Tarragon + Mace
A good pairing. Cooks put them together in 234 recipes, and they share 20 flavor molecules: the top 19% of all ingredient pairs.
Do tarragon and mace go together?
Yes. 234 recipes in our collection combine them, and they share 20 flavor molecules. That places them in the top 19% of every ingredient pair we score.
Why they work
More than half of mace's flavor molecules (20 of 34) also occur in tarragon. Among the shared key aromas are methyleugenol (clove, spice) and alpha-pinene (pine, turpentine).
What each one brings
tarragon
The tartness. Sour notes make up 15% of its labelled aroma molecules, against 3% for mace. It carries 250 molecules mace doesn't have.
mace
The herbal side. Herbal notes make up 31% of its labelled aroma molecules, against 14% for tarragon. It carries 14 molecules tarragon doesn't have.
Add a third ingredient
- Nutmeg: the best fit for both, top 4% of pairs with tarragon, top 4% with mace.
- Marjoram: top 1% of pairs with tarragon, top 12% with mace.
- Chervil: top 1% of pairs with tarragon, top 27% with mace.
- Winter savory: top 1% of pairs with tarragon, 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 tarragon and mace
Mostly mains: 3 of the 4 recipes with a course label are mains.
Can you swap one for the other?
Not really. Each has a lot the other lacks: tarragon has 250 molecules mace doesn't, and mace has 14 that tarragon 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 20 shared molecules
See every shared molecule grouped by chemical class, with key aromas marked, plus the 250 only in tarragon and the 14 only in mace.
Tarragon and mace questions
Do tarragon and mace go together?
A good pairing. Cooks put them together in 234 recipes, and they share 20 flavor molecules: the top 19% of all ingredient pairs.
Why do tarragon and mace taste good together?
More than half of mace's flavor molecules (20 of 34) also occur in tarragon. Among the shared key aromas are methyleugenol (clove, spice) and alpha-pinene (pine, turpentine).
What goes with tarragon and mace?
Nutmeg is the best third ingredient: top 4% of pairs with tarragon and top 4% with mace. Marjoram and chervil also fit both.
What can you make with tarragon and mace?
Mostly mains: 3 of the 4 recipes with a course label are mains. Common dishes include Brown Sauce, Italian Mutton Cutlets, Jerusalem Fish Balls, Pepper Pot.
Can I use mace instead of tarragon?
Not really. Each has a lot the other lacks: tarragon has 250 molecules mace doesn't, and mace has 14 that tarragon 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: Tarragon vs Mace. https://compkitchen.com/compare/tarragon-vs-mace. Accessed 2026-11-04.
@misc{compkitchen_compare_compound_similarity_analysis_tarragon_vs_mace_2026,
title = {Compound similarity analysis: Tarragon vs Mace},
author = {{Compound Kitchen}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://compkitchen.com/compare/tarragon-vs-mace},
note = {Accessed: 2026-11-04}
}
Methodology DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.19719459 · CC BY 4.0 · Citations are a request, not a requirement.