What to use instead of mace
Quick answer
The closest option is Nutmeg, rated good. Sweeter, richer and heavier, with a slight darkening of pale dishes that mace would have avoided.
It will not do for: Very pale sauces and potted meats where colour matters; Delicate Mughlai kormas, for the same reason.
All recorded options
Ranked by suitability. Ratios are given only where they are defensible, and always with their basis — by weight or by volume — because spice densities differ.
Nutmeg
Good matchUse: 0.75–1× by volume — Slightly less nutmeg than the mace called for, since nutmeg is sweeter and denser in character.
Sweeter, richer and heavier, with a slight darkening of pale dishes that mace would have avoided.
| Flavour | Aroma | Colour | Heat |
|---|---|---|---|
| close | close | partial | n/a |
Works for
- Most savoury applications
- Baking
- Where mace is simply unavailable, which is often
Does not work for
- Very pale sauces and potted meats where colour matters
- Delicate Mughlai kormas, for the same reason
Allspice
AcceptableUse: ~0.75× by volume — Three-quarters of the mace called for. Allspice is broader and will assert itself sooner.
The second option, for a cupboard with no nutmeg — which is unlikely but not impossible, since the two come from the same fruit and are often bought together. Allspice shares the eugenol note and adds a clove-and-cinnamon breadth mace does not have, so the dish stays warm-spiced and stops tasting specifically of mace.
| Flavour | Aroma | Colour | Heat |
|---|---|---|---|
| partial | partial | different | similar |
Works for
- Potted meats, charcuterie, pies and braises
- Spiced baking where a broader warm note is acceptable
Does not work for
- Pale sauces and custards, where allspice is darker and shows
- Dishes using whole blades of mace for infusion, which is a physical difference rather than a flavour one
Where mace stands in for something else
The reverse view of the same graph.
- Instead of Nutmeg — good