Kale + Raisin
Promising but untested: they share 106 flavor molecules (strong aroma overlap), yet no recipe in our pairing index uses both. They rank in the top 28% of all ingredient pairs.
Do kale and raisin go together?
Possibly. No recipe in our pairing index uses both, and they share 106 flavor molecules. That places them in the top 28% of every ingredient pair we score.
Why they work
Almost everything raisin carries, kale has too: 106 of raisin's 129 flavor molecules also occur in kale. Among the shared key aromas are isobutyraldehyde (malty, green) and eugenol (clove, spicy).
What each one brings
kale
The fruit. Fruity notes make up 10% of its labelled aroma molecules, against 7% for raisin. It carries 114 molecules raisin doesn't have.
raisin
Much the same character. It carries 23 molecules kale doesn't have.
Add a third ingredient
- Capers: the best fit for both, top 1% of pairs with kale, top 12% with raisin.
- Almond: top 3% of pairs with kale, top 2% with raisin.
- Shallot: top 1% of pairs with kale, top 10% with raisin.
- Chard: top 1% of pairs with kale, top 19% with raisin.
Ranked by the average of its two pairing scores. Only foods used in at least 100 recipes are suggested.
Recipes with kale and raisin
We have no browsable recipe that lists both kale and raisin. With this much shared aroma, it is the kind of novel pairing worth testing.
Can you swap one for the other?
Only partly. Most of raisin's flavor molecules (106 of 129) are also found in kale, but kale has 114 that raisin lacks. Raisin gives you part of kale's character without most of its fruit. This compares flavor only; texture, moisture and the job each does in a dish matter too.
All 106 shared molecules
See every shared molecule grouped by chemical class, with key aromas marked, plus the 114 only in kale and the 23 only in raisin.
Kale and raisin questions
Do kale and raisin go together?
Promising but untested: they share 106 flavor molecules (strong aroma overlap), yet no recipe in our pairing index uses both. They rank in the top 28% of all ingredient pairs.
Why do kale and raisin taste good together?
Almost everything raisin carries, kale has too: 106 of raisin's 129 flavor molecules also occur in kale. Among the shared key aromas are isobutyraldehyde (malty, green) and eugenol (clove, spicy).
What goes with kale and raisin?
Capers is the best third ingredient: top 1% of pairs with kale and top 12% with raisin. Almond and shallot also fit both.
Can I use raisin instead of kale?
Only partly. Most of raisin's flavor molecules (106 of 129) are also found in kale, but kale has 114 that raisin lacks. Raisin gives you part of kale'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: Kale vs Raisin. https://compkitchen.com/compare/kale-vs-raisin. Accessed 2026-11-05.
@misc{compkitchen_compare_compound_similarity_analysis_kale_vs_raisin_2026,
title = {Compound similarity analysis: Kale vs Raisin},
author = {{Compound Kitchen}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://compkitchen.com/compare/kale-vs-raisin},
note = {Accessed: 2026-11-05}
}
Methodology DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.19719459 · CC BY 4.0 · Citations are a request, not a requirement.