Clove + Cheese
A good pairing. Cooks put them together in 680 recipes, and they share 94 flavor molecules: the top 24% of all ingredient pairs.
Do clove and cheese go together?
Yes. 680 recipes in our collection combine them, and they share 94 flavor molecules. That places them in the top 24% of every ingredient pair we score.
Why they work
They overlap on 94 flavor molecules: 33% of cheese's 285. Among the shared key aromas are ethyl octanoate (fruity, wine) and gamma-decalactone (peach, creamy).
What each one brings
clove
The herbal side. Herbal notes make up 11% of its labelled aroma molecules, against 6% for cheese. It carries 217 molecules cheese doesn't have.
cheese
The fruit. Fruity notes make up 26% of its labelled aroma molecules, against 17% for clove. It carries 191 molecules clove doesn't have.
Add a third ingredient
- Cinnamon: the best fit for both, top 1% of pairs with clove, top 29% with cheese.
- Allspice: top 1% of pairs with clove, top 30% with cheese.
- Nutmeg: top 1% of pairs with clove, top 24% with cheese.
- Thyme: top 2% of pairs with clove, top 16% with cheese.
Ranked by the average of its two pairing scores. Only foods used in at least 100 recipes are suggested.
Recipes with clove and cheese
Mostly mains: 153 of the 195 recipes with a course label are mains.
Can you swap one for the other?
Not really. Each has a lot the other lacks: clove has 217 molecules cheese doesn't, and cheese has 191 that clove 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 94 shared molecules
See every shared molecule grouped by chemical class, with key aromas marked, plus the 217 only in clove and the 191 only in cheese.
Clove and cheese questions
Do clove and cheese go together?
A good pairing. Cooks put them together in 680 recipes, and they share 94 flavor molecules: the top 24% of all ingredient pairs.
Why do clove and cheese taste good together?
They overlap on 94 flavor molecules: 33% of cheese's 285. Among the shared key aromas are ethyl octanoate (fruity, wine) and gamma-decalactone (peach, creamy).
What goes with clove and cheese?
Cinnamon is the best third ingredient: top 1% of pairs with clove and top 29% with cheese. Allspice and nutmeg also fit both.
What can you make with clove and cheese?
Mostly mains: 153 of the 195 recipes with a course label are mains. Common dishes include Avocado and Cream Cheese Dip, Beer Soup with Cheese, California Avocado and Cream Cheese Dip, Carrot Cake and Cream Cheese Frosting.
Can I use cheese instead of clove?
Not really. Each has a lot the other lacks: clove has 217 molecules cheese doesn't, and cheese has 191 that clove 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: Clove vs Cheese. https://compkitchen.com/compare/clove-vs-cheese. Accessed 2026-11-05.
@misc{compkitchen_compare_compound_similarity_analysis_clove_vs_cheese_2026,
title = {Compound similarity analysis: Clove vs Cheese},
author = {{Compound Kitchen}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://compkitchen.com/compare/clove-vs-cheese},
note = {Accessed: 2026-11-05}
}
Methodology DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.19719459 · CC BY 4.0 · Citations are a request, not a requirement.