Mustard + Clove
A proven pairing. Cooks put them together in 3,829 recipes, and they share 218 flavor molecules: the top 8% of all ingredient pairs.
Do mustard and clove go together?
Yes. 3,829 recipes in our collection combine them, and they share 218 flavor molecules. That places them in the top 8% of every ingredient pair we score.
Why they work
More than half of mustard's flavor molecules (218 of 283) also occur in clove. Among the shared key aromas are methyleugenol (clove, spice) and eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).
What each one brings
mustard
The tartness. Sour notes make up 18% of its labelled aroma molecules, against 12% for clove. It carries 65 molecules clove doesn't have.
clove
The fruit. Fruity notes make up 17% of its labelled aroma molecules, against 10% for mustard. It carries 93 molecules mustard doesn't have.
Add a third ingredient
- Allspice: the best fit for both, top 2% of pairs with mustard, top 1% with clove.
- Horseradish: top 1% of pairs with mustard, top 7% with clove.
- Cinnamon: top 7% of pairs with mustard, top 1% with clove.
- Capers: top 1% of pairs with mustard, top 8% with clove.
Ranked by the average of its two pairing scores. Only foods used in at least 100 recipes are suggested.
Recipes with mustard and clove
Mostly mains: 199 of the 305 recipes with a course label are mains.
Can you swap one for the other?
Fairly well, for flavor. Each carries most of the other's flavor molecules (77% of mustard's and 70% of clove's are shared). This compares flavor only; texture, moisture and the job each does in a dish matter too.
All 218 shared molecules
See every shared molecule grouped by chemical class, with key aromas marked, plus the 65 only in mustard and the 93 only in clove.
Mustard and clove questions
Do mustard and clove go together?
A proven pairing. Cooks put them together in 3,829 recipes, and they share 218 flavor molecules: the top 8% of all ingredient pairs.
Why do mustard and clove taste good together?
More than half of mustard's flavor molecules (218 of 283) also occur in clove. Among the shared key aromas are methyleugenol (clove, spice) and eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).
What goes with mustard and clove?
Allspice is the best third ingredient: top 2% of pairs with mustard and top 1% with clove. Horseradish and cinnamon also fit both.
What can you make with mustard and clove?
Mostly mains: 199 of the 305 recipes with a course label are mains. Common dishes include Tomato Mustard, Broiled Lamb Chops with Mustard Honey Glaze, English Mustard Pickle, French Mustard.
Can I use clove instead of mustard?
Fairly well, for flavor. Each carries most of the other's flavor molecules (77% of mustard's and 70% of clove's are shared). 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: Mustard vs Clove. https://compkitchen.com/compare/mustard-vs-clove. Accessed 2026-11-04.
@misc{compkitchen_compare_compound_similarity_analysis_mustard_vs_clove_2026,
title = {Compound similarity analysis: Mustard vs Clove},
author = {{Compound Kitchen}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://compkitchen.com/compare/mustard-vs-clove},
note = {Accessed: 2026-11-04}
}
Methodology DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.19719459 · CC BY 4.0 · Citations are a request, not a requirement.