Almond + Mace
A good pairing. Cooks put them together in 1,010 recipes, and they share 8 flavor molecules: the top 23% of all ingredient pairs.
Do almond and mace go together?
Yes. 1,010 recipes in our collection combine them, and they share 8 flavor molecules. That places them in the top 23% of every ingredient pair we score.
Why they work
They overlap on 8 flavor molecules: 24% of mace's 34. Among the shared key aromas are alpha-pinene (pine, turpentine) and eugenol (clove, spicy). Most of what they share is background chemistry many foods carry, so the overlap does little for the smell.
What each one brings
almond
The tartness. Sour notes make up 18% of its labelled aroma molecules, against 3% for mace. It carries 273 molecules mace doesn't have.
mace
The herbal side. Herbal notes make up 31% of its labelled aroma molecules, against 6% for almond. It carries 26 molecules almond doesn't have.
Add a third ingredient
- Nutmeg: the best fit for both, top 4% of pairs with almond, top 4% with mace.
- Cinnamon: top 1% of pairs with almond, top 10% with mace.
- Pistachio: top 1% of pairs with almond, top 25% with mace.
- Cardamom: top 1% of pairs with almond, top 16% with mace.
Ranked by the average of its two pairing scores. Only foods used in at least 100 recipes are suggested.
Recipes with almond and mace
Mostly desserts: 33 of the 49 recipes with a course label are desserts.
Can you swap one for the other?
Not really. Each has a lot the other lacks: almond has 273 molecules mace doesn't, and mace has 26 that almond 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 8 shared molecules
See every shared molecule grouped by chemical class, with key aromas marked, plus the 273 only in almond and the 26 only in mace.
Almond and mace questions
Do almond and mace go together?
A good pairing. Cooks put them together in 1,010 recipes, and they share 8 flavor molecules: the top 23% of all ingredient pairs.
Why do almond and mace taste good together?
They overlap on 8 flavor molecules: 24% of mace's 34. Among the shared key aromas are alpha-pinene (pine, turpentine) and eugenol (clove, spicy). Most of what they share is background chemistry many foods carry, so the overlap does little for the smell.
What goes with almond and mace?
Nutmeg is the best third ingredient: top 4% of pairs with almond and top 4% with mace. Cinnamon and pistachio also fit both.
What can you make with almond and mace?
Mostly desserts: 33 of the 49 recipes with a course label are desserts. Common dishes include Almond Cheesecake, Almond Custard, Almond Maccaroons, Almond Soup.
Can I use mace instead of almond?
Not really. Each has a lot the other lacks: almond has 273 molecules mace doesn't, and mace has 26 that almond 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: Almond vs Mace. https://compkitchen.com/compare/almond-vs-mace. Accessed 2026-11-04.
@misc{compkitchen_compare_compound_similarity_analysis_almond_vs_mace_2026,
title = {Compound similarity analysis: Almond vs Mace},
author = {{Compound Kitchen}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://compkitchen.com/compare/almond-vs-mace},
note = {Accessed: 2026-11-04}
}
Methodology DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.19719459 · CC BY 4.0 · Citations are a request, not a requirement.