Grape + Mace
A good pairing. Cooks put them together in 446 recipes, and they share 18 flavor molecules: the top 22% of all ingredient pairs.
Do grape and mace go together?
Yes. 446 recipes in our collection combine them, and they share 18 flavor molecules. That places them in the top 22% of every ingredient pair we score.
Why they work
More than half of mace's flavor molecules (18 of 34) also occur in grape. 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
grape
The fruit. Fruity notes make up 23% of its labelled aroma molecules, against 12% for mace. It carries 552 molecules mace doesn't have.
mace
The herbal side. Herbal notes make up 31% of its labelled aroma molecules, against 9% for grape. It carries 16 molecules grape doesn't have.
Add a third ingredient
- Apple: the best fit for both, top 1% of pairs with grape, top 15% with mace.
- Clove: top 10% of pairs with grape, top 6% with mace.
- Nutmeg: top 15% of pairs with grape, top 4% with mace.
- Cinnamon: top 9% of pairs with grape, top 10% with mace.
Ranked by the average of its two pairing scores. Only foods used in at least 100 recipes are suggested.
Recipes with grape and mace
Mostly desserts: 83 of the 109 recipes with a course label are desserts.
Can you swap one for the other?
Not really. Each has a lot the other lacks: grape has 552 molecules mace doesn't, and mace has 16 that grape 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 18 shared molecules
See every shared molecule grouped by chemical class, with key aromas marked, plus the 552 only in grape and the 16 only in mace.
Grape and mace questions
Do grape and mace go together?
A good pairing. Cooks put them together in 446 recipes, and they share 18 flavor molecules: the top 22% of all ingredient pairs.
Why do grape and mace taste good together?
More than half of mace's flavor molecules (18 of 34) also occur in grape. 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 grape and mace?
Apple is the best third ingredient: top 1% of pairs with grape and top 15% with mace. Clove and nutmeg also fit both.
What can you make with grape and mace?
Mostly desserts: 83 of the 109 recipes with a course label are desserts. Common dishes include Black Cake, Mince Meat, How We Cook in Tennessee, A Rich Fruit Cake.
Can I use mace instead of grape?
Not really. Each has a lot the other lacks: grape has 552 molecules mace doesn't, and mace has 16 that grape 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: Grape vs Mace. https://compkitchen.com/compare/grape-vs-mace. Accessed 2026-11-07.
@misc{compkitchen_compare_compound_similarity_analysis_grape_vs_mace_2026,
title = {Compound similarity analysis: Grape vs Mace},
author = {{Compound Kitchen}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://compkitchen.com/compare/grape-vs-mace},
note = {Accessed: 2026-11-07}
}
Methodology DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.19719459 · CC BY 4.0 · Citations are a request, not a requirement.