Nutmeg + Mushroom
A good pairing. Cooks put them together in 1,988 recipes, and they share 231 flavor molecules: the top 13% of all ingredient pairs.
Do nutmeg and mushroom go together?
Yes. 1,988 recipes in our collection combine them, and they share 231 flavor molecules. That places them in the top 13% of every ingredient pair we score.
Why they work
More than half of nutmeg's flavor molecules (231 of 301) also occur in mushroom. Among the shared key aromas are alpha-pinene (pine, turpentine) and linalool (floral, citrus).
What each one brings
nutmeg
The herbal side. Herbal notes make up 14% of its labelled aroma molecules, against 7% for mushroom. It carries 70 molecules mushroom doesn't have.
mushroom
The fruit. Fruity notes make up 20% of its labelled aroma molecules, against 10% for nutmeg. It carries 195 molecules nutmeg doesn't have.
Add a third ingredient
- Cinnamon: the best fit for both, top 1% of pairs with nutmeg, top 18% with mushroom.
- Clove: top 1% of pairs with nutmeg, top 10% with mushroom.
- Marjoram: top 1% of pairs with nutmeg, top 8% with mushroom.
- Thyme: top 3% of pairs with nutmeg, top 5% with mushroom.
Ranked by the average of its two pairing scores. Only foods used in at least 100 recipes are suggested.
Recipes with nutmeg and mushroom
Almost always mains: 61 of the 70 recipes with a course label are mains.
Can you swap one for the other?
Only partly. Most of nutmeg's flavor molecules (231 of 301) are also found in mushroom, but mushroom has 195 that nutmeg lacks. Nutmeg gives you part of mushroom's character without most of its fruit. This compares flavor only; texture, moisture and the job each does in a dish matter too.
All 231 shared molecules
See every shared molecule grouped by chemical class, with key aromas marked, plus the 70 only in nutmeg and the 195 only in mushroom.
Nutmeg and mushroom questions
Do nutmeg and mushroom go together?
A good pairing. Cooks put them together in 1,988 recipes, and they share 231 flavor molecules: the top 13% of all ingredient pairs.
Why do nutmeg and mushroom taste good together?
More than half of nutmeg's flavor molecules (231 of 301) also occur in mushroom. Among the shared key aromas are alpha-pinene (pine, turpentine) and linalool (floral, citrus).
What goes with nutmeg and mushroom?
Cinnamon is the best third ingredient: top 1% of pairs with nutmeg and top 18% with mushroom. Clove and marjoram also fit both.
What can you make with nutmeg and mushroom?
Almost always mains: 61 of the 70 recipes with a course label are mains. Common dishes include Cheese Mushroom Soufflé, Cream of Duck and Mushroom Soup, Creamy Mushroom Ragu, Eggplant and Mushroom Stroganoff.
Can I use mushroom instead of nutmeg?
Only partly. Most of nutmeg's flavor molecules (231 of 301) are also found in mushroom, but mushroom has 195 that nutmeg lacks. Nutmeg gives you part of mushroom's character without most of its fruit. 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 Mushroom. https://compkitchen.com/compare/nutmeg-vs-mushroom. Accessed 2026-11-04.
@misc{compkitchen_compare_compound_similarity_analysis_nutmeg_vs_mushroom_2026,
title = {Compound similarity analysis: Nutmeg vs Mushroom},
author = {{Compound Kitchen}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://compkitchen.com/compare/nutmeg-vs-mushroom},
note = {Accessed: 2026-11-04}
}
Methodology DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.19719459 · CC BY 4.0 · Citations are a request, not a requirement.