Nutmeg + Mace
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 nutmeg and mace 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
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.
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.
Add a third ingredient
- Cinnamon: the best fit for both, top 1% of pairs with nutmeg, top 10% with mace.
- Allspice: top 1% of pairs with nutmeg, top 7% with mace.
- Clove: top 1% of pairs with nutmeg, top 6% with mace.
- Winter savory: top 1% of pairs with nutmeg, top 11% with mace.
Ranked by the average of its two pairing scores. Only foods used in at least 100 recipes are suggested.
Recipes with nutmeg and mace
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 267 only in nutmeg and the 0 only in mace.
Nutmeg and mace questions
Do nutmeg and mace 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 nutmeg and mace 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 nutmeg and mace?
Cinnamon is the best third ingredient: top 1% of pairs with nutmeg and top 10% with mace. Allspice and clove also fit both.
What can you make with nutmeg and mace?
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 mace instead of nutmeg?
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: Nutmeg vs Mace. https://compkitchen.com/compare/nutmeg-vs-mace. Accessed 2026-11-03.
@misc{compkitchen_compare_compound_similarity_analysis_nutmeg_vs_mace_2026,
title = {Compound similarity analysis: Nutmeg vs Mace},
author = {{Compound Kitchen}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://compkitchen.com/compare/nutmeg-vs-mace},
note = {Accessed: 2026-11-03}
}
Methodology DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.19719459 · CC BY 4.0 · Citations are a request, not a requirement.