Mace + Nutmeg
A proven pairing. Cooks put them together in 6,557 recipes, and they share 34 flavor molecules: the top 4% of all ingredient pairs.
Do mace and nutmeg go together?
Yes. 6,557 recipes in our collection combine them, and they share 34 flavor molecules. That places them in the top 4% of every ingredient pair we score.
Why they work
Almost everything mace carries, nutmeg has too: 34 of mace's 34 flavor molecules also occur in nutmeg. Among the shared key aromas are myristicin (spice, warm) and methyleugenol (clove, spice).
What each one brings
mace
The herbal side. Herbal notes make up 31% of its labelled aroma molecules, against 14% for nutmeg. Every molecule it carries is also in nutmeg.
nutmeg
The tartness. Sour notes make up 16% of its labelled aroma molecules, against 3% for mace. It carries 267 molecules mace doesn't have.
Add a third ingredient
- Cinnamon: the best fit for both, top 10% of pairs with mace, top 1% with nutmeg.
- Allspice: top 7% of pairs with mace, top 1% with nutmeg.
- Clove: top 6% of pairs with mace, top 1% with nutmeg.
- Winter savory: top 11% of pairs with mace, top 1% with nutmeg.
Ranked by the average of its two pairing scores. Only foods used in at least 100 recipes are suggested.
Recipes with mace and nutmeg
Mostly mains: 135 of the 268 recipes with a course label are mains.
Can you swap one for the other?
Only partly. Almost all of mace's flavor molecules (34 of 34) are also found in nutmeg, but nutmeg has 267 that mace lacks. Mace gives you part of nutmeg's character without most of its tartness. This compares flavor only; texture, moisture and the job each does in a dish matter too.
All 34 shared molecules
See every shared molecule grouped by chemical class, with key aromas marked, plus the 0 only in mace and the 267 only in nutmeg.
Mace and nutmeg questions
Do mace and nutmeg go together?
A proven pairing. Cooks put them together in 6,557 recipes, and they share 34 flavor molecules: the top 4% of all ingredient pairs.
Why do mace and nutmeg taste good together?
Almost everything mace carries, nutmeg has too: 34 of mace's 34 flavor molecules also occur in nutmeg. Among the shared key aromas are myristicin (spice, warm) and methyleugenol (clove, spice).
What goes with mace and nutmeg?
Cinnamon is the best third ingredient: top 10% of pairs with mace and top 1% with nutmeg. Allspice and clove also fit both.
What can you make with mace and nutmeg?
Mostly mains: 135 of the 268 recipes with a course label are mains. Common dishes include How We Cook in Tennessee, Black Cake, Celery Sauce, Mince Meat.
Can I use nutmeg instead of mace?
Only partly. Almost all of mace's flavor molecules (34 of 34) are also found in nutmeg, but nutmeg has 267 that mace lacks. Mace gives you part of nutmeg'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 Nutmeg. https://compkitchen.com/compare/mace-vs-nutmeg. Accessed 2026-11-04.
@misc{compkitchen_compare_compound_similarity_analysis_mace_vs_nutmeg_2026,
title = {Compound similarity analysis: Mace vs Nutmeg},
author = {{Compound Kitchen}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://compkitchen.com/compare/mace-vs-nutmeg},
note = {Accessed: 2026-11-04}
}
Methodology DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.19719459 · CC BY 4.0 · Citations are a request, not a requirement.