Sage + Mace
A good pairing. Cooks put them together in 519 recipes, and they share 25 flavor molecules: the top 15% of all ingredient pairs.
Do sage and mace go together?
Yes. 519 recipes in our collection combine them, and they share 25 flavor molecules. That places them in the top 15% of every ingredient pair we score.
Why they work
More than half of mace's flavor molecules (25 of 34) also occur in sage. Among the shared key aromas are alpha-pinene (pine, turpentine) and myrcene (balsamic, herbaceous).
What each one brings
sage
The tartness. Sour notes make up 15% of its labelled aroma molecules, against 3% for mace. It carries 286 molecules mace doesn't have.
mace
The herbal side. Herbal notes make up 31% of its labelled aroma molecules, against 16% for sage. It carries 9 molecules sage doesn't have.
Add a third ingredient
- Marjoram: the best fit for both, top 1% of pairs with sage, top 12% with mace.
- Nutmeg: top 3% of pairs with sage, top 4% with mace.
- Winter savory: top 1% of pairs with sage, top 11% with mace.
- Thyme: top 1% of pairs with sage, top 14% with mace.
Ranked by the average of its two pairing scores. Only foods used in at least 100 recipes are suggested.
Recipes with sage and mace
Almost always mains: 18 of the 20 recipes with a course label are mains.
Can you swap one for the other?
Only partly. Most of mace's flavor molecules (25 of 34) are also found in sage, but sage has 286 that mace lacks. Mace gives you part of sage's character without most of its tartness. This compares flavor only; texture, moisture and the job each does in a dish matter too.
All 25 shared molecules
See every shared molecule grouped by chemical class, with key aromas marked, plus the 286 only in sage and the 9 only in mace.
Sage and mace questions
Do sage and mace go together?
A good pairing. Cooks put them together in 519 recipes, and they share 25 flavor molecules: the top 15% of all ingredient pairs.
Why do sage and mace taste good together?
More than half of mace's flavor molecules (25 of 34) also occur in sage. Among the shared key aromas are alpha-pinene (pine, turpentine) and myrcene (balsamic, herbaceous).
What goes with sage and mace?
Marjoram is the best third ingredient: top 1% of pairs with sage and top 12% with mace. Nutmeg and winter savory also fit both.
What can you make with sage and mace?
Almost always mains: 18 of the 20 recipes with a course label are mains. Common dishes include Pork Sausage, Sausage-Meat Stuffing for Turkeys, Breast of Lamb, with Asparagus, Collared Calf's Head with Brains.
Can I use mace instead of sage?
Only partly. Most of mace's flavor molecules (25 of 34) are also found in sage, but sage has 286 that mace lacks. Mace gives you part of sage'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: Sage vs Mace. https://compkitchen.com/compare/sage-vs-mace. Accessed 2026-11-04.
@misc{compkitchen_compare_compound_similarity_analysis_sage_vs_mace_2026,
title = {Compound similarity analysis: Sage vs Mace},
author = {{Compound Kitchen}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://compkitchen.com/compare/sage-vs-mace},
note = {Accessed: 2026-11-04}
}
Methodology DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.19719459 · CC BY 4.0 · Citations are a request, not a requirement.