Fig + Tomato
A good pairing. Cooks put them together in 64 recipes, and they share 287 flavor molecules: the top 11% of all ingredient pairs.
Do fig and tomato go together?
Yes. 64 recipes in our collection combine them, and they share 287 flavor molecules. That places them in the top 11% of every ingredient pair we score.
Why they work
Almost everything fig carries, tomato has too: 287 of fig's 342 flavor molecules also occur in tomato. Among the shared key aromas are beta-damascenone (apple, rose) and damascenone (apple, rose).
What each one brings
fig
The fruit. Fruity notes make up 20% of its labelled aroma molecules, against 15% for tomato. It carries 55 molecules tomato doesn't have.
tomato
The fresh, green side. Green notes make up 14% of its labelled aroma molecules, against 8% for fig. It carries 223 molecules fig doesn't have.
Add a third ingredient
- Cherry: the best fit for both, top 3% of pairs with fig, top 4% with tomato.
- Capsicum: top 8% of pairs with fig, top 1% with tomato.
- Olive: top 9% of pairs with fig, top 1% with tomato.
- Plum: top 4% of pairs with fig, top 6% with tomato.
Ranked by the average of its two pairing scores. Only foods used in at least 100 recipes are suggested.
Recipes with fig and tomato
Spread across courses: mains lead with 3 of the 7 recipes with a course label, then desserts (2).
Can you swap one for the other?
Only partly. Most of fig's flavor molecules (287 of 342) are also found in tomato, but tomato has 223 that fig lacks. Fig gives you part of tomato'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 287 shared molecules
See every shared molecule grouped by chemical class, with key aromas marked, plus the 55 only in fig and the 223 only in tomato.
Fig and tomato questions
Do fig and tomato go together?
A good pairing. Cooks put them together in 64 recipes, and they share 287 flavor molecules: the top 11% of all ingredient pairs.
Why do fig and tomato taste good together?
Almost everything fig carries, tomato has too: 287 of fig's 342 flavor molecules also occur in tomato. Among the shared key aromas are beta-damascenone (apple, rose) and damascenone (apple, rose).
What goes with fig and tomato?
Cherry is the best third ingredient: top 3% of pairs with fig and top 4% with tomato. Capsicum and olive also fit both.
What can you make with fig and tomato?
Spread across courses: mains lead with 3 of the 7 recipes with a course label, then desserts (2). Common dishes include Braised Lamb Shanks in Merlot with Figs, Tomato Soy, Chili Sauce, Christmas Cakes.
Can I use tomato instead of fig?
Only partly. Most of fig's flavor molecules (287 of 342) are also found in tomato, but tomato has 223 that fig lacks. Fig gives you part of tomato'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: Fig vs Tomato. https://compkitchen.com/compare/fig-vs-tomato. Accessed 2026-11-04.
@misc{compkitchen_compare_compound_similarity_analysis_fig_vs_tomato_2026,
title = {Compound similarity analysis: Fig vs Tomato},
author = {{Compound Kitchen}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://compkitchen.com/compare/fig-vs-tomato},
note = {Accessed: 2026-11-04}
}
Methodology DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.19719459 · CC BY 4.0 · Citations are a request, not a requirement.