Mace + Thyme
A good pairing. Cooks put them together in 2,113 recipes, and they share 24 flavor molecules: the top 14% of all ingredient pairs.
Do mace and thyme go together?
Yes. 2,113 recipes in our collection combine them, and they share 24 flavor molecules. That places them in the top 14% of every ingredient pair we score.
Why they work
More than half of mace's flavor molecules (24 of 34) also occur in thyme. Among the shared key aromas are alpha-pinene (pine, turpentine) and myrcene (balsamic, herbaceous).
What each one brings
mace
The herbal side. Herbal notes make up 31% of its labelled aroma molecules, against 13% for thyme. It carries 10 molecules thyme doesn't have.
thyme
The tartness. Sour notes make up 16% of its labelled aroma molecules, against 3% for mace. It carries 279 molecules mace doesn't have.
Add a third ingredient
- Marjoram: the best fit for both, top 12% of pairs with mace, top 1% with thyme.
- Winter savory: top 11% of pairs with mace, top 1% with thyme.
- Allspice: top 7% of pairs with mace, top 1% with thyme.
- Nutmeg: top 4% of pairs with mace, top 3% with thyme.
Ranked by the average of its two pairing scores. Only foods used in at least 100 recipes are suggested.
Recipes with mace and thyme
Almost always mains: 38 of the 44 recipes with a course label are mains.
Can you swap one for the other?
Only partly. Most of mace's flavor molecules (24 of 34) are also found in thyme, but thyme has 279 that mace lacks. Mace gives you part of thyme's character without most of its tartness. This compares flavor only; texture, moisture and the job each does in a dish matter too.
All 24 shared molecules
See every shared molecule grouped by chemical class, with key aromas marked, plus the 10 only in mace and the 279 only in thyme.
Mace and thyme questions
Do mace and thyme go together?
A good pairing. Cooks put them together in 2,113 recipes, and they share 24 flavor molecules: the top 14% of all ingredient pairs.
Why do mace and thyme taste good together?
More than half of mace's flavor molecules (24 of 34) also occur in thyme. Among the shared key aromas are alpha-pinene (pine, turpentine) and myrcene (balsamic, herbaceous).
What goes with mace and thyme?
Marjoram is the best third ingredient: top 12% of pairs with mace and top 1% with thyme. Winter savory and allspice also fit both.
What can you make with mace and thyme?
Almost always mains: 38 of the 44 recipes with a course label are mains. Common dishes include Mock Turtle Soup, Hare or Rabbit Soup, To Dress Turtle, Baked Calf's Head.
Can I use thyme instead of mace?
Only partly. Most of mace's flavor molecules (24 of 34) are also found in thyme, but thyme has 279 that mace lacks. Mace gives you part of thyme'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 Thyme. https://compkitchen.com/compare/mace-vs-thyme. Accessed 2026-11-04.
@misc{compkitchen_compare_compound_similarity_analysis_mace_vs_thyme_2026,
title = {Compound similarity analysis: Mace vs Thyme},
author = {{Compound Kitchen}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://compkitchen.com/compare/mace-vs-thyme},
note = {Accessed: 2026-11-04}
}
Methodology DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.19719459 · CC BY 4.0 · Citations are a request, not a requirement.