Lime + Wine
A good pairing. Cooks put them together in 438 recipes, and they share 91 flavor molecules: the top 22% of all ingredient pairs.
Do lime and wine go together?
Yes. 438 recipes in our collection combine them, and they share 91 flavor molecules. That places them in the top 22% of every ingredient pair we score.
Why they work
They overlap on 91 flavor molecules: 30% of lime's 299. Among the shared key aromas are decanal (soap, orange peel) and eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal). Most of what they share is background chemistry many foods carry, so the overlap does little for the smell.
What each one brings
lime
The tartness. Sour notes make up 16% of its labelled aroma molecules, against 6% for wine. It carries 208 molecules wine doesn't have.
wine
The fruit. Fruity notes make up 31% of its labelled aroma molecules, against 10% for lime. It carries 447 molecules lime doesn't have.
Add a third ingredient
- Lemon grass: the best fit for both, top 1% of pairs with lime, top 21% with wine.
- Coriander: top 1% of pairs with lime, top 19% with wine.
- Thyme: top 1% of pairs with lime, top 10% with wine.
- Lemon: top 1% of pairs with lime, top 13% with wine.
Ranked by the average of its two pairing scores. Only foods used in at least 100 recipes are suggested.
Recipes with lime and wine
Mostly mains: 39 of the 62 recipes with a course label are mains.
Can you swap one for the other?
Not really. Each has a lot the other lacks: lime has 208 molecules wine doesn't, and wine has 447 that lime doesn't. Treat them as partners, not stand-ins. This compares flavor only; texture, moisture and the job each does in a dish matter too.
All 91 shared molecules
See every shared molecule grouped by chemical class, with key aromas marked, plus the 208 only in lime and the 447 only in wine.
Lime and wine questions
Do lime and wine go together?
A good pairing. Cooks put them together in 438 recipes, and they share 91 flavor molecules: the top 22% of all ingredient pairs.
Why do lime and wine taste good together?
They overlap on 91 flavor molecules: 30% of lime's 299. Among the shared key aromas are decanal (soap, orange peel) and eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal). Most of what they share is background chemistry many foods carry, so the overlap does little for the smell.
What goes with lime and wine?
Lemon grass is the best third ingredient: top 1% of pairs with lime and top 21% with wine. Coriander and thyme also fit both.
What can you make with lime and wine?
Mostly mains: 39 of the 62 recipes with a course label are mains. Common dishes include Grilled Lime Chicken, Honey Lime Pork Loin, Papaya with Port Wine, Spaghetti with Clams in White Wine Sauce.
Can I use wine instead of lime?
Not really. Each has a lot the other lacks: lime has 208 molecules wine doesn't, and wine has 447 that lime doesn't. Treat them as partners, not stand-ins. 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: Lime vs Wine. https://compkitchen.com/compare/lime-vs-wine. Accessed 2026-11-04.
@misc{compkitchen_compare_compound_similarity_analysis_lime_vs_wine_2026,
title = {Compound similarity analysis: Lime vs Wine},
author = {{Compound Kitchen}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://compkitchen.com/compare/lime-vs-wine},
note = {Accessed: 2026-11-04}
}
Methodology DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.19719459 · CC BY 4.0 · Citations are a request, not a requirement.