Clove + Cranberry
A proven pairing. Cooks put them together in 61 recipes, and they share 226 flavor molecules: the top 8% of all ingredient pairs.
Do clove and cranberry go together?
Yes. 61 recipes in our collection combine them, and they share 226 flavor molecules. That places them in the top 8% of every ingredient pair we score.
Why they work
More than half of clove's flavor molecules (226 of 311) also occur in cranberry. Among the shared key aromas are ethyl cinnamate (sweet, balsamic) and eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).
What each one brings
clove
The woody side. Woody notes make up 5% of its labelled aroma molecules, against 2% for cranberry. It carries 85 molecules cranberry doesn't have.
cranberry
The tartness. Sour notes make up 17% of its labelled aroma molecules, against 12% for clove. It carries 108 molecules clove doesn't have.
Add a third ingredient
- Cinnamon: the best fit for both, top 1% of pairs with clove, top 2% with cranberry.
- Allspice: top 1% of pairs with clove, top 10% with cranberry.
- Ginger: top 1% of pairs with clove, top 7% with cranberry.
- Nutmeg: top 1% of pairs with clove, top 10% with cranberry.
Ranked by the average of its two pairing scores. Only foods used in at least 100 recipes are suggested.
Recipes with clove and cranberry
Spread across courses: drinks lead with 6 of the 15 recipes with a course label, then mains (5).
Can you swap one for the other?
Only partly. Most of clove's flavor molecules (226 of 311) are also found in cranberry, but cranberry has 108 that clove lacks. Clove gives you part of cranberry's character without most of its tartness. 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 108 only in cranberry.
Clove and cranberry questions
Do clove and cranberry go together?
A proven pairing. Cooks put them together in 61 recipes, and they share 226 flavor molecules: the top 8% of all ingredient pairs.
Why do clove and cranberry taste good together?
More than half of clove's flavor molecules (226 of 311) also occur in cranberry. Among the shared key aromas are ethyl cinnamate (sweet, balsamic) and eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).
What goes with clove and cranberry?
Cinnamon is the best third ingredient: top 1% of pairs with clove and top 2% with cranberry. Allspice and ginger also fit both.
What can you make with clove and cranberry?
Spread across courses: drinks lead with 6 of the 15 recipes with a course label, then mains (5). Common dishes include Cranberry Cake, Cranberry Chews, Cranberry Mist, Cranberry Spiced Cider.
Can I use cranberry instead of clove?
Only partly. Most of clove's flavor molecules (226 of 311) are also found in cranberry, but cranberry has 108 that clove lacks. Clove gives you part of cranberry's character without most of its tartness. 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 Cranberry. https://compkitchen.com/compare/clove-vs-cranberry. Accessed 2026-11-04.
@misc{compkitchen_compare_compound_similarity_analysis_clove_vs_cranberry_2026,
title = {Compound similarity analysis: Clove vs Cranberry},
author = {{Compound Kitchen}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://compkitchen.com/compare/clove-vs-cranberry},
note = {Accessed: 2026-11-04}
}
Methodology DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.19719459 · CC BY 4.0 · Citations are a request, not a requirement.