Clove + Rice
A good pairing. Cooks put them together in 1,982 recipes, and they share 234 flavor molecules: the top 12% of all ingredient pairs.
Do clove and rice go together?
Yes. 1,982 recipes in our collection combine them, and they share 234 flavor molecules. That places them in the top 12% of every ingredient pair we score.
Why they work
More than half of clove's flavor molecules (234 of 311) also occur in rice. Among the shared key aromas are ethyl caproate (fruity, apple peel) and eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).
What each one brings
clove
The fruit. Fruity notes make up 17% of its labelled aroma molecules, against 13% for rice. It carries 77 molecules rice doesn't have.
rice
The fresh, green side. Green notes make up 13% of its labelled aroma molecules, against 8% for clove. It carries 194 molecules clove doesn't have.
Add a third ingredient
- Cinnamon: the best fit for both, top 1% of pairs with clove, top 4% with rice.
- Cardamom: top 1% of pairs with clove, top 6% with rice.
- Nutmeg: top 1% of pairs with clove, top 9% with rice.
- Turmeric: top 4% of pairs with clove, top 3% with rice.
Ranked by the average of its two pairing scores. Only foods used in at least 100 recipes are suggested.
Recipes with clove and rice
Almost always mains: 222 of the 250 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 rice, but rice has 194 that clove lacks. Clove gives you part of rice's character without most of its fresh, green side. 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 194 only in rice.
Clove and rice questions
Do clove and rice go together?
A good pairing. Cooks put them together in 1,982 recipes, and they share 234 flavor molecules: the top 12% of all ingredient pairs.
Why do clove and rice taste good together?
More than half of clove's flavor molecules (234 of 311) also occur in rice. Among the shared key aromas are ethyl caproate (fruity, apple peel) and eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).
What goes with clove and rice?
Cinnamon is the best third ingredient: top 1% of pairs with clove and top 4% with rice. Cardamom and nutmeg also fit both.
What can you make with clove and rice?
Almost always mains: 222 of the 250 recipes with a course label are mains. Common dishes include Apricot-Glazed Ham Kebabs with Rice, Aromatic Chicken Rice, Aromatic Rice Salad with Mango Chutney, Arroz con Pollo (Rice and Chicken).
Can I use rice instead of clove?
Only partly. Most of clove's flavor molecules (234 of 311) are also found in rice, but rice has 194 that clove lacks. Clove gives you part of rice's character without most of its fresh, green 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 Rice. https://compkitchen.com/compare/clove-vs-rice. Accessed 2026-11-03.
@misc{compkitchen_compare_compound_similarity_analysis_clove_vs_rice_2026,
title = {Compound similarity analysis: Clove vs Rice},
author = {{Compound Kitchen}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://compkitchen.com/compare/clove-vs-rice},
note = {Accessed: 2026-11-03}
}
Methodology DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.19719459 · CC BY 4.0 · Citations are a request, not a requirement.