Clove + Pear
A proven pairing. Cooks put them together in 512 recipes, and they share 225 flavor molecules: the top 7% of all ingredient pairs.
Do clove and pear go together?
Yes. 512 recipes in our collection combine them, and they share 225 flavor molecules. That places them in the top 7% of every ingredient pair we score.
Why they work
More than half of clove's flavor molecules (225 of 311) also occur in pear. Among the shared key aromas are ethyl octanoate (fruity, wine) and estragole (anise, licorice).
What each one brings
clove
The herbal side. Herbal notes make up 11% of its labelled aroma molecules, against 6% for pear. It carries 86 molecules pear doesn't have.
pear
The fruit. Fruity notes make up 25% of its labelled aroma molecules, against 17% for clove. It carries 136 molecules clove doesn't have.
Add a third ingredient
- Cinnamon: the best fit for both, top 1% of pairs with clove, top 4% with pear.
- Quince: top 2% of pairs with clove, top 1% with pear.
- Allspice: top 1% of pairs with clove, top 10% with pear.
- Apple: top 6% of pairs with clove, top 1% with pear.
Ranked by the average of its two pairing scores. Only foods used in at least 100 recipes are suggested.
Recipes with clove and pear
Mostly desserts: 18 of the 26 recipes with a course label are desserts.
Can you swap one for the other?
Only partly. Most of clove's flavor molecules (225 of 311) are also found in pear, but pear has 136 that clove lacks. Clove gives you part of pear's character without most of its fruit. This compares flavor only; texture, moisture and the job each does in a dish matter too.
All 225 shared molecules
See every shared molecule grouped by chemical class, with key aromas marked, plus the 86 only in clove and the 136 only in pear.
Clove and pear questions
Do clove and pear go together?
A proven pairing. Cooks put them together in 512 recipes, and they share 225 flavor molecules: the top 7% of all ingredient pairs.
Why do clove and pear taste good together?
More than half of clove's flavor molecules (225 of 311) also occur in pear. Among the shared key aromas are ethyl octanoate (fruity, wine) and estragole (anise, licorice).
What goes with clove and pear?
Cinnamon is the best third ingredient: top 1% of pairs with clove and top 4% with pear. Quince and allspice also fit both.
What can you make with clove and pear?
Mostly desserts: 18 of the 26 recipes with a course label are desserts. Common dishes include Spiced Pears, Baked Pear Pickles, Baked Pears, Cheese-filled Pears.
Can I use pear instead of clove?
Only partly. Most of clove's flavor molecules (225 of 311) are also found in pear, but pear has 136 that clove lacks. Clove gives you part of pear'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 Pear. https://compkitchen.com/compare/clove-vs-pear. Accessed 2026-11-04.
@misc{compkitchen_compare_compound_similarity_analysis_clove_vs_pear_2026,
title = {Compound similarity analysis: Clove vs Pear},
author = {{Compound Kitchen}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://compkitchen.com/compare/clove-vs-pear},
note = {Accessed: 2026-11-04}
}
Methodology DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.19719459 · CC BY 4.0 · Citations are a request, not a requirement.