Mace + Meat
A good pairing. Cooks put them together in 1,339 recipes, and they share 4 flavor molecules: the top 24% of all ingredient pairs.
Do mace and meat go together?
Yes. 1,339 recipes in our collection combine them, and they share 4 flavor molecules. That places them in the top 24% of every ingredient pair we score.
Why they work
They overlap on 4 flavor molecules: 12% of mace's 34. Among the shared key aromas is linalool (floral, citrus). 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 meat. It carries 30 molecules meat doesn't have.
meat
The roast. Roasted notes make up 13% of its labelled aroma molecules, against 0% for mace. It carries 83 molecules mace doesn't have.
Add a third ingredient
- Nutmeg: the best fit for both, top 4% of pairs with mace, top 19% with meat.
- Clove: top 6% of pairs with mace, top 24% with meat.
- Allspice: top 7% of pairs with mace, top 24% with meat.
- Pork: top 17% of pairs with mace, top 11% with meat.
Ranked by the average of its two pairing scores. Only foods used in at least 100 recipes are suggested.
Recipes with mace and meat
Mostly mains: 25 of the 37 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 30 molecules meat doesn't, and meat has 83 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 4 shared molecules
See every shared molecule grouped by chemical class, with key aromas marked, plus the 30 only in mace and the 83 only in meat.
Mace and meat questions
Do mace and meat go together?
A good pairing. Cooks put them together in 1,339 recipes, and they share 4 flavor molecules: the top 24% of all ingredient pairs.
Why do mace and meat taste good together?
They overlap on 4 flavor molecules: 12% of mace's 34. Among the shared key aromas is linalool (floral, citrus). Most of what they share is background chemistry many foods carry, so the overlap does little for the smell.
What goes with mace and meat?
Nutmeg is the best third ingredient: top 4% of pairs with mace and top 19% with meat. Clove and allspice also fit both.
What can you make with mace and meat?
Mostly mains: 25 of the 37 recipes with a course label are mains. Common dishes include Mince Meat, English Mincemeat, Meat Croquettes, Meat Jellies for Pies and Sauces.
Can I use meat instead of mace?
Not really. Each has a lot the other lacks: mace has 30 molecules meat doesn't, and meat has 83 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 Meat. https://compkitchen.com/compare/mace-vs-meat. Accessed 2026-11-06.
@misc{compkitchen_compare_compound_similarity_analysis_mace_vs_meat_2026,
title = {Compound similarity analysis: Mace vs Meat},
author = {{Compound Kitchen}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://compkitchen.com/compare/mace-vs-meat},
note = {Accessed: 2026-11-06}
}
Methodology DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.19719459 · CC BY 4.0 · Citations are a request, not a requirement.