Rose + Mace
A good pairing. Cooks put them together in 498 recipes, and they share 11 flavor molecules: the top 14% of all ingredient pairs.
Do rose and mace go together?
Yes. 498 recipes in our collection combine them, and they share 11 flavor molecules. That places them in the top 14% of every ingredient pair we score.
Why they work
They overlap on 11 flavor molecules: 32% of mace's 34. Among the shared key aromas are methyleugenol (clove, spice) and alpha-pinene (pine, turpentine).
What each one brings
rose
The floral side. Floral notes make up 28% of its labelled aroma molecules, against 16% for mace. It carries 62 molecules mace doesn't have.
mace
The herbal side. Herbal notes make up 31% of its labelled aroma molecules, against 10% for rose. It carries 23 molecules rose doesn't have.
Add a third ingredient
- Nutmeg: the best fit for both, top 15% of pairs with rose, top 4% with mace.
- Allspice: top 14% of pairs with rose, top 7% with mace.
- Cardamom: top 7% of pairs with rose, top 16% with mace.
- Clove: top 18% of pairs with rose, 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 rose and mace
Mostly desserts: 8 of the 11 recipes with a course label are desserts.
Can you swap one for the other?
Not really. Each has a lot the other lacks: rose has 62 molecules mace doesn't, and mace has 23 that rose 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 11 shared molecules
See every shared molecule grouped by chemical class, with key aromas marked, plus the 62 only in rose and the 23 only in mace.
Rose and mace questions
Do rose and mace go together?
A good pairing. Cooks put them together in 498 recipes, and they share 11 flavor molecules: the top 14% of all ingredient pairs.
Why do rose and mace taste good together?
They overlap on 11 flavor molecules: 32% of mace's 34. Among the shared key aromas are methyleugenol (clove, spice) and alpha-pinene (pine, turpentine).
What goes with rose and mace?
Nutmeg is the best third ingredient: top 15% of pairs with rose and top 4% with mace. Allspice and cardamom also fit both.
What can you make with rose and mace?
Mostly desserts: 8 of the 11 recipes with a course label are desserts. Common dishes include Eggless White Cake, Ellen’s Pudding, or Rhubarb Tart, Fig Cake, Good Mince-Meat.
Can I use mace instead of rose?
Not really. Each has a lot the other lacks: rose has 62 molecules mace doesn't, and mace has 23 that rose 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: Rose vs Mace. https://compkitchen.com/compare/rose-vs-mace. Accessed 2026-11-04.
@misc{compkitchen_compare_compound_similarity_analysis_rose_vs_mace_2026,
title = {Compound similarity analysis: Rose vs Mace},
author = {{Compound Kitchen}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://compkitchen.com/compare/rose-vs-mace},
note = {Accessed: 2026-11-04}
}
Methodology DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.19719459 · CC BY 4.0 · Citations are a request, not a requirement.