Cranberry + Clove
A proven pairing. Cooks put them together in 61 recipes, and they share 226 flavor molecules: the top 8% of all ingredient pairs.
Do cranberry and clove go together?
Yes. 61 recipes in our collection combine them, and they share 226 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 (226 of 311) also occur in cranberry. Among the shared key aromas are ethyl cinnamate (sweet, balsamic) and eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).
What each one brings
cranberry
The tartness. Sour notes make up 17% of its labelled aroma molecules, against 12% for clove. It carries 108 molecules clove doesn't have.
clove
The woody side. Woody notes make up 5% of its labelled aroma molecules, against 2% for cranberry. It carries 85 molecules cranberry doesn't have.
Add a third ingredient
- Cinnamon: the best fit for both, top 2% of pairs with cranberry, top 1% with clove.
- Allspice: top 10% of pairs with cranberry, top 1% with clove.
- Ginger: top 7% of pairs with cranberry, top 1% with clove.
- Nutmeg: top 10% of pairs with cranberry, top 1% with clove.
Ranked by the average of its two pairing scores. Only foods used in at least 100 recipes are suggested.
Recipes with cranberry and clove
Spread across courses: drinks lead with 6 of the 15 recipes with a course label, then mains (5).
Can you swap one for the other?
Only partly. Most of clove's flavor molecules (226 of 311) are also found in cranberry, but cranberry has 108 that clove lacks. Clove gives you part of cranberry's character without most of its tartness. This compares flavor only; texture, moisture and the job each does in a dish matter too.
All 226 shared molecules
See every shared molecule grouped by chemical class, with key aromas marked, plus the 108 only in cranberry and the 85 only in clove.
Cranberry and clove questions
Do cranberry and clove go together?
A proven pairing. Cooks put them together in 61 recipes, and they share 226 flavor molecules: the top 8% of all ingredient pairs.
Why do cranberry and clove taste good together?
More than half of clove's flavor molecules (226 of 311) also occur in cranberry. Among the shared key aromas are ethyl cinnamate (sweet, balsamic) and eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).
What goes with cranberry and clove?
Cinnamon is the best third ingredient: top 2% of pairs with cranberry and top 1% with clove. Allspice and ginger also fit both.
What can you make with cranberry and clove?
Spread across courses: drinks lead with 6 of the 15 recipes with a course label, then mains (5). Common dishes include Cranberry Cake, Cranberry Chews, Cranberry Mist, Cranberry Spiced Cider.
Can I use clove instead of cranberry?
Only partly. Most of clove's flavor molecules (226 of 311) are also found in cranberry, but cranberry has 108 that clove lacks. Clove gives you part of cranberry's character without most of its tartness. 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: Cranberry vs Clove. https://compkitchen.com/compare/cranberry-vs-clove. Accessed 2026-11-04.
@misc{compkitchen_compare_compound_similarity_analysis_cranberry_vs_clove_2026,
title = {Compound similarity analysis: Cranberry vs Clove},
author = {{Compound Kitchen}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://compkitchen.com/compare/cranberry-vs-clove},
note = {Accessed: 2026-11-04}
}
Methodology DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.19719459 · CC BY 4.0 · Citations are a request, not a requirement.