Clove + Red currant
A good pairing. Cooks put them together in 128 recipes, and they share 101 flavor molecules: the top 11% of all ingredient pairs.
Do clove and red currant go together?
Yes. 128 recipes in our collection combine them, and they share 101 flavor molecules. That places them in the top 11% of every ingredient pair we score.
Why they work
More than half of red currant's flavor molecules (101 of 144) also occur in clove. Among the shared key aromas are ethyl benzoate (fruity, sweet) and alpha-pinene (pine, turpentine).
What each one brings
clove
The herbal side. Herbal notes make up 11% of its labelled aroma molecules, against 7% for red currant. It carries 210 molecules red currant doesn't have.
red currant
The floral side. Floral notes make up 18% of its labelled aroma molecules, against 12% for clove. It carries 43 molecules clove doesn't have.
Add a third ingredient
- Cinnamon: the best fit for both, top 1% of pairs with clove, top 11% with red currant.
- Black currant: top 7% of pairs with clove, top 1% with red currant.
- Allspice: top 1% of pairs with clove, top 13% with red currant.
- Thyme: top 2% of pairs with clove, top 5% with red currant.
Ranked by the average of its two pairing scores. Only foods used in at least 100 recipes are suggested.
Recipes with clove and red currant
Almost always mains: 1 of the 1 recipes with a course label are mains.
Can you swap one for the other?
Only partly. Most of red currant's flavor molecules (101 of 144) are also found in clove, but clove has 210 that red currant lacks. Red currant gives you part of clove's character without most of its herbal side. This compares flavor only; texture, moisture and the job each does in a dish matter too.
All 101 shared molecules
See every shared molecule grouped by chemical class, with key aromas marked, plus the 210 only in clove and the 43 only in red currant.
Clove and red currant questions
Do clove and red currant go together?
A good pairing. Cooks put them together in 128 recipes, and they share 101 flavor molecules: the top 11% of all ingredient pairs.
Why do clove and red currant taste good together?
More than half of red currant's flavor molecules (101 of 144) also occur in clove. Among the shared key aromas are ethyl benzoate (fruity, sweet) and alpha-pinene (pine, turpentine).
What goes with clove and red currant?
Cinnamon is the best third ingredient: top 1% of pairs with clove and top 11% with red currant. Black currant and allspice also fit both.
What can you make with clove and red currant?
Almost always mains: 1 of the 1 recipes with a course label are mains. Common dishes include Medieval Lenten Tart.
Can I use red currant instead of clove?
Only partly. Most of red currant's flavor molecules (101 of 144) are also found in clove, but clove has 210 that red currant lacks. Red currant gives you part of clove's character without most of its herbal side. 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 Red Currant. https://compkitchen.com/compare/clove-vs-red-currant. Accessed 2026-11-04.
@misc{compkitchen_compare_compound_similarity_analysis_clove_vs_red_currant_2026,
title = {Compound similarity analysis: Clove vs Red Currant},
author = {{Compound Kitchen}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://compkitchen.com/compare/clove-vs-red-currant},
note = {Accessed: 2026-11-04}
}
Methodology DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.19719459 · CC BY 4.0 · Citations are a request, not a requirement.