Mace + Clove
A proven pairing. Cooks put them together in 8,400 recipes, and they share 18 flavor molecules: the top 6% of all ingredient pairs.
Do mace and clove go together?
Yes. 8,400 recipes in our collection combine them, and they share 18 flavor molecules. That places them in the top 6% of every ingredient pair we score.
Why they work
More than half of mace's flavor molecules (18 of 34) also occur in clove. Among the shared key aromas are methyleugenol (clove, spice) and alpha-pinene (pine, turpentine). 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 11% for clove. It carries 16 molecules clove doesn't have.
clove
The tartness. Sour notes make up 12% of its labelled aroma molecules, against 3% for mace. It carries 293 molecules mace doesn't have.
Add a third ingredient
- Nutmeg: the best fit for both, top 4% of pairs with mace, top 1% with clove.
- Allspice: top 7% of pairs with mace, top 1% with clove.
- Cinnamon: top 10% of pairs with mace, top 1% with clove.
- Ginger: top 11% of pairs with mace, top 1% with clove.
Ranked by the average of its two pairing scores. Only foods used in at least 100 recipes are suggested.
Recipes with mace and clove
Mostly mains: 195 of the 347 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 16 molecules clove doesn't, and clove has 293 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 18 shared molecules
See every shared molecule grouped by chemical class, with key aromas marked, plus the 16 only in mace and the 293 only in clove.
Mace and clove questions
Do mace and clove go together?
A proven pairing. Cooks put them together in 8,400 recipes, and they share 18 flavor molecules: the top 6% of all ingredient pairs.
Why do mace and clove taste good together?
More than half of mace's flavor molecules (18 of 34) also occur in clove. Among the shared key aromas are methyleugenol (clove, spice) and alpha-pinene (pine, turpentine). Most of what they share is background chemistry many foods carry, so the overlap does little for the smell.
What goes with mace and clove?
Nutmeg is the best third ingredient: top 4% of pairs with mace and top 1% with clove. Allspice and cinnamon also fit both.
What can you make with mace and clove?
Mostly mains: 195 of the 347 recipes with a course label are mains. Common dishes include Blackberry Cordial, Mince Meat, How We Cook in Tennessee, Pickled Oysters.
Can I use clove instead of mace?
Not really. Each has a lot the other lacks: mace has 16 molecules clove doesn't, and clove has 293 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 Clove. https://compkitchen.com/compare/mace-vs-clove. Accessed 2026-11-03.
@misc{compkitchen_compare_compound_similarity_analysis_mace_vs_clove_2026,
title = {Compound similarity analysis: Mace vs Clove},
author = {{Compound Kitchen}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://compkitchen.com/compare/mace-vs-clove},
note = {Accessed: 2026-11-03}
}
Methodology DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.19719459 · CC BY 4.0 · Citations are a request, not a requirement.