Mace + Rice
A good pairing. Cooks put them together in 932 recipes, and they share 17 flavor molecules: the top 17% of all ingredient pairs.
Do mace and rice go together?
Yes. 932 recipes in our collection combine them, and they share 17 flavor molecules. That places them in the top 17% of every ingredient pair we score.
Why they work
More than half of mace's flavor molecules (17 of 34) also occur in rice. Among the shared key aromas are alpha-pinene (pine, turpentine) and myrcene (balsamic, herbaceous). 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 8% for rice. It carries 17 molecules rice doesn't have.
rice
The tartness. Sour notes make up 16% of its labelled aroma molecules, against 3% for mace. It carries 411 molecules mace doesn't have.
Add a third ingredient
- Nutmeg: the best fit for both, top 4% of pairs with mace, top 9% with rice.
- Cinnamon: top 10% of pairs with mace, top 4% with rice.
- Clove: top 6% of pairs with mace, top 12% with rice.
- Saffron: top 21% of pairs with mace, top 2% with rice.
Ranked by the average of its two pairing scores. Only foods used in at least 100 recipes are suggested.
Recipes with mace and rice
Mostly mains: 12 of the 16 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 17 molecules rice doesn't, and rice has 411 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 17 shared molecules
See every shared molecule grouped by chemical class, with key aromas marked, plus the 17 only in mace and the 411 only in rice.
Mace and rice questions
Do mace and rice go together?
A good pairing. Cooks put them together in 932 recipes, and they share 17 flavor molecules: the top 17% of all ingredient pairs.
Why do mace and rice taste good together?
More than half of mace's flavor molecules (17 of 34) also occur in rice. Among the shared key aromas are alpha-pinene (pine, turpentine) and myrcene (balsamic, herbaceous). Most of what they share is background chemistry many foods carry, so the overlap does little for the smell.
What goes with mace and rice?
Nutmeg is the best third ingredient: top 4% of pairs with mace and top 9% with rice. Cinnamon and clove also fit both.
What can you make with mace and rice?
Mostly mains: 12 of the 16 recipes with a course label are mains. Common dishes include Rice-Flour Soup, Boiled Fowl and Rice, Knuckle of Veal with Rice, Rice Cream Soup.
Can I use rice instead of mace?
Not really. Each has a lot the other lacks: mace has 17 molecules rice doesn't, and rice has 411 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 Rice. https://compkitchen.com/compare/mace-vs-rice. Accessed 2026-11-04.
@misc{compkitchen_compare_compound_similarity_analysis_mace_vs_rice_2026,
title = {Compound similarity analysis: Mace vs Rice},
author = {{Compound Kitchen}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://compkitchen.com/compare/mace-vs-rice},
note = {Accessed: 2026-11-04}
}
Methodology DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.19719459 · CC BY 4.0 · Citations are a request, not a requirement.