Mustard + Mace
A good pairing. Cooks put them together in 1,534 recipes, and they share 9 flavor molecules: the top 25% of all ingredient pairs.
Do mustard and mace go together?
Yes. 1,534 recipes in our collection combine them, and they share 9 flavor molecules. That places them in the top 25% of every ingredient pair we score.
Why they work
They overlap on 9 flavor molecules: 26% of mace's 34. Among the shared key aromas are methyleugenol (clove, spice) and 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
mustard
The tartness. Sour notes make up 18% of its labelled aroma molecules, against 3% for mace. It carries 274 molecules mace doesn't have.
mace
The herbal side. Herbal notes make up 31% of its labelled aroma molecules, against 5% for mustard. It carries 25 molecules mustard doesn't have.
Add a third ingredient
- Horseradish: the best fit for both, top 1% of pairs with mustard, top 20% with mace.
- Allspice: top 2% of pairs with mustard, top 7% with mace.
- Nutmeg: top 8% of pairs with mustard, top 4% with mace.
- Clove: top 8% of pairs with mustard, top 6% with mace.
Ranked by the average of its two pairing scores. Only foods used in at least 100 recipes are suggested.
Recipes with mustard and mace
Mostly mains: 46 of the 78 recipes with a course label are mains.
Can you swap one for the other?
Not really. Each has a lot the other lacks: mustard has 274 molecules mace doesn't, and mace has 25 that mustard 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 9 shared molecules
See every shared molecule grouped by chemical class, with key aromas marked, plus the 274 only in mustard and the 25 only in mace.
Mustard and mace questions
Do mustard and mace go together?
A good pairing. Cooks put them together in 1,534 recipes, and they share 9 flavor molecules: the top 25% of all ingredient pairs.
Why do mustard and mace taste good together?
They overlap on 9 flavor molecules: 26% of mace's 34. Among the shared key aromas are methyleugenol (clove, spice) and 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 mustard and mace?
Horseradish is the best third ingredient: top 1% of pairs with mustard and top 20% with mace. Allspice and nutmeg also fit both.
What can you make with mustard and mace?
Mostly mains: 46 of the 78 recipes with a course label are mains. Common dishes include Tartar Mustard, Tomato Mustard, Chow Chow, How We Cook in Tennessee.
Can I use mace instead of mustard?
Not really. Each has a lot the other lacks: mustard has 274 molecules mace doesn't, and mace has 25 that mustard 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: Mustard vs Mace. https://compkitchen.com/compare/mustard-vs-mace. Accessed 2026-11-04.
@misc{compkitchen_compare_compound_similarity_analysis_mustard_vs_mace_2026,
title = {Compound similarity analysis: Mustard vs Mace},
author = {{Compound Kitchen}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://compkitchen.com/compare/mustard-vs-mace},
note = {Accessed: 2026-11-04}
}
Methodology DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.19719459 · CC BY 4.0 · Citations are a request, not a requirement.