
What each one brings
clove
The fruit. Fruity notes make up 17% of its labelled aroma molecules, against 11% for cardamom. It carries 85 molecules cardamom doesn't have.
cardamom
The floral side. Floral notes make up 15% of its labelled aroma molecules, against 12% for clove. It carries 77 molecules clove doesn't have.
Add a third ingredient
- Cinnamon: the best fit for both, top 1% of pairs with clove, top 1% with cardamom.
- Allspice: top 1% of pairs with clove, top 2% with cardamom.
- Nutmeg: top 1% of pairs with clove, top 1% with cardamom.
- Star anise: top 1% of pairs with clove, top 1% with cardamom.
Ranked by the average of its two pairing scores. Only foods used in at least 100 recipes are suggested.
Recipes with clove and cardamom
Mostly mains: 122 of the 159 recipes with a course label are mains.
Can you swap one for the other?
Fairly well, for flavor. Each carries most of the other's flavor molecules (73% of clove's and 75% of cardamom's are shared). This compares flavor only; texture, moisture and the job each does in a dish matter too.
All 226 shared molecules
See every shared molecule grouped by chemical class, with key aromas marked, plus the 85 only in clove and the 77 only in cardamom.
Clove and cardamom questions
Do clove and cardamom go together?
A proven pairing. Cooks put them together in 1,114 recipes, and they share 226 flavor molecules: the top 1% of all ingredient pairs.
Why do clove and cardamom taste good together?
More than half of cardamom's flavor molecules (226 of 303) also occur in clove. Among the shared key aromas are eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal) and alpha-pinene (pine, turpentine).
What goes with clove and cardamom?
Cinnamon is the best third ingredient: top 1% of pairs with clove and top 1% with cardamom. Allspice and nutmeg also fit both.
What can you make with clove and cardamom?
Mostly mains: 122 of the 159 recipes with a course label are mains. Common dishes include Chicken Biryani, Kashmiri Pulao, Arisa (Malaysian Blended Chicken), Ash and Sarah's Chai Tea.
Can I use cardamom instead of clove?
Fairly well, for flavor. Each carries most of the other's flavor molecules (73% of clove's and 75% of cardamom's are shared). 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 Cardamom. https://compkitchen.com/compare/clove-vs-cardamom. Accessed 2026-11-03.
@misc{compkitchen_compare_compound_similarity_analysis_clove_vs_cardamom_2026,
title = {Compound similarity analysis: Clove vs Cardamom},
author = {{Compound Kitchen}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://compkitchen.com/compare/clove-vs-cardamom},
note = {Accessed: 2026-11-03}
}
Methodology DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.19719459 · CC BY 4.0 · Citations are a request, not a requirement.