Mace + Port wine
A good pairing. Cooks put them together in 695 recipes, and they share 7 flavor molecules: the top 15% of all ingredient pairs.
Do mace and port wine go together?
Yes. 695 recipes in our collection combine them, and they share 7 flavor molecules. That places them in the top 15% of every ingredient pair we score.
Why they work
They overlap on 7 flavor molecules: 21% of mace's 34. Among the shared key aromas are linalool (floral, citrus) and alpha-terpineol (lilac, floral). 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 port wine. It carries 27 molecules port wine doesn't have.
port wine
The fruit. Fruity notes make up 35% of its labelled aroma molecules, against 12% for mace. It carries 161 molecules mace doesn't have.
Add a third ingredient
- Clove: the best fit for both, top 6% of pairs with mace, top 12% with port wine.
- Nutmeg: top 4% of pairs with mace, top 17% with port wine.
- Currant: top 12% of pairs with mace, top 9% with port wine.
- Fig: top 17% of pairs with mace, top 6% with port wine.
Ranked by the average of its two pairing scores. Only foods used in at least 100 recipes are suggested.
Recipes with mace and port wine
Almost always mains: 22 of the 25 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 27 molecules port wine doesn't, and port wine has 161 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 7 shared molecules
See every shared molecule grouped by chemical class, with key aromas marked, plus the 27 only in mace and the 161 only in port wine.
Mace and port wine questions
Do mace and port wine go together?
A good pairing. Cooks put them together in 695 recipes, and they share 7 flavor molecules: the top 15% of all ingredient pairs.
Why do mace and port wine taste good together?
They overlap on 7 flavor molecules: 21% of mace's 34. Among the shared key aromas are linalool (floral, citrus) and alpha-terpineol (lilac, floral). Most of what they share is background chemistry many foods carry, so the overlap does little for the smell.
What goes with mace and port wine?
Clove is the best third ingredient: top 6% of pairs with mace and top 12% with port wine. Nutmeg and currant also fit both.
What can you make with mace and port wine?
Almost always mains: 22 of the 25 recipes with a course label are mains. Common dishes include Sauce for Wildfowl, Beef Fritters, Brown Ragout Soup, Camp Vinegar.
Can I use port wine instead of mace?
Not really. Each has a lot the other lacks: mace has 27 molecules port wine doesn't, and port wine has 161 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 Port Wine. https://compkitchen.com/compare/mace-vs-port-wine. Accessed 2026-11-03.
@misc{compkitchen_compare_compound_similarity_analysis_mace_vs_port_wine_2026,
title = {Compound similarity analysis: Mace vs Port Wine},
author = {{Compound Kitchen}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://compkitchen.com/compare/mace-vs-port-wine},
note = {Accessed: 2026-11-03}
}
Methodology DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.19719459 · CC BY 4.0 · Citations are a request, not a requirement.