Clove + Plum
A proven pairing. Cooks put them together in 446 recipes, and they share 234 flavor molecules: the top 8% of all ingredient pairs.
Do clove and plum go together?
Yes. 446 recipes in our collection combine them, and they share 234 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 (234 of 311) also occur in plum. Among the shared key aromas are ethyl cinnamate (sweet, balsamic) and ethyl octanoate (fruity, wine).
What each one brings
clove
The herbal side. Herbal notes make up 11% of its labelled aroma molecules, against 5% for plum. It carries 77 molecules plum doesn't have.
plum
The fruit. Fruity notes make up 25% of its labelled aroma molecules, against 17% for clove. It carries 147 molecules clove doesn't have.
Add a third ingredient
- Cinnamon: the best fit for both, top 1% of pairs with clove, top 5% with plum.
- Allspice: top 1% of pairs with clove, top 9% with plum.
- Quince: top 2% of pairs with clove, top 2% with plum.
- Star anise: top 1% of pairs with clove, top 6% with plum.
Ranked by the average of its two pairing scores. Only foods used in at least 100 recipes are suggested.
Recipes with clove and plum
Mostly mains: 21 of the 38 recipes with a course label are mains.
Can you swap one for the other?
Only partly. Most of clove's flavor molecules (234 of 311) are also found in plum, but plum has 147 that clove lacks. Clove gives you part of plum's character without most of its fruit. This compares flavor only; texture, moisture and the job each does in a dish matter too.
All 234 shared molecules
See every shared molecule grouped by chemical class, with key aromas marked, plus the 77 only in clove and the 147 only in plum.
Clove and plum questions
Do clove and plum go together?
A proven pairing. Cooks put them together in 446 recipes, and they share 234 flavor molecules: the top 8% of all ingredient pairs.
Why do clove and plum taste good together?
More than half of clove's flavor molecules (234 of 311) also occur in plum. Among the shared key aromas are ethyl cinnamate (sweet, balsamic) and ethyl octanoate (fruity, wine).
What goes with clove and plum?
Cinnamon is the best third ingredient: top 1% of pairs with clove and top 5% with plum. Allspice and quince also fit both.
What can you make with clove and plum?
Mostly mains: 21 of the 38 recipes with a course label are mains. Common dishes include Spiced Plums, Pickled Plums, Applesauce Plum Bread, For Preserving Plums.
Can I use plum instead of clove?
Only partly. Most of clove's flavor molecules (234 of 311) are also found in plum, but plum has 147 that clove lacks. Clove gives you part of plum'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 Plum. https://compkitchen.com/compare/clove-vs-plum. Accessed 2026-11-04.
@misc{compkitchen_compare_compound_similarity_analysis_clove_vs_plum_2026,
title = {Compound similarity analysis: Clove vs Plum},
author = {{Compound Kitchen}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://compkitchen.com/compare/clove-vs-plum},
note = {Accessed: 2026-11-04}
}
Methodology DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.19719459 · CC BY 4.0 · Citations are a request, not a requirement.