Tomato + Molasses
A cook's pairing more than a chemical one: 323 recipes use both, though they share little aroma. They rank in the top 33% of all ingredient pairs.
Do tomato and molasses go together?
Yes, in practice. 323 recipes in our collection combine them, and they share 21 flavor molecules. That places them in the top 33% of every ingredient pair we score.
What they have in common
Almost everything molasses carries, tomato has too: 21 of molasses's 26 flavor molecules also occur in tomato. Among the shared key aromas are furaneol (caramel, strawberry) and ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal). So the pairing rests more on how cooks use them than on shared aroma.
What each one brings
tomato
The fruit. Fruity notes make up 15% of its labelled aroma molecules, against 4% for molasses. It carries 489 molecules molasses doesn't have.
molasses
The tartness. Sour notes make up 29% of its labelled aroma molecules, against 14% for tomato. It carries 5 molecules tomato doesn't have.
Add a third ingredient
- Beans: the best fit for both, top 1% of pairs with tomato, top 26% with molasses.
- Capsicum: top 1% of pairs with tomato, top 29% with molasses.
- Cinnamon: top 11% of pairs with tomato, top 11% with molasses.
- Ginger: top 10% of pairs with tomato, top 14% with molasses.
Ranked by the average of its two pairing scores. Only foods used in at least 100 recipes are suggested.
Recipes with tomato and molasses
Mostly mains: 43 of the 56 recipes with a course label are mains.
Can you swap one for the other?
Only partly. Most of molasses's flavor molecules (21 of 26) are also found in tomato, but tomato has 489 that molasses lacks. Molasses gives you part of tomato's character without most of its fruit. This compares flavor only; texture, moisture and the job each does in a dish matter too.
All 21 shared molecules
See every shared molecule grouped by chemical class, with key aromas marked, plus the 489 only in tomato and the 5 only in molasses.
Tomato and molasses questions
Do tomato and molasses go together?
A cook's pairing more than a chemical one: 323 recipes use both, though they share little aroma. They rank in the top 33% of all ingredient pairs.
What do tomato and molasses have in common?
Almost everything molasses carries, tomato has too: 21 of molasses's 26 flavor molecules also occur in tomato. Among the shared key aromas are furaneol (caramel, strawberry) and ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal). So the pairing rests more on how cooks use them than on shared aroma.
What goes with tomato and molasses?
Beans is the best third ingredient: top 1% of pairs with tomato and top 26% with molasses. Capsicum and cinnamon also fit both.
What can you make with tomato and molasses?
Mostly mains: 43 of the 56 recipes with a course label are mains. Common dishes include Kipe Tomato Pickles, Molasses-rubbed Steak Salad with Creamy Peppercorn Dressing, Scalloped Tomatoes Au Gratin, Sweet Green Tomato Pickle.
Can I use molasses instead of tomato?
Only partly. Most of molasses's flavor molecules (21 of 26) are also found in tomato, but tomato has 489 that molasses lacks. Molasses gives you part of tomato'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: Tomato vs Molasses. https://compkitchen.com/compare/tomato-vs-molasses. Accessed 2026-11-06.
@misc{compkitchen_compare_compound_similarity_analysis_tomato_vs_molasses_2026,
title = {Compound similarity analysis: Tomato vs Molasses},
author = {{Compound Kitchen}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://compkitchen.com/compare/tomato-vs-molasses},
note = {Accessed: 2026-11-06}
}
Methodology DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.19719459 · CC BY 4.0 · Citations are a request, not a requirement.