Lemon + Amaranth
A proven pairing. Cooks put them together in 10 recipes, and they share 207 flavor molecules: the top 6% of all ingredient pairs.
Do lemon and amaranth go together?
Yes. 10 recipes in our collection combine them, and they share 207 flavor molecules. That places them in the top 6% of every ingredient pair we score.
Why they work
Almost everything amaranth carries, lemon has too: 207 of amaranth's 212 flavor molecules also occur in lemon. Among the shared key aromas are coumarin (sweet, hay) and 2-methylbutyraldehyde (malty, chocolate).
What each one brings
lemon
The herbal side. Herbal notes make up 17% of its labelled aroma molecules, against 7% for amaranth. It carries 151 molecules amaranth doesn't have.
amaranth
The tartness. Sour notes make up 17% of its labelled aroma molecules, against 13% for lemon. It carries 5 molecules lemon doesn't have.
Add a third ingredient
- Quinoa: the best fit for both, top 6% of pairs with lemon, top 1% with amaranth.
- Arrowroot: top 4% of pairs with lemon, top 1% with amaranth.
- Millet: top 7% of pairs with lemon, top 1% with amaranth.
- Chervil: top 3% of pairs with lemon, top 1% with amaranth.
Ranked by the average of its two pairing scores. Only foods used in at least 100 recipes are suggested.
Recipes with lemon and amaranth
Almost always mains: 1 of the 1 recipes with a course label are mains.
Can you swap one for the other?
Only partly. Almost all of amaranth's flavor molecules (207 of 212) are also found in lemon, but lemon has 151 that amaranth lacks. Amaranth gives you part of lemon'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 207 shared molecules
See every shared molecule grouped by chemical class, with key aromas marked, plus the 151 only in lemon and the 5 only in amaranth.
Lemon and amaranth questions
Do lemon and amaranth go together?
A proven pairing. Cooks put them together in 10 recipes, and they share 207 flavor molecules: the top 6% of all ingredient pairs.
Why do lemon and amaranth taste good together?
Almost everything amaranth carries, lemon has too: 207 of amaranth's 212 flavor molecules also occur in lemon. Among the shared key aromas are coumarin (sweet, hay) and 2-methylbutyraldehyde (malty, chocolate).
What goes with lemon and amaranth?
Quinoa is the best third ingredient: top 6% of pairs with lemon and top 1% with amaranth. Arrowroot and millet also fit both.
What can you make with lemon and amaranth?
Almost always mains: 1 of the 1 recipes with a course label are mains. Common dishes include Cabbage Stir‑fry with Popped Amaranth.
Can I use amaranth instead of lemon?
Only partly. Almost all of amaranth's flavor molecules (207 of 212) are also found in lemon, but lemon has 151 that amaranth lacks. Amaranth gives you part of lemon'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: Lemon vs Amaranth. https://compkitchen.com/compare/lemon-vs-amaranth. Accessed 2026-11-05.
@misc{compkitchen_compare_compound_similarity_analysis_lemon_vs_amaranth_2026,
title = {Compound similarity analysis: Lemon vs Amaranth},
author = {{Compound Kitchen}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://compkitchen.com/compare/lemon-vs-amaranth},
note = {Accessed: 2026-11-05}
}
Methodology DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.19719459 · CC BY 4.0 · Citations are a request, not a requirement.