Lemon + Red currant
A good pairing. Cooks put them together in 309 recipes, and they share 108 flavor molecules: the top 12% of all ingredient pairs.
Do lemon and red currant go together?
Yes. 309 recipes in our collection combine them, and they share 108 flavor molecules. That places them in the top 12% of every ingredient pair we score.
Why they work
More than half of red currant's flavor molecules (108 of 144) also occur in lemon. Among the shared key aromas are alpha-pinene (pine, turpentine) and 1-octen-3-ol (mushroom, earthy).
What each one brings
lemon
The herbal side. Herbal notes make up 17% of its labelled aroma molecules, against 7% for red currant. It carries 250 molecules red currant doesn't have.
red currant
The fruit. Fruity notes make up 17% of its labelled aroma molecules, against 12% for lemon. It carries 36 molecules lemon doesn't have.
Add a third ingredient
- Thyme: the best fit for both, top 1% of pairs with lemon, top 5% with red currant.
- Black currant: top 7% of pairs with lemon, top 1% with red currant.
- Raspberry: top 8% of pairs with lemon, top 1% with red currant.
- Orange: top 1% of pairs with lemon, top 7% with red currant.
Ranked by the average of its two pairing scores. Only foods used in at least 100 recipes are suggested.
Recipes with lemon and red currant
Mostly desserts: 6 of the 12 recipes with a course label are desserts.
Can you swap one for the other?
Only partly. Most of red currant's flavor molecules (108 of 144) are also found in lemon, but lemon has 250 that red currant lacks. Red currant 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 108 shared molecules
See every shared molecule grouped by chemical class, with key aromas marked, plus the 250 only in lemon and the 36 only in red currant.
Lemon and red currant questions
Do lemon and red currant go together?
A good pairing. Cooks put them together in 309 recipes, and they share 108 flavor molecules: the top 12% of all ingredient pairs.
Why do lemon and red currant taste good together?
More than half of red currant's flavor molecules (108 of 144) also occur in lemon. Among the shared key aromas are alpha-pinene (pine, turpentine) and 1-octen-3-ol (mushroom, earthy).
What goes with lemon and red currant?
Thyme is the best third ingredient: top 1% of pairs with lemon and top 5% with red currant. Black currant and raspberry also fit both.
What can you make with lemon and red currant?
Mostly desserts: 6 of the 12 recipes with a course label are desserts. Common dishes include Botsford Inn's Honey Baked Ham with Cumberland Sauce, Citrus Curd and Mixed Berry Tart, Especially Recommended for the Sick, Ham Fritters.
Can I use red currant instead of lemon?
Only partly. Most of red currant's flavor molecules (108 of 144) are also found in lemon, but lemon has 250 that red currant lacks. Red currant 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 Red Currant. https://compkitchen.com/compare/lemon-vs-red-currant. Accessed 2026-11-04.
@misc{compkitchen_compare_compound_similarity_analysis_lemon_vs_red_currant_2026,
title = {Compound similarity analysis: Lemon vs Red Currant},
author = {{Compound Kitchen}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://compkitchen.com/compare/lemon-vs-red-currant},
note = {Accessed: 2026-11-04}
}
Methodology DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.19719459 · CC BY 4.0 · Citations are a request, not a requirement.