Mace + Lemon
A good pairing. Cooks put them together in 6,315 recipes, and they share 25 flavor molecules: the top 18% of all ingredient pairs.
Do mace and lemon go together?
Yes. 6,315 recipes in our collection combine them, and they share 25 flavor molecules. That places them in the top 18% of every ingredient pair we score.
Why they work
More than half of mace's flavor molecules (25 of 34) also occur in lemon. Among the shared key aromas are alpha-pinene (pine, turpentine) and myrcene (balsamic, herbaceous).
What each one brings
mace
The spice. Spicy notes make up 19% of its labelled aroma molecules, against 3% for lemon. It carries 9 molecules lemon doesn't have.
lemon
The tartness. Sour notes make up 13% of its labelled aroma molecules, against 3% for mace. It carries 333 molecules mace doesn't have.
Add a third ingredient
- Nutmeg: the best fit for both, top 4% of pairs with mace, top 5% with lemon.
- Marjoram: top 12% of pairs with mace, top 1% with lemon.
- Parsley: top 15% of pairs with mace, top 1% with lemon.
- Thyme: top 14% of pairs with mace, top 1% with lemon.
Ranked by the average of its two pairing scores. Only foods used in at least 100 recipes are suggested.
Recipes with mace and lemon
Spread across courses: mains lead with 73 of the 154 recipes with a course label, then desserts (56).
Can you swap one for the other?
Only partly. Most of mace's flavor molecules (25 of 34) are also found in lemon, but lemon has 333 that mace lacks. Mace gives you part of lemon's character without most of its tartness. This compares flavor only; texture, moisture and the job each does in a dish matter too.
All 25 shared molecules
See every shared molecule grouped by chemical class, with key aromas marked, plus the 9 only in mace and the 333 only in lemon.
Mace and lemon questions
Do mace and lemon go together?
A good pairing. Cooks put them together in 6,315 recipes, and they share 25 flavor molecules: the top 18% of all ingredient pairs.
Why do mace and lemon taste good together?
More than half of mace's flavor molecules (25 of 34) also occur in lemon. Among the shared key aromas are alpha-pinene (pine, turpentine) and myrcene (balsamic, herbaceous).
What goes with mace and lemon?
Nutmeg is the best third ingredient: top 4% of pairs with mace and top 5% with lemon. Marjoram and parsley also fit both.
What can you make with mace and lemon?
Spread across courses: mains lead with 73 of the 154 recipes with a course label, then desserts (56). Common dishes include Lemon Butter, Lemon Catchup, Lemon Mince Meat, Lemon Pickle or Catsup.
Can I use lemon instead of mace?
Only partly. Most of mace's flavor molecules (25 of 34) are also found in lemon, but lemon has 333 that mace lacks. Mace gives you part of lemon's character without most of its tartness. 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: Mace vs Lemon. https://compkitchen.com/compare/mace-vs-lemon. Accessed 2026-11-03.
@misc{compkitchen_compare_compound_similarity_analysis_mace_vs_lemon_2026,
title = {Compound similarity analysis: Mace vs Lemon},
author = {{Compound Kitchen}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://compkitchen.com/compare/mace-vs-lemon},
note = {Accessed: 2026-11-03}
}
Methodology DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.19719459 · CC BY 4.0 · Citations are a request, not a requirement.