What Is Mace and How Can I Use It?

Mace is easier to cook with than it looks. Here's how to choose, use, and store it, what to substitute, and 264 recipes to get you started.

What is mace?

Mace is often preferred in light dishes for the bright orange saffron-like hue it imparts. It is somewhat similar to nutmeg and sometimes the two are used together.

In North America whole mace is difficult to find but dried, ground mace can be found in the spices section of well stocked markets.

Nutrition

Quick facts

Where to find mace: Mace is usually found in the spices section or aisle of the grocery store or supermarket.

Food group: Mace is a member of the Spices and Herbs US Department of Agriculture nutritional food group.

In Chinese

锤

British (UK) term

Mace

en français

macis

en español

maza

How much does mace weigh?

Related

Spices and Herbs

Recipes using mace

There are 264 recipes that contain this ingredient.

Jason's Pumpkin Pie

Pumpkin pie deepened with brown sugar and a warming hit of mace, ginger, and clove. Evaporated milk gives the custard its silky, sliceable set, while a hot oven start locks in that classic glossy top.

Holiday Vegan Pumpkin Pie

A vegan pumpkin pie with a silky tofu-set custard, spiced with cinnamon, ginger and mace and sweetened with molasses, in a flaky from-scratch crust. An egg- and dairy-free holiday classic.

Best Apple Crumble Pie

Apple crumble pie cooks tart green apples on the stovetop with mace and lemon, then bakes them in a flaky shell under a buttery cookie-crumb topping. A streusel-style pie that skips the soggy bottom.

Spiced Blueberry Jam

Spiced blueberry jam simmers fresh blueberries with apple-grape juice concentrate, orange juice, and warm spices of cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and mace. A refined-sugar-free freezer jam that captures summer with autumn warmth.

Pfeffernusse (Pepper Balls)

German pfeffernusse: spiced honey cookies with cinnamon, cloves, allspice, mace, and a touch of black pepper, dipped in vanilla glaze. Traditional Christmas cookie recipe.

Colcannon

A scrumptious side dish made with potatoes and parsnips that can give your dinner a new look.

Spiced Peach Muffins

These Spiced Peach Muffins are a delicious treat with a delightful crunch topping that adds an irresistible texture to the moist and flavorful muffins. The crumbly topping is a perfect complement to the softness of the muffins, making them a perfect choice for breakfast or a snack any time of the day.

Christmas Plum Pudding

A buttery, breadcrumb-based Christmas plum pudding rich with two kinds of raisins, currants, bitter orange marmalade, and warm spice. Steamed, aged, then flamed at the table and served with silky zabaione.

Vermont Maple Syrup & Porter-Poached Apples

These apples are gently spiced and good for brunch as well as dessert.

Morning Whole Wheat Spice Muffins

Whole wheat spice muffins with cinnamon, mace, nutmeg, allspice, and ginger sweetened with honey. A warming, low-fat breakfast muffin that smells like the holidays.

Apple Pecan Streusel Muffins

Apple pecan streusel muffins: tender cinnamon-apple muffins with a brown sugar-pecan streusel layered both inside and on top, for buttery crumble in every bite. A cozy breakfast or brunch bake.

Roasted Acorn Squash Soup

Roasted acorn squash soup: foil-roasted squash pureed with sweated onion and garlic, finished with cream, cinnamon, and a whisper of mace for a velvety fall starter.

Merry Christmas Fruitcake

Traditional Christmas fruitcake with brandy-soaked candied citrus peel, citron, currants, and raisins, deeply spiced and aged in a tin with periodic brandy basting before the holidays.

Beets & Carrots with West Indian Spices

Sugar beets and carrots covered a sweet, tangy, warmly spiced coating. West Indian spices and ginger.

Big & Soft Raisin-Oatmeal Cookies

Big, soft raisin-oatmeal cookies with peanut butter for tender chew, dark brown sugar for moisture, and a whisper of mace that sets these apart from every other oat cookie. Quarter-cup scoops, no flour required.

Robb's Low-Cholesterol Pumpkin Pie with Oil Pastry

Robb's Low-Cholesterol Pumpkin Pie with Oil Pastry recipe

Easy Delicious Rhubarb Cake

Old-fashioned rhubarb cake with a sour cream batter, brown sugar sweetness, and a crackly mace-sugar topping. Tender, tangy, and a much-loved way to use spring rhubarb in a single 8-inch square pan.

Tavern Biscuits

Tavern biscuits are a colonial-era American sweet biscuit spiced with nutmeg and mace. Crisp at the edges, tender in the middle, and just sweet enough to serve with tea, coffee, or a glass of cold milk.

Pumpkin Spice Pound Cake

Pumpkin spice pound cake bakes a Bundt full of cinnamon, mace, and nutmeg-spiced pumpkin batter over a layer of toasted pecans, then drinks in a dark rum butter glaze poured through poke holes on both sides.

Sinfully Good Chili

Cincinnati 5-way chili: ground beef chili spiced with cinnamon, cocoa, allspice, and cardamom, ladled over spaghetti and topped with cheddar, beans, and chopped onion.

Smooth Broccoli-Cauliflower Soup

Smooth broccoli cauliflower soup blends two cruciferous veggies into a silky, low-fat puree thickened with skim milk and finished with Swiss cheese. Light, creamy, and ready in 30 minutes.

Mincemeat (Real Meat) #2

Traditional mincemeat with real beef and suet, the way it was made for centuries before the meatless version took over. Currants, raisins, apples, brandy, and warming spices simmer into a deeply flavored pie filling. Yields 80 servings.

Rolled Sugar-Mace Cookies

Rolled sugar cookies seasoned with ground mace, a warmer, floral cousin to nutmeg. The colonial-era twist on a basic cutout cookie. Yields three dozen.

Dark Christmas Cake

Dark Christmas cake is the real, old-fashioned fruitcake: dense with raisins, currants, figs, dates, and almonds, deepened with brown sugar, prune juice, and brandy, then aged in brandy-soaked cheesecloth. Make it now, slice it at Christmas.

Breakfast Honey Persimmon Muffins

Persimmon muffins sweetened with honey and spiced with cinnamon, mace, allspice, and clove. Soft, autumn-fragrant breakfast muffins that bake in 15 minutes.

German Sausage - Bratwurst Bramberger

Bratwurst Bramberger: a southern German pork-and-bacon sausage bound with milk and egg for an exceptionally tender, fine texture, seasoned with ground spices and stuffed into hog casings.

German Bratwurst Pork Sausage

This version of bratwurt (German sausage) contains just pork.

Hanz's Swiss-German Bratwurst Sausage

Hanz's Swiss-German bratwurst: a homemade pork and veal sausage seasoned with white wine and freshly ground spices, double-ground for a fine texture and stuffed into hog casings. An old family recipe.

Nürnberg Bratwurst

Homemade small batch German sausage from Nürnberg.

Hubbard Squash Soup

Hubbard squash soup blends roasted squash puree with garlic, vegetable stock, heavy cream, and warm hints of cinnamon and mace. A creamy, vegetarian fall soup ready in an hour.

Crabmeat Patties

Creole-style crabmeat patties baked in ramekins with mushrooms, pimiento, cream, and buttered breadcrumbs. Rich, old-world elegance with a cayenne kick in every spoonful.

Awesome Holiday Plum Pudding

Traditional British Christmas plum pudding: a dense steamed pudding rich with suet, dried fruit, candied orange, and brandy. Made weeks ahead to mellow, then reheated and flamed for the holiday table.

Professor Plum's Pudding

Traditional steamed plum pudding with dark and golden raisins, currants, breadcrumbs, and warm spices. Flambeed with rum and served with zabaione sauce.

North: Almond Pistachio Saffron Curry Sauce

North Indian almond pistachio saffron curry sauce with dry-roasted nuts, cardamom, mace, and heavy cream simmered into a luxurious, golden coating for grilled meats and chicken.

Lighter Pound Cake

Lighter pound cake made with egg whites instead of whole eggs and buttermilk for a tender crumb. Flavored with vanilla and a hint of mace, no yolks needed.

Election Cake

Election cake is a yeast-raised colonial American cake with brandy-soaked currants, mace, cinnamon, and lemon. A slow-rising, historically rich sweet bread traced to 1700s New England.

Spiced Brown Sugar Meringue Cake

Spiced sheet cake with brown sugar and warm spices gets topped with walnut meringue frosting that bakes on for a crunchy, marshmallow-like finish.

Spice Mix: Garam Masala

Homemade garam masala from whole roasted cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, and mace ground fresh. This essential Indian spice blend takes 20 minutes and blows store-bought versions out of the water.

Glazed Spice Cookies

Glazed honey spice cookies with cinnamon, cloves, mace, and allspice, finished with a thin vanilla sugar glaze. Old-world cookies that bake up firm, keep beautifully, and taste better the day after baking.

Pepper Balls

German honey spice cookies rolled into bite-sized balls with cinnamon, cloves, allspice, mace, and black pepper, then dipped in a sweet vanilla glaze. A traditional Pfeffernusse-style holiday cookie.

Buttermilk Gingerbread

Gingerbread is my all-time favorite. This is one of my most-loved recipes for making gingerbread. The spices add just enough hint, and it's delicious.

White Meat Ravioli

Homemade ravioli filled with seasoned chicken, sage, mace, and Parmesan, topped with a quick tomato basil sauce. An Italian classic with a lighter white meat filling and a splash of brandy for depth.

Tikka Murgh

Chicken leg pieces marinated in spiced yogurt with ginger-garlic paste, mace, cumin, and gram flour, then roasted on skewers. Cook it tandoor-style, on the grill, or in your oven.

Breakfast Patties

Homemade breakfast sausage patties ground from pork shoulder and bacon, seasoned with sage, mace, coriander, and fresh orange zest. No mystery ingredients, just real pork and bold spice.

Tarte Alsacienne

A classic French Alsatian apple tart with a rich cream cheese pastry crust, sliced Granny Smiths, and a silky vanilla-mace custard. Rustic, elegant, and freezer-friendly.

Spiced Chicken Curry

Chicken pieces browned in ghee and simmered in coconut milk with cinnamon, cardamom, mace, curry powder, tomatoes, apples, and cream. A richly spiced, aromatic Indian chicken curry that feeds six.

Pumpkin Ravioli (Hazen)

Handmade pumpkin ravioli with a spiced pumpkin-carrot filling, served in a garlic cream sauce with toasted hazelnuts and wilted sorrel. A showpiece fall pasta.

Mild Curry Powder

Mild curry powder blend of toasted cloves, cinnamon, black pepper, mace, cardamom, cumin, and bay leaves, ground fresh and aged for a smooth, mellow finish. The homemade pantry blend that ages a year in the jar.

Potetboller

Potetboller are Norwegian fried potato balls spiked with minced anchovies, mustard, and a whisper of mace, then breaded and deep fried to a crackling golden shell. Salty, savory, and dangerously snackable.

Mom's Best Tourtiere

Mom's best tourtiere is the classic French-Canadian pork pie: spiced ground pork with mace, sage and a little raisin, bound with grated potato in a flaky double crust. A treasured Quebec Christmas tradition.

All 264 recipes