Thyme + Mace
A good pairing. Cooks put them together in 2,113 recipes, and they share 24 flavor molecules: the top 14% of all ingredient pairs.
Do thyme and mace go together?
Yes. 2,113 recipes in our collection combine them, and they share 24 flavor molecules. That places them in the top 14% of every ingredient pair we score.
Why they work
More than half of mace's flavor molecules (24 of 34) also occur in thyme. Among the shared key aromas are alpha-pinene (pine, turpentine) and myrcene (balsamic, herbaceous).
What each one brings
thyme
The tartness. Sour notes make up 16% of its labelled aroma molecules, against 3% for mace. It carries 279 molecules mace doesn't have.
mace
The herbal side. Herbal notes make up 31% of its labelled aroma molecules, against 13% for thyme. It carries 10 molecules thyme doesn't have.
Add a third ingredient
- Marjoram: the best fit for both, top 1% of pairs with thyme, top 12% with mace.
- Winter savory: top 1% of pairs with thyme, top 11% with mace.
- Allspice: top 1% of pairs with thyme, top 7% with mace.
- Nutmeg: top 3% of pairs with thyme, top 4% with mace.
Ranked by the average of its two pairing scores. Only foods used in at least 100 recipes are suggested.
Recipes with thyme and mace
Almost always mains: 38 of the 44 recipes with a course label are mains.
Can you swap one for the other?
Only partly. Most of mace's flavor molecules (24 of 34) are also found in thyme, but thyme has 279 that mace lacks. Mace gives you part of thyme's character without most of its tartness. This compares flavor only; texture, moisture and the job each does in a dish matter too.
All 24 shared molecules
See every shared molecule grouped by chemical class, with key aromas marked, plus the 279 only in thyme and the 10 only in mace.
Thyme and mace questions
Do thyme and mace go together?
A good pairing. Cooks put them together in 2,113 recipes, and they share 24 flavor molecules: the top 14% of all ingredient pairs.
Why do thyme and mace taste good together?
More than half of mace's flavor molecules (24 of 34) also occur in thyme. Among the shared key aromas are alpha-pinene (pine, turpentine) and myrcene (balsamic, herbaceous).
What goes with thyme and mace?
Marjoram is the best third ingredient: top 1% of pairs with thyme and top 12% with mace. Winter savory and allspice also fit both.
What can you make with thyme and mace?
Almost always mains: 38 of the 44 recipes with a course label are mains. Common dishes include Mock Turtle Soup, Hare or Rabbit Soup, To Dress Turtle, Baked Calf's Head.
Can I use mace instead of thyme?
Only partly. Most of mace's flavor molecules (24 of 34) are also found in thyme, but thyme has 279 that mace lacks. Mace gives you part of thyme'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: Thyme vs Mace. https://compkitchen.com/compare/thyme-vs-mace. Accessed 2026-11-04.
@misc{compkitchen_compare_compound_similarity_analysis_thyme_vs_mace_2026,
title = {Compound similarity analysis: Thyme vs Mace},
author = {{Compound Kitchen}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://compkitchen.com/compare/thyme-vs-mace},
note = {Accessed: 2026-11-04}
}
Methodology DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.19719459 · CC BY 4.0 · Citations are a request, not a requirement.