Marjoram + Mace
A good pairing. Cooks put them together in 767 recipes, and they share 28 flavor molecules: the top 12% of all ingredient pairs.
Do marjoram and mace go together?
Yes. 767 recipes in our collection combine them, and they share 28 flavor molecules. That places them in the top 12% of every ingredient pair we score.
Why they work
Almost everything mace carries, marjoram has too: 28 of mace's 34 flavor molecules also occur in marjoram. Among the shared key aromas are methyleugenol (clove, spice) and alpha-pinene (pine, turpentine).
What each one brings
marjoram
The tartness. Sour notes make up 15% of its labelled aroma molecules, against 3% for mace. It carries 277 molecules mace doesn't have.
mace
The herbal side. Herbal notes make up 31% of its labelled aroma molecules, against 14% for marjoram. It carries 6 molecules marjoram doesn't have.
Add a third ingredient
- Winter savory: the best fit for both, top 1% of pairs with marjoram, top 11% with mace.
- Thyme: top 1% of pairs with marjoram, top 14% with mace.
- Nutmeg: top 1% of pairs with marjoram, top 4% with mace.
- Allspice: top 1% of pairs with marjoram, top 7% with mace.
Ranked by the average of its two pairing scores. Only foods used in at least 100 recipes are suggested.
Recipes with marjoram and mace
Almost always mains: 6 of the 6 recipes with a course label are mains.
Can you swap one for the other?
Only partly. Most of mace's flavor molecules (28 of 34) are also found in marjoram, but marjoram has 277 that mace lacks. Mace gives you part of marjoram's character without most of its tartness. This compares flavor only; texture, moisture and the job each does in a dish matter too.
All 28 shared molecules
See every shared molecule grouped by chemical class, with key aromas marked, plus the 277 only in marjoram and the 6 only in mace.
Marjoram and mace questions
Do marjoram and mace go together?
A good pairing. Cooks put them together in 767 recipes, and they share 28 flavor molecules: the top 12% of all ingredient pairs.
Why do marjoram and mace taste good together?
Almost everything mace carries, marjoram has too: 28 of mace's 34 flavor molecules also occur in marjoram. Among the shared key aromas are methyleugenol (clove, spice) and alpha-pinene (pine, turpentine).
What goes with marjoram and mace?
Winter savory is the best third ingredient: top 1% of pairs with marjoram and top 11% with mace. Thyme and nutmeg also fit both.
What can you make with marjoram and mace?
Almost always mains: 6 of the 6 recipes with a course label are mains. Common dishes include Hare or Rabbit Soup, A Boned Turkey, Blanche Kammerer, Collared Pork.
Can I use mace instead of marjoram?
Only partly. Most of mace's flavor molecules (28 of 34) are also found in marjoram, but marjoram has 277 that mace lacks. Mace gives you part of marjoram'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: Marjoram vs Mace. https://compkitchen.com/compare/marjoram-vs-mace. Accessed 2026-11-04.
@misc{compkitchen_compare_compound_similarity_analysis_marjoram_vs_mace_2026,
title = {Compound similarity analysis: Marjoram vs Mace},
author = {{Compound Kitchen}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://compkitchen.com/compare/marjoram-vs-mace},
note = {Accessed: 2026-11-04}
}
Methodology DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.19719459 · CC BY 4.0 · Citations are a request, not a requirement.