Spirit + Clove
A good pairing. Cooks put them together in 152 recipes, and they share 54 flavor molecules: the top 16% of all ingredient pairs.
Do spirit and clove go together?
Yes. 152 recipes in our collection combine them, and they share 54 flavor molecules. That places them in the top 16% of every ingredient pair we score.
Why they work
More than half of spirit's flavor molecules (54 of 104) also occur in clove. Among the shared key aromas are ethyl octanoate (fruity, wine) and ethyl caproate (fruity, apple peel).
What each one brings
spirit
The tartness. Sour notes make up 23% of its labelled aroma molecules, against 12% for clove. It carries 50 molecules clove doesn't have.
clove
The roast. Roasted notes make up 6% of its labelled aroma molecules, against 0% for spirit. It carries 257 molecules spirit doesn't have.
Add a third ingredient
- Cinnamon: the best fit for both, top 14% of pairs with spirit, top 1% with clove.
- Ginger: top 15% of pairs with spirit, top 1% with clove.
- Allspice: top 27% of pairs with spirit, top 1% with clove.
- Cardamom: top 19% of pairs with spirit, 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 spirit and clove
Mostly mains: 1 of the 2 recipes with a course label are mains.
Can you swap one for the other?
Not really. Each has a lot the other lacks: spirit has 50 molecules clove doesn't, and clove has 257 that spirit doesn't. Treat them as partners, not stand-ins. This compares flavor only; texture, moisture and the job each does in a dish matter too.
All 54 shared molecules
See every shared molecule grouped by chemical class, with key aromas marked, plus the 50 only in spirit and the 257 only in clove.
Spirit and clove questions
Do spirit and clove go together?
A good pairing. Cooks put them together in 152 recipes, and they share 54 flavor molecules: the top 16% of all ingredient pairs.
Why do spirit and clove taste good together?
More than half of spirit's flavor molecules (54 of 104) also occur in clove. Among the shared key aromas are ethyl octanoate (fruity, wine) and ethyl caproate (fruity, apple peel).
What goes with spirit and clove?
Cinnamon is the best third ingredient: top 14% of pairs with spirit and top 1% with clove. Ginger and allspice also fit both.
What can you make with spirit and clove?
Mostly mains: 1 of the 2 recipes with a course label are mains. Common dishes include Chow Chow, Hong am Riesling.
Can I use clove instead of spirit?
Not really. Each has a lot the other lacks: spirit has 50 molecules clove doesn't, and clove has 257 that spirit doesn't. Treat them as partners, not stand-ins. 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: Spirit vs Clove. https://compkitchen.com/compare/spirit-vs-clove. Accessed 2026-11-05.
@misc{compkitchen_compare_compound_similarity_analysis_spirit_vs_clove_2026,
title = {Compound similarity analysis: Spirit vs Clove},
author = {{Compound Kitchen}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://compkitchen.com/compare/spirit-vs-clove},
note = {Accessed: 2026-11-05}
}
Methodology DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.19719459 · CC BY 4.0 · Citations are a request, not a requirement.