Onion + Red currant
A good pairing. Cooks put them together in 258 recipes, and they share 104 flavor molecules: the top 19% of all ingredient pairs.
Do onion and red currant go together?
Yes. 258 recipes in our collection combine them, and they share 104 flavor molecules. That places them in the top 19% of every ingredient pair we score.
Why they work
More than half of red currant's flavor molecules (104 of 144) also occur in onion. Among the shared key aromas are acetic acid (sour, vinegar) and coumarin (sweet, hay).
What each one brings
onion
The sulfurous side. Sulfurous notes make up 13% of its labelled aroma molecules, against 1% for red currant. It carries 261 molecules red currant doesn't have.
red currant
The floral side. Floral notes make up 18% of its labelled aroma molecules, against 8% for onion. It carries 40 molecules onion doesn't have.
Add a third ingredient
- Thyme: the best fit for both, top 7% of pairs with onion, top 5% with red currant.
- Garlic: top 1% of pairs with onion, top 18% with red currant.
- Black currant: top 22% of pairs with onion, top 1% with red currant.
- Broccoli: top 6% of pairs with onion, top 11% with red currant.
Ranked by the average of its two pairing scores. Only foods used in at least 100 recipes are suggested.
Recipes with onion and red currant
Almost always mains: 2 of the 2 recipes with a course label are mains.
Can you swap one for the other?
Only partly. Most of red currant's flavor molecules (104 of 144) are also found in onion, but onion has 261 that red currant lacks. Red currant gives you part of onion's character without most of its sulfurous side. This compares flavor only; texture, moisture and the job each does in a dish matter too.
All 104 shared molecules
See every shared molecule grouped by chemical class, with key aromas marked, plus the 261 only in onion and the 40 only in red currant.
Onion and red currant questions
Do onion and red currant go together?
A good pairing. Cooks put them together in 258 recipes, and they share 104 flavor molecules: the top 19% of all ingredient pairs.
Why do onion and red currant taste good together?
More than half of red currant's flavor molecules (104 of 144) also occur in onion. Among the shared key aromas are acetic acid (sour, vinegar) and coumarin (sweet, hay).
What goes with onion and red currant?
Thyme is the best third ingredient: top 7% of pairs with onion and top 5% with red currant. Garlic and black currant also fit both.
What can you make with onion and red currant?
Almost always mains: 2 of the 2 recipes with a course label are mains. Common dishes include Braised Red Cabbage, Red Currant Sauce.
Can I use red currant instead of onion?
Only partly. Most of red currant's flavor molecules (104 of 144) are also found in onion, but onion has 261 that red currant lacks. Red currant gives you part of onion's character without most of its sulfurous 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: Onion vs Red Currant. https://compkitchen.com/compare/onion-vs-red-currant. Accessed 2026-11-04.
@misc{compkitchen_compare_compound_similarity_analysis_onion_vs_red_currant_2026,
title = {Compound similarity analysis: Onion vs Red Currant},
author = {{Compound Kitchen}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://compkitchen.com/compare/onion-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.