Cabbage + Mace
A good pairing. Cooks put them together in 415 recipes, and they share 13 flavor molecules: the top 25% of all ingredient pairs.
Do cabbage and mace go together?
Yes. 415 recipes in our collection combine them, and they share 13 flavor molecules. That places them in the top 25% of every ingredient pair we score.
Why they work
They overlap on 13 flavor molecules: 38% of mace's 34. Among the shared key aromas are alpha-pinene (pine, turpentine) and myrcene (balsamic, herbaceous). Most of what they share is background chemistry many foods carry, so the overlap does little for the smell.
What each one brings
cabbage
The tartness. Sour notes make up 14% of its labelled aroma molecules, against 3% for mace. It carries 378 molecules mace doesn't have.
mace
The herbal side. Herbal notes make up 31% of its labelled aroma molecules, against 7% for cabbage. It carries 21 molecules cabbage doesn't have.
Add a third ingredient
- Nutmeg: the best fit for both, top 14% of pairs with cabbage, top 4% with mace.
- Allspice: top 10% of pairs with cabbage, top 7% with mace.
- Clove: top 12% of pairs with cabbage, top 6% with mace.
- Horseradish: top 2% of pairs with cabbage, top 20% with mace.
Ranked by the average of its two pairing scores. Only foods used in at least 100 recipes are suggested.
Recipes with cabbage and mace
Mostly preserves: 2 of the 3 recipes with a course label are preserves.
Can you swap one for the other?
Not really. Each has a lot the other lacks: cabbage has 378 molecules mace doesn't, and mace has 21 that cabbage 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 13 shared molecules
See every shared molecule grouped by chemical class, with key aromas marked, plus the 378 only in cabbage and the 21 only in mace.
Cabbage and mace questions
Do cabbage and mace go together?
A good pairing. Cooks put them together in 415 recipes, and they share 13 flavor molecules: the top 25% of all ingredient pairs.
Why do cabbage and mace taste good together?
They overlap on 13 flavor molecules: 38% of mace's 34. Among the shared key aromas are alpha-pinene (pine, turpentine) and myrcene (balsamic, herbaceous). Most of what they share is background chemistry many foods carry, so the overlap does little for the smell.
What goes with cabbage and mace?
Nutmeg is the best third ingredient: top 14% of pairs with cabbage and top 4% with mace. Allspice and clove also fit both.
What can you make with cabbage and mace?
Mostly preserves: 2 of the 3 recipes with a course label are preserves. Common dishes include Sweet Cabbage Pickle, Chow Chow, Green Pepper Mango Pickles.
Can I use mace instead of cabbage?
Not really. Each has a lot the other lacks: cabbage has 378 molecules mace doesn't, and mace has 21 that cabbage 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: Cabbage vs Mace. https://compkitchen.com/compare/cabbage-vs-mace. Accessed 2026-11-03.
@misc{compkitchen_compare_compound_similarity_analysis_cabbage_vs_mace_2026,
title = {Compound similarity analysis: Cabbage vs Mace},
author = {{Compound Kitchen}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://compkitchen.com/compare/cabbage-vs-mace},
note = {Accessed: 2026-11-03}
}
Methodology DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.19719459 · CC BY 4.0 · Citations are a request, not a requirement.