Onion + Mace
A good pairing. Cooks put them together in 7,078 recipes, and they share 7 flavor molecules: the top 17% of all ingredient pairs.
Do onion and mace go together?
Yes. 7,078 recipes in our collection combine them, and they share 7 flavor molecules. That places them in the top 17% 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 eugenol (clove, spicy) and geraniol (rose, geranium). Most of what they share is background chemistry many foods carry, so the overlap does little for the smell.
What each one brings
onion
The sulfurous side. Sulfurous notes make up 13% of its labelled aroma molecules, against 0% for mace. It carries 358 molecules mace doesn't have.
mace
The herbal side. Herbal notes make up 31% of its labelled aroma molecules, against 4% for onion. It carries 27 molecules onion doesn't have.
Add a third ingredient
- Nutmeg: the best fit for both, top 16% of pairs with onion, top 4% with mace.
- Clove: top 13% of pairs with onion, top 6% with mace.
- Carrot: top 6% of pairs with onion, top 15% with mace.
- Allspice: top 13% of pairs with onion, 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 onion and mace
Almost always mains: 221 of the 271 recipes with a course label are mains.
Can you swap one for the other?
Not really. Each has a lot the other lacks: onion has 358 molecules mace doesn't, and mace has 27 that onion 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 358 only in onion and the 27 only in mace.
Onion and mace questions
Do onion and mace go together?
A good pairing. Cooks put them together in 7,078 recipes, and they share 7 flavor molecules: the top 17% of all ingredient pairs.
Why do onion and mace taste good together?
They overlap on 7 flavor molecules: 21% of mace's 34. Among the shared key aromas are eugenol (clove, spicy) and geraniol (rose, geranium). Most of what they share is background chemistry many foods carry, so the overlap does little for the smell.
What goes with onion and mace?
Nutmeg is the best third ingredient: top 16% of pairs with onion and top 4% with mace. Clove and carrot also fit both.
What can you make with onion and mace?
Almost always mains: 221 of the 271 recipes with a course label are mains. Common dishes include Onion Soup, Spanish Onions--Pickled, HOW WE COOK IN TENNESSEE, Chili Sauce.
Can I use mace instead of onion?
Not really. Each has a lot the other lacks: onion has 358 molecules mace doesn't, and mace has 27 that onion 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: Onion vs Mace. https://compkitchen.com/compare/onion-vs-mace. Accessed 2026-11-04.
@misc{compkitchen_compare_compound_similarity_analysis_onion_vs_mace_2026,
title = {Compound similarity analysis: Onion vs Mace},
author = {{Compound Kitchen}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://compkitchen.com/compare/onion-vs-mace},
note = {Accessed: 2026-11-04}
}
Methodology DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.19719459 · CC BY 4.0 · Citations are a request, not a requirement.