Mace + Cinnamon
A proven pairing. Cooks put them together in 3,611 recipes, and they share 27 flavor molecules: the top 10% of all ingredient pairs.
Do mace and cinnamon go together?
Yes. 3,611 recipes in our collection combine them, and they share 27 flavor molecules. That places them in the top 10% of every ingredient pair we score.
Why they work
More than half of mace's flavor molecules (27 of 34) also occur in cinnamon. Among the shared key aromas are methyleugenol (clove, spice) and alpha-pinene (pine, turpentine).
What each one brings
mace
The herbal side. Herbal notes make up 31% of its labelled aroma molecules, against 12% for cinnamon. It carries 7 molecules cinnamon doesn't have.
cinnamon
The tartness. Sour notes make up 15% of its labelled aroma molecules, against 3% for mace. It carries 297 molecules mace doesn't have.
Add a third ingredient
- Nutmeg: the best fit for both, top 4% of pairs with mace, top 1% with cinnamon.
- Clove: top 6% of pairs with mace, top 1% with cinnamon.
- Allspice: top 7% of pairs with mace, top 1% with cinnamon.
- Ginger: top 11% of pairs with mace, top 1% with cinnamon.
Ranked by the average of its two pairing scores. Only foods used in at least 100 recipes are suggested.
Recipes with mace and cinnamon
Mostly desserts: 113 of the 218 recipes with a course label are desserts.
Can you swap one for the other?
Only partly. Most of mace's flavor molecules (27 of 34) are also found in cinnamon, but cinnamon has 297 that mace lacks. Mace gives you part of cinnamon's character without most of its tartness. This compares flavor only; texture, moisture and the job each does in a dish matter too.
All 27 shared molecules
See every shared molecule grouped by chemical class, with key aromas marked, plus the 7 only in mace and the 297 only in cinnamon.
Mace and cinnamon questions
Do mace and cinnamon go together?
A proven pairing. Cooks put them together in 3,611 recipes, and they share 27 flavor molecules: the top 10% of all ingredient pairs.
Why do mace and cinnamon taste good together?
More than half of mace's flavor molecules (27 of 34) also occur in cinnamon. Among the shared key aromas are methyleugenol (clove, spice) and alpha-pinene (pine, turpentine).
What goes with mace and cinnamon?
Nutmeg is the best third ingredient: top 4% of pairs with mace and top 1% with cinnamon. Clove and allspice also fit both.
What can you make with mace and cinnamon?
Mostly desserts: 113 of the 218 recipes with a course label are desserts. Common dishes include Roasted Nuts with Mace and Cinnamon, Blackberry Cordial, Mince Meat, Black Cake.
Can I use cinnamon instead of mace?
Only partly. Most of mace's flavor molecules (27 of 34) are also found in cinnamon, but cinnamon has 297 that mace lacks. Mace gives you part of cinnamon's character without most of its tartness. 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 Cinnamon. https://compkitchen.com/compare/mace-vs-cinnamon. Accessed 2026-11-03.
@misc{compkitchen_compare_compound_similarity_analysis_mace_vs_cinnamon_2026,
title = {Compound similarity analysis: Mace vs Cinnamon},
author = {{Compound Kitchen}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://compkitchen.com/compare/mace-vs-cinnamon},
note = {Accessed: 2026-11-03}
}
Methodology DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.19719459 · CC BY 4.0 · Citations are a request, not a requirement.