Apple + Mace
A good pairing. Cooks put them together in 865 recipes, and they share 14 flavor molecules: the top 15% of all ingredient pairs.
Do apple and mace go together?
Yes. 865 recipes in our collection combine them, and they share 14 flavor molecules. That places them in the top 15% 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 alpha-pinene (pine, turpentine) 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
apple
The fruit. Fruity notes make up 27% of its labelled aroma molecules, against 12% for mace. It carries 508 molecules mace doesn't have.
mace
The herbal side. Herbal notes make up 31% of its labelled aroma molecules, against 6% for apple. It carries 20 molecules apple doesn't have.
Add a third ingredient
- Clove: the best fit for both, top 6% of pairs with apple, top 6% with mace.
- Cinnamon: top 4% of pairs with apple, top 10% with mace.
- Nutmeg: top 12% of pairs with apple, top 4% with mace.
- Pear: top 1% of pairs with apple, top 25% with mace.
Ranked by the average of its two pairing scores. Only foods used in at least 100 recipes are suggested.
Recipes with apple and mace
Mostly desserts: 27 of the 53 recipes with a course label are desserts.
Can you swap one for the other?
Not really. Each has a lot the other lacks: apple has 508 molecules mace doesn't, and mace has 20 that apple 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 508 only in apple and the 20 only in mace.
Apple and mace questions
Do apple and mace go together?
A good pairing. Cooks put them together in 865 recipes, and they share 14 flavor molecules: the top 15% of all ingredient pairs.
Why do apple and mace taste good together?
They overlap on 14 flavor molecules: 41% of mace's 34. Among the shared key aromas are alpha-pinene (pine, turpentine) 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 apple and mace?
Clove is the best third ingredient: top 6% of pairs with apple and top 6% with mace. Cinnamon and nutmeg also fit both.
What can you make with apple and mace?
Mostly desserts: 27 of the 53 recipes with a course label are desserts. Common dishes include Apple Sweet Pickle, Apple and Brown Bread Pudding, Baked Apples with Red Wine, Fresh Apple Yogurt Coffee Cake.
Can I use mace instead of apple?
Not really. Each has a lot the other lacks: apple has 508 molecules mace doesn't, and mace has 20 that apple 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: Apple vs Mace. https://compkitchen.com/compare/apple-vs-mace. Accessed 2026-11-03.
@misc{compkitchen_compare_compound_similarity_analysis_apple_vs_mace_2026,
title = {Compound similarity analysis: Apple vs Mace},
author = {{Compound Kitchen}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://compkitchen.com/compare/apple-vs-mace},
note = {Accessed: 2026-11-03}
}
Methodology DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.19719459 · CC BY 4.0 · Citations are a request, not a requirement.