Tarragon + Clove
A proven pairing. Cooks put them together in 548 recipes, and they share 221 flavor molecules: the top 6% of all ingredient pairs.
Do tarragon and clove go together?
Yes. 548 recipes in our collection combine them, and they share 221 flavor molecules. That places them in the top 6% of every ingredient pair we score.
Why they work
Almost everything tarragon carries, clove has too: 221 of tarragon's 270 flavor molecules also occur in clove. Among the shared key aromas are ethyl cinnamate (sweet, balsamic) and estragole (anise, licorice).
What each one brings
tarragon
The herbal side. Herbal notes make up 14% of its labelled aroma molecules, against 11% for clove. It carries 49 molecules clove doesn't have.
clove
The fruit. Fruity notes make up 17% of its labelled aroma molecules, against 11% for tarragon. It carries 90 molecules tarragon doesn't have.
Add a third ingredient
- Allspice: the best fit for both, top 3% of pairs with tarragon, top 1% with clove.
- Chervil: top 1% of pairs with tarragon, top 8% with clove.
- Cinnamon: top 5% of pairs with tarragon, top 1% with clove.
- Fennel: top 1% of pairs with tarragon, top 5% with clove.
Ranked by the average of its two pairing scores. Only foods used in at least 100 recipes are suggested.
Recipes with tarragon and clove
Mostly mains: 17 of the 31 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 (82% of tarragon's and 71% of clove's are shared). This compares flavor only; texture, moisture and the job each does in a dish matter too.
All 221 shared molecules
See every shared molecule grouped by chemical class, with key aromas marked, plus the 49 only in tarragon and the 90 only in clove.
Tarragon and clove questions
Do tarragon and clove go together?
A proven pairing. Cooks put them together in 548 recipes, and they share 221 flavor molecules: the top 6% of all ingredient pairs.
Why do tarragon and clove taste good together?
Almost everything tarragon carries, clove has too: 221 of tarragon's 270 flavor molecules also occur in clove. Among the shared key aromas are ethyl cinnamate (sweet, balsamic) and estragole (anise, licorice).
What goes with tarragon and clove?
Allspice is the best third ingredient: top 3% of pairs with tarragon and top 1% with clove. Chervil and cinnamon also fit both.
What can you make with tarragon and clove?
Mostly mains: 17 of the 31 recipes with a course label are mains. Common dishes include Tarragon Dressing, Tarragon Lemon Marinade, To Dress Any Kind of Salted Fish, Bean Soup Sabbatarian-Style.
Can I use clove instead of tarragon?
Fairly well, for flavor. Each carries most of the other's flavor molecules (82% of tarragon's and 71% 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: Tarragon vs Clove. https://compkitchen.com/compare/tarragon-vs-clove. Accessed 2026-11-03.
@misc{compkitchen_compare_compound_similarity_analysis_tarragon_vs_clove_2026,
title = {Compound similarity analysis: Tarragon vs Clove},
author = {{Compound Kitchen}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://compkitchen.com/compare/tarragon-vs-clove},
note = {Accessed: 2026-11-03}
}
Methodology DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.19719459 · CC BY 4.0 · Citations are a request, not a requirement.