Meat + Mace
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 meat and mace 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
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.
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.
Add a third ingredient
- Nutmeg: the best fit for both, top 19% of pairs with meat, top 4% with mace.
- Clove: top 24% of pairs with meat, top 6% with mace.
- Allspice: top 24% of pairs with meat, top 7% with mace.
- Pork: top 11% of pairs with meat, top 17% with mace.
Ranked by the average of its two pairing scores. Only foods used in at least 100 recipes are suggested.
Recipes with meat and mace
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: meat has 83 molecules mace doesn't, and mace has 30 that meat 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 83 only in meat and the 30 only in mace.
Meat and mace questions
Do meat and mace 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 meat and mace 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 meat and mace?
Nutmeg is the best third ingredient: top 19% of pairs with meat and top 4% with mace. Clove and allspice also fit both.
What can you make with meat and mace?
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 mace instead of meat?
Not really. Each has a lot the other lacks: meat has 83 molecules mace doesn't, and mace has 30 that meat 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: Meat vs Mace. https://compkitchen.com/compare/meat-vs-mace. Accessed 2026-11-04.
@misc{compkitchen_compare_compound_similarity_analysis_meat_vs_mace_2026,
title = {Compound similarity analysis: Meat vs Mace},
author = {{Compound Kitchen}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://compkitchen.com/compare/meat-vs-mace},
note = {Accessed: 2026-11-04}
}
Methodology DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.19719459 · CC BY 4.0 · Citations are a request, not a requirement.