Meat + Raisin
A good pairing. Cooks put them together in 484 recipes, and they share 15 flavor molecules: the top 23% of all ingredient pairs.
Do meat and raisin go together?
Yes. 484 recipes in our collection combine them, and they share 15 flavor molecules. That places them in the top 23% of every ingredient pair we score.
Why they work
They overlap on 15 flavor molecules: 17% of meat's 87. Among the shared key aromas are 1-octen-3-ol (mushroom, earthy) and 2-nonanone (fruity, floral). Most of what they share is background chemistry many foods carry, so the overlap does little for the smell.
What each one brings
meat
The fruit. Fruity notes make up 16% of its labelled aroma molecules, against 7% for raisin. It carries 72 molecules raisin doesn't have.
raisin
The tartness. Sour notes make up 18% of its labelled aroma molecules, against 7% for meat. It carries 114 molecules meat doesn't have.
Add a third ingredient
- Almond: the best fit for both, top 17% of pairs with meat, top 2% with raisin.
- Cinnamon: top 25% of pairs with meat, top 1% with raisin.
- Flour: top 28% of pairs with meat, top 1% with raisin.
- Nutmeg: top 19% of pairs with meat, top 6% with raisin.
Ranked by the average of its two pairing scores. Only foods used in at least 100 recipes are suggested.
Recipes with meat and raisin
Mostly desserts: 1 of the 2 recipes with a course label are desserts.
Can you swap one for the other?
Not really. Each has a lot the other lacks: meat has 72 molecules raisin doesn't, and raisin has 114 that meat 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 15 shared molecules
See every shared molecule grouped by chemical class, with key aromas marked, plus the 72 only in meat and the 114 only in raisin.
Meat and raisin questions
Do meat and raisin go together?
A good pairing. Cooks put them together in 484 recipes, and they share 15 flavor molecules: the top 23% of all ingredient pairs.
Why do meat and raisin taste good together?
They overlap on 15 flavor molecules: 17% of meat's 87. Among the shared key aromas are 1-octen-3-ol (mushroom, earthy) and 2-nonanone (fruity, floral). Most of what they share is background chemistry many foods carry, so the overlap does little for the smell.
What goes with meat and raisin?
Almond is the best third ingredient: top 17% of pairs with meat and top 2% with raisin. Cinnamon and flour also fit both.
What can you make with meat and raisin?
Mostly desserts: 1 of the 2 recipes with a course label are desserts. Common dishes include Mincemeat, Huckleberry Pie.
Can I use raisin instead of meat?
Not really. Each has a lot the other lacks: meat has 72 molecules raisin doesn't, and raisin has 114 that meat 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: Meat vs Raisin. https://compkitchen.com/compare/meat-vs-raisin. Accessed 2026-11-04.
@misc{compkitchen_compare_compound_similarity_analysis_meat_vs_raisin_2026,
title = {Compound similarity analysis: Meat vs Raisin},
author = {{Compound Kitchen}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://compkitchen.com/compare/meat-vs-raisin},
note = {Accessed: 2026-11-04}
}
Methodology DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.19719459 · CC BY 4.0 · Citations are a request, not a requirement.