Clove + Hops
Not a natural pairing: they share little aroma and few recipes use both, which puts them in the top 33% of all ingredient pairs.
Do clove and hops go together?
Not really. 2 recipes in our collection combine them, and they share 26 flavor molecules. That places them in the top 33% of every ingredient pair we score.
What they have in common
They overlap on 26 flavor molecules: 23% of hops's 115. Among the shared key aromas are eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal) and myrcene (balsamic, herbaceous). Most of what they share is background chemistry many foods carry, so the overlap does little for the smell.
What each one brings
clove
The roast. Roasted notes make up 6% of its labelled aroma molecules, against 0% for hops. It carries 285 molecules hops doesn't have.
hops
The fruit. Fruity notes make up 35% of its labelled aroma molecules, against 17% for clove. It carries 89 molecules clove doesn't have.
Add a third ingredient
- Cinnamon: the best fit for both, top 1% of pairs with clove, top 33% with hops.
- Ginger: top 1% of pairs with clove, top 24% with hops.
- Nutmeg: top 1% of pairs with clove, top 37% with hops.
- Cardamom: top 1% of pairs with clove, top 45% with hops.
Ranked by the average of its two pairing scores. Only foods used in at least 100 recipes are suggested.
Recipes with clove and hops
Mostly drinks: 2 of the 3 recipes with a course label are drinks.
Can you swap one for the other?
Not really. Each has a lot the other lacks: clove has 285 molecules hops doesn't, and hops has 89 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 26 shared molecules
See every shared molecule grouped by chemical class, with key aromas marked, plus the 285 only in clove and the 89 only in hops.
Clove and hops questions
Do clove and hops go together?
Not a natural pairing: they share little aroma and few recipes use both, which puts them in the top 33% of all ingredient pairs.
What do clove and hops have in common?
They overlap on 26 flavor molecules: 23% of hops's 115. Among the shared key aromas are eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal) and myrcene (balsamic, herbaceous). Most of what they share is background chemistry many foods carry, so the overlap does little for the smell.
What goes with clove and hops?
Cinnamon is the best third ingredient: top 1% of pairs with clove and top 33% with hops. Ginger and nutmeg also fit both.
What can you make with clove and hops?
Mostly drinks: 2 of the 3 recipes with a course label are drinks. Common dishes include Black Pudding from Scratch, Elder Wine, Methelin, or Honey Wine.
Can I use hops instead of clove?
Not really. Each has a lot the other lacks: clove has 285 molecules hops doesn't, and hops has 89 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 Hops. https://compkitchen.com/compare/clove-vs-hops. Accessed 2026-11-04.
@misc{compkitchen_compare_compound_similarity_analysis_clove_vs_hops_2026,
title = {Compound similarity analysis: Clove vs Hops},
author = {{Compound Kitchen}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://compkitchen.com/compare/clove-vs-hops},
note = {Accessed: 2026-11-04}
}
Methodology DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.19719459 · CC BY 4.0 · Citations are a request, not a requirement.