Molasses + Clove
A good pairing. Cooks put them together in 3,483 recipes, and they share 20 flavor molecules: the top 13% of all ingredient pairs.
Do molasses and clove go together?
Yes. 3,483 recipes in our collection combine them, and they share 20 flavor molecules. That places them in the top 13% of every ingredient pair we score.
Why they work
More than half of molasses's flavor molecules (20 of 26) also occur in clove. Among the shared key aromas are ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal) and decanoic acid (soapy, waxy). Most of what they share is background chemistry many foods carry, so the overlap does little for the smell.
What each one brings
molasses
The tartness. Sour notes make up 29% of its labelled aroma molecules, against 12% for clove. It carries 6 molecules clove doesn't have.
clove
The fruit. Fruity notes make up 17% of its labelled aroma molecules, against 4% for molasses. It carries 291 molecules molasses doesn't have.
Add a third ingredient
- Cinnamon: the best fit for both, top 11% of pairs with molasses, top 1% with clove.
- Allspice: top 14% of pairs with molasses, top 1% with clove.
- Ginger: top 14% of pairs with molasses, top 1% with clove.
- Nutmeg: top 21% of pairs with molasses, top 1% with clove.
Ranked by the average of its two pairing scores. Only foods used in at least 100 recipes are suggested.
Recipes with molasses and clove
Mostly desserts: 182 of the 235 recipes with a course label are desserts.
Can you swap one for the other?
Only partly. Most of molasses's flavor molecules (20 of 26) are also found in clove, but clove has 291 that molasses lacks. Molasses gives you part of clove's character without most of its fruit. This compares flavor only; texture, moisture and the job each does in a dish matter too.
All 20 shared molecules
See every shared molecule grouped by chemical class, with key aromas marked, plus the 6 only in molasses and the 291 only in clove.
Molasses and clove questions
Do molasses and clove go together?
A good pairing. Cooks put them together in 3,483 recipes, and they share 20 flavor molecules: the top 13% of all ingredient pairs.
Why do molasses and clove taste good together?
More than half of molasses's flavor molecules (20 of 26) also occur in clove. Among the shared key aromas are ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal) and decanoic acid (soapy, waxy). Most of what they share is background chemistry many foods carry, so the overlap does little for the smell.
What goes with molasses and clove?
Cinnamon is the best third ingredient: top 11% of pairs with molasses and top 1% with clove. Allspice and ginger also fit both.
What can you make with molasses and clove?
Mostly desserts: 182 of the 235 recipes with a course label are desserts. Common dishes include Molasses Cookies, Bread Fried with Molasses, Hard Molasses Gingerbread, Molasses Crinkles.
Can I use clove instead of molasses?
Only partly. Most of molasses's flavor molecules (20 of 26) are also found in clove, but clove has 291 that molasses lacks. Molasses gives you part of clove'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: Molasses vs Clove. https://compkitchen.com/compare/molasses-vs-clove. Accessed 2026-11-04.
@misc{compkitchen_compare_compound_similarity_analysis_molasses_vs_clove_2026,
title = {Compound similarity analysis: Molasses vs Clove},
author = {{Compound Kitchen}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://compkitchen.com/compare/molasses-vs-clove},
note = {Accessed: 2026-11-04}
}
Methodology DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.19719459 · CC BY 4.0 · Citations are a request, not a requirement.