Red currant + Mace
A good pairing. Cooks put them together in 45 recipes, and they share 9 flavor molecules: the top 23% of all ingredient pairs.
Do red currant and mace go together?
Yes. 45 recipes in our collection combine them, and they share 9 flavor molecules. That places them in the top 23% of every ingredient pair we score.
Why they work
They overlap on 9 flavor molecules: 26% of mace's 34. Among the shared key aromas are alpha-pinene (pine, turpentine) and beta-pinene (pine, resin). Most of what they share is background chemistry many foods carry, so the overlap does little for the smell.
What each one brings
red currant
The tartness. Sour notes make up 18% of its labelled aroma molecules, against 3% for mace. It carries 135 molecules mace doesn't have.
mace
The herbal side. Herbal notes make up 31% of its labelled aroma molecules, against 7% for red currant. It carries 25 molecules red currant doesn't have.
Add a third ingredient
- Currant: the best fit for both, top 5% of pairs with red currant, top 12% with mace.
- Raspberry: top 1% of pairs with red currant, top 24% with mace.
- Nutmeg: top 15% of pairs with red currant, top 4% with mace.
- Clove: top 11% of pairs with red currant, top 6% with mace.
Ranked by the average of its two pairing scores. Only foods used in at least 100 recipes are suggested.
Recipes with red currant and mace
We have no browsable recipe that lists both red currant and mace.
Can you swap one for the other?
Not really. Each has a lot the other lacks: red currant has 135 molecules mace doesn't, and mace has 25 that red currant doesn't. Treat them as partners, not stand-ins. This compares flavor only; texture, moisture and the job each does in a dish matter too.
All 9 shared molecules
See every shared molecule grouped by chemical class, with key aromas marked, plus the 135 only in red currant and the 25 only in mace.
Red currant and mace questions
Do red currant and mace go together?
A good pairing. Cooks put them together in 45 recipes, and they share 9 flavor molecules: the top 23% of all ingredient pairs.
Why do red currant and mace taste good together?
They overlap on 9 flavor molecules: 26% of mace's 34. Among the shared key aromas are alpha-pinene (pine, turpentine) and beta-pinene (pine, resin). Most of what they share is background chemistry many foods carry, so the overlap does little for the smell.
What goes with red currant and mace?
Currant is the best third ingredient: top 5% of pairs with red currant and top 12% with mace. Raspberry and nutmeg also fit both.
Can I use mace instead of red currant?
Not really. Each has a lot the other lacks: red currant has 135 molecules mace doesn't, and mace has 25 that red currant doesn't. Treat them as partners, not stand-ins. 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: Red Currant vs Mace. https://compkitchen.com/compare/red-currant-vs-mace. Accessed 2026-11-04.
@misc{compkitchen_compare_compound_similarity_analysis_red_currant_vs_mace_2026,
title = {Compound similarity analysis: Red Currant vs Mace},
author = {{Compound Kitchen}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://compkitchen.com/compare/red-currant-vs-mace},
note = {Accessed: 2026-11-04}
}
Methodology DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.19719459 · CC BY 4.0 · Citations are a request, not a requirement.