Wine + Mace
A good pairing. Cooks put them together in 1,435 recipes, and they share 14 flavor molecules: the top 22% of all ingredient pairs.
Do wine and mace go together?
Yes. 1,435 recipes in our collection combine them, and they share 14 flavor molecules. That places them in the top 22% of every ingredient pair we score.
Why they work
They overlap on 14 flavor molecules: 41% of mace's 34. Among the shared key aromas are myrcene (balsamic, herbaceous) and linalool (floral, citrus). Most of what they share is background chemistry many foods carry, so the overlap does little for the smell.
What each one brings
wine
The fruit. Fruity notes make up 31% of its labelled aroma molecules, against 12% for mace. It carries 524 molecules mace doesn't have.
mace
The herbal side. Herbal notes make up 31% of its labelled aroma molecules, against 8% for wine. It carries 20 molecules wine doesn't have.
Add a third ingredient
- Clove: the best fit for both, top 15% of pairs with wine, top 6% with mace.
- Nutmeg: top 21% of pairs with wine, top 4% with mace.
- Cinnamon: top 14% of pairs with wine, top 10% with mace.
- Thyme: top 10% of pairs with wine, 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 wine and mace
Mostly mains: 82 of the 129 recipes with a course label are mains.
Can you swap one for the other?
Not really. Each has a lot the other lacks: wine has 524 molecules mace doesn't, and mace has 20 that wine 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 14 shared molecules
See every shared molecule grouped by chemical class, with key aromas marked, plus the 524 only in wine and the 20 only in mace.
Wine and mace questions
Do wine and mace go together?
A good pairing. Cooks put them together in 1,435 recipes, and they share 14 flavor molecules: the top 22% of all ingredient pairs.
Why do wine and mace taste good together?
They overlap on 14 flavor molecules: 41% of mace's 34. Among the shared key aromas are myrcene (balsamic, herbaceous) and linalool (floral, citrus). Most of what they share is background chemistry many foods carry, so the overlap does little for the smell.
What goes with wine and mace?
Clove is the best third ingredient: top 15% of pairs with wine and top 6% with mace. Nutmeg and cinnamon also fit both.
What can you make with wine and mace?
Mostly mains: 82 of the 129 recipes with a course label are mains. Common dishes include Baked Apples with Red Wine, Cowslip Wine, Oyster Catsup, Fricassee of Small Chickens.
Can I use mace instead of wine?
Not really. Each has a lot the other lacks: wine has 524 molecules mace doesn't, and mace has 20 that wine 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: Wine vs Mace. https://compkitchen.com/compare/wine-vs-mace. Accessed 2026-11-04.
@misc{compkitchen_compare_compound_similarity_analysis_wine_vs_mace_2026,
title = {Compound similarity analysis: Wine vs Mace},
author = {{Compound Kitchen}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://compkitchen.com/compare/wine-vs-mace},
note = {Accessed: 2026-11-04}
}
Methodology DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.19719459 · CC BY 4.0 · Citations are a request, not a requirement.