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Tarragon vs Shallot: shared flavor compounds

203 of 292 flavor compounds are shared (Jaccard 0.70) — the molecular basis for whether Tarragon and Shallot pair well or work as substitutes. Full side-by-side breakdown below.

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Two ingredients gives the full side-by-side breakdown; add a third to see a similarity matrix across all of them (up to 6).

203
Shared
271
Tarragon reported
224
Shallot reported
0.70
Jaccard

“Reported” counts reflect the compounds characterized for each ingredient across the studies and databases we aggregate — a measure of coverage, not an exhaustive census. Different analyses target different compound classes and methods, so read these as what has been characterized, not the total number of molecules present. Jaccard measures shared coverage, so it rewards overlap rather than highlighting the ratio differences that distinguish two ingredients.

Why they pair: shared-compound network

12 of 203 shared shown

Each molecule in the middle is shared by both ingredients — the chemistry bridging Tarragon and Shallot. Node color is chemical class and node size is perceptual potency (bigger = lower odor threshold, so it drives aroma at smaller amounts); a copper ring marks compounds flagged as key aromas in published GC-O studies. Zoom with the +/− buttons or a pinch, drag the background to pan, drag a node to pin it, click any molecule for its full profile.

Showing the 12 highest-impact of 203 shared compounds (key aromas first). Sign in for the full network, including the compounds unique to each ingredient.

Where they differ: aroma character

Profile distance 0.12

The Jaccard above measures overlap; this compares each ingredient’s aroma-family mix side by side — the wider the gap between the two bars, the more that family sets the ingredients apart. Tarragon reads left, Shallot reads right.

13.9%
Herbal
6.9%
2.9%
Sulfurous
6.9%
9.0%
Green
12.3%
6.6%
Roasted
9.3%
6.1%
Spicy
3.9%
15.6%
Other
16.7%
14.8%
Sour
13.7%
2.5%
Woody
1.5%
1.6%
Minty
1.0%
0.0%
Earthy
0.5%
Tarragon ◀ ▶ Shallot

Shares are fractions of each ingredient’s labeled compounds (243 of 271 for Tarragon, 203 of 224 for Shallot) — compositional lean, not concentration. Aroma labels come from our compound enrichment and cover most, but not all, characterized molecules.

Pro names the molecules behind each difference — the specific compounds in each aroma family that one ingredient has and the other doesn’t. Sign in to see them.

Published recipes using both

100+ found

Real dishes from our 610K+ curated recipe corpus that combine tarragon and shallot — proof the pairing works in practice.

99+ more recipes use both ingredients. Pro shows up to 10 published dishes per comparison — a head-start for menu development and recipe testing.

Shared compounds

203 of 292 total

These are the molecules both ingredients have in common — the chemistry behind why they pair. Grouped by chemical class; ★ marks compounds flagged as key aromas in published GC-O studies. Click any molecule for its identifiers (CAS, formula, PubChem CID), odor data, and every ingredient it’s found in.

Most perceptually potent shared compounds

133 of 203 shared are aroma compounds with a measured threshold

Odor threshold is the concentration at which a molecule becomes smellable — lower = more potent. These clear their threshold most easily, so they drive the shared aroma out of proportion to the raw shared count.

Showing the 6 most potent of 133 with measured thresholds. Sign in for the full ranked list.

Showing the 5 highest-impact of 203 shared compounds (key aromas first) — sign in for the full list, grouped by chemical class with key-aroma markers.

See 68 tarragon-only and 21 shallot-only compounds with Pro

Side-by-side ingredient comparison — including the unique compounds in each ingredient — is a Pro feature.

Try the pairing tools for full recipe-aware scoring, or explore tarragon's profile.

Cite this analysis
Plain text
Compound Kitchen (2026). Compound similarity analysis: Tarragon vs Shallot. https://compkitchen.com/compare?a=tarragon&b=shallot. Accessed 2026-09-29.
BibTeX
@misc{compkitchen_compare_compound_similarity_analysis_tarragon_vs_shallot_2026,
  title  = {Compound similarity analysis: Tarragon vs Shallot},
  author = {{Compound Kitchen}},
  year   = {2026},
  url    = {https://compkitchen.com/compare?a=tarragon&b=shallot},
  note   = {Accessed: 2026-09-29}
}

Methodology DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.19719459 · CC BY 4.0 · Citations are a request, not a requirement.