Plum + Cardamom
A proven pairing. Cooks put them together in 30 recipes, and they share 229 flavor molecules: the top 8% of all ingredient pairs.
Do plum and cardamom go together?
Yes. 30 recipes in our collection combine them, and they share 229 flavor molecules. That places them in the top 8% of every ingredient pair we score.
Why they work
More than half of cardamom's flavor molecules (229 of 303) also occur in plum. Among the shared key aromas are eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal) and alpha-pinene (pine, turpentine).
What each one brings
plum
The fruit. Fruity notes make up 25% of its labelled aroma molecules, against 11% for cardamom. It carries 152 molecules cardamom doesn't have.
cardamom
The herbal side. Herbal notes make up 13% of its labelled aroma molecules, against 5% for plum. It carries 74 molecules plum doesn't have.
Add a third ingredient
- Cinnamon: the best fit for both, top 5% of pairs with plum, top 1% with cardamom.
- Saffron: top 13% of pairs with plum, top 1% with cardamom.
- Star anise: top 6% of pairs with plum, top 1% with cardamom.
- Clove: top 8% of pairs with plum, top 1% with cardamom.
Ranked by the average of its two pairing scores. Only foods used in at least 100 recipes are suggested.
Recipes with plum and cardamom
Almost always mains: 1 of the 1 recipes with a course label are mains.
Can you swap one for the other?
Only partly. Most of cardamom's flavor molecules (229 of 303) are also found in plum, but plum has 152 that cardamom lacks. Cardamom gives you part of plum's character without most of its fruit. This compares flavor only; texture, moisture and the job each does in a dish matter too.
All 229 shared molecules
See every shared molecule grouped by chemical class, with key aromas marked, plus the 152 only in plum and the 74 only in cardamom.
Plum and cardamom questions
Do plum and cardamom go together?
A proven pairing. Cooks put them together in 30 recipes, and they share 229 flavor molecules: the top 8% of all ingredient pairs.
Why do plum and cardamom taste good together?
More than half of cardamom's flavor molecules (229 of 303) also occur in plum. Among the shared key aromas are eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal) and alpha-pinene (pine, turpentine).
What goes with plum and cardamom?
Cinnamon is the best third ingredient: top 5% of pairs with plum and top 1% with cardamom. Saffron and star anise also fit both.
What can you make with plum and cardamom?
Almost always mains: 1 of the 1 recipes with a course label are mains. Common dishes include Tangy Curry-Tomato Chutney.
Can I use cardamom instead of plum?
Only partly. Most of cardamom's flavor molecules (229 of 303) are also found in plum, but plum has 152 that cardamom lacks. Cardamom gives you part of plum'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: Plum vs Cardamom. https://compkitchen.com/compare/plum-vs-cardamom. Accessed 2026-11-06.
@misc{compkitchen_compare_compound_similarity_analysis_plum_vs_cardamom_2026,
title = {Compound similarity analysis: Plum vs Cardamom},
author = {{Compound Kitchen}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://compkitchen.com/compare/plum-vs-cardamom},
note = {Accessed: 2026-11-06}
}
Methodology DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.19719459 · CC BY 4.0 · Citations are a request, not a requirement.