Rice + Mace
A good pairing. Cooks put them together in 932 recipes, and they share 17 flavor molecules: the top 17% of all ingredient pairs.
Do rice and mace 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
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.
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.
Add a third ingredient
- Nutmeg: the best fit for both, top 9% of pairs with rice, top 4% with mace.
- Cinnamon: top 4% of pairs with rice, top 10% with mace.
- Clove: top 12% of pairs with rice, top 6% with mace.
- Saffron: top 2% of pairs with rice, top 21% with mace.
Ranked by the average of its two pairing scores. Only foods used in at least 100 recipes are suggested.
Recipes with rice and mace
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: rice has 411 molecules mace doesn't, and mace has 17 that rice 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 411 only in rice and the 17 only in mace.
Rice and mace questions
Do rice and mace 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 rice and mace 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 rice and mace?
Nutmeg is the best third ingredient: top 9% of pairs with rice and top 4% with mace. Cinnamon and clove also fit both.
What can you make with rice and mace?
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 mace instead of rice?
Not really. Each has a lot the other lacks: rice has 411 molecules mace doesn't, and mace has 17 that rice 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: Rice vs Mace. https://compkitchen.com/compare/rice-vs-mace. Accessed 2026-11-04.
@misc{compkitchen_compare_compound_similarity_analysis_rice_vs_mace_2026,
title = {Compound similarity analysis: Rice vs Mace},
author = {{Compound Kitchen}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://compkitchen.com/compare/rice-vs-mace},
note = {Accessed: 2026-11-04}
}
Methodology DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.19719459 · CC BY 4.0 · Citations are a request, not a requirement.