Red currant + Thyme
A proven pairing. Cooks put them together in 121 recipes, and they share 106 flavor molecules: the top 5% of all ingredient pairs.
Do red currant and thyme go together?
Yes. 121 recipes in our collection combine them, and they share 106 flavor molecules. That places them in the top 5% of every ingredient pair we score.
Why they work
More than half of red currant's flavor molecules (106 of 144) also occur in thyme. Among the shared key aromas are alpha-pinene (pine, turpentine) and 1-octen-3-ol (mushroom, earthy).
What each one brings
red currant
The fresh, green side. Green notes make up 14% of its labelled aroma molecules, against 8% for thyme. It carries 38 molecules thyme doesn't have.
thyme
The herbal side. Herbal notes make up 13% of its labelled aroma molecules, against 7% for red currant. It carries 197 molecules red currant doesn't have.
Add a third ingredient
- Marjoram: the best fit for both, top 11% of pairs with red currant, top 1% with thyme.
- Black currant: top 1% of pairs with red currant, top 7% with thyme.
- Rosemary: top 11% of pairs with red currant, top 1% with thyme.
- Sage: top 13% of pairs with red currant, top 1% with thyme.
Ranked by the average of its two pairing scores. Only foods used in at least 100 recipes are suggested.
Recipes with red currant and thyme
We have no browsable recipe that lists both red currant and thyme.
Can you swap one for the other?
Only partly. Most of red currant's flavor molecules (106 of 144) are also found in thyme, but thyme has 197 that red currant lacks. Red currant gives you part of thyme's character without most of its herbal side. This compares flavor only; texture, moisture and the job each does in a dish matter too.
All 106 shared molecules
See every shared molecule grouped by chemical class, with key aromas marked, plus the 38 only in red currant and the 197 only in thyme.
Red currant and thyme questions
Do red currant and thyme go together?
A proven pairing. Cooks put them together in 121 recipes, and they share 106 flavor molecules: the top 5% of all ingredient pairs.
Why do red currant and thyme taste good together?
More than half of red currant's flavor molecules (106 of 144) also occur in thyme. Among the shared key aromas are alpha-pinene (pine, turpentine) and 1-octen-3-ol (mushroom, earthy).
What goes with red currant and thyme?
Marjoram is the best third ingredient: top 11% of pairs with red currant and top 1% with thyme. Black currant and rosemary also fit both.
Can I use thyme instead of red currant?
Only partly. Most of red currant's flavor molecules (106 of 144) are also found in thyme, but thyme has 197 that red currant lacks. Red currant gives you part of thyme's character without most of its herbal 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: Red Currant vs Thyme. https://compkitchen.com/compare/red-currant-vs-thyme. Accessed 2026-11-04.
@misc{compkitchen_compare_compound_similarity_analysis_red_currant_vs_thyme_2026,
title = {Compound similarity analysis: Red Currant vs Thyme},
author = {{Compound Kitchen}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://compkitchen.com/compare/red-currant-vs-thyme},
note = {Accessed: 2026-11-04}
}
Methodology DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.19719459 · CC BY 4.0 · Citations are a request, not a requirement.