Mace + Cider
A good pairing. Cooks put them together in 658 recipes, and they share 2 flavor molecules: the top 18% of all ingredient pairs.
Do mace and cider go together?
Yes. 658 recipes in our collection combine them, and they share 2 flavor molecules. That places them in the top 18% of every ingredient pair we score.
Why they work
They overlap on 2 flavor molecules: 6% of mace's 34. Most of what they share is background chemistry many foods carry, so the overlap does little for the smell.
What each one brings
mace
The herbal side. Herbal notes make up 31% of its labelled aroma molecules, against 1% for cider. It carries 32 molecules cider doesn't have.
cider
The fruit. Fruity notes make up 55% of its labelled aroma molecules, against 12% for mace. It carries 106 molecules mace doesn't have.
Add a third ingredient
- Apple: the best fit for both, top 15% of pairs with mace, top 2% with cider.
- Clove: top 6% of pairs with mace, top 14% with cider.
- Allspice: top 7% of pairs with mace, top 14% with cider.
- Nutmeg: top 4% of pairs with mace, top 20% with cider.
Ranked by the average of its two pairing scores. Only foods used in at least 100 recipes are suggested.
Recipes with mace and cider
Mostly mains: 24 of the 46 recipes with a course label are mains.
Can you swap one for the other?
Not really. Each has a lot the other lacks: mace has 32 molecules cider doesn't, and cider has 106 that mace 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 2 shared molecules
See every shared molecule grouped by chemical class, with key aromas marked, plus the 32 only in mace and the 106 only in cider.
Mace and cider questions
Do mace and cider go together?
A good pairing. Cooks put them together in 658 recipes, and they share 2 flavor molecules: the top 18% of all ingredient pairs.
Why do mace and cider taste good together?
They overlap on 2 flavor molecules: 6% of mace's 34. Most of what they share is background chemistry many foods carry, so the overlap does little for the smell.
What goes with mace and cider?
Apple is the best third ingredient: top 15% of pairs with mace and top 2% with cider. Clove and allspice also fit both.
What can you make with mace and cider?
Mostly mains: 24 of the 46 recipes with a course label are mains. Common dishes include Mince Meat, Cucumber Pickles, Cucumber Sweet Pickle, Apple Butter.
Can I use cider instead of mace?
Not really. Each has a lot the other lacks: mace has 32 molecules cider doesn't, and cider has 106 that mace 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: Mace vs Cider. https://compkitchen.com/compare/mace-vs-cider. Accessed 2026-11-04.
@misc{compkitchen_compare_compound_similarity_analysis_mace_vs_cider_2026,
title = {Compound similarity analysis: Mace vs Cider},
author = {{Compound Kitchen}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://compkitchen.com/compare/mace-vs-cider},
note = {Accessed: 2026-11-04}
}
Methodology DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.19719459 · CC BY 4.0 · Citations are a request, not a requirement.