Why it works: Parsley and thyme match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 9,057 recipes. Both carry cuminaldehyde, which smells Spicy, cumin. The science ↓
Forcemeats
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Thoroughly pound the bread crumbs, suet, and herbs until no lumps remain.
If using, soak and break bread crusts, then squeeze dry.
Rub the bread crumbs through a wire sieve or colander for even size.
Mix and shape
Mix in the egg (if using) and milk or water until well combined.
Add seasonings and optional flavorings to taste.
Shape the mixture into balls or sew into a joint as desired.
Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.
Explore the science
The flavor team
The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.
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Parsley + thymetop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together9,057 recipes
Shared aroma: cuminaldehyde (Spicy, cumin).
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Parsley + peppertop 2% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together34,122 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
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Parsley + nutmegtop 3% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together5,062 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
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Thyme + nutmegtop 3% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together1,907 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
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Thyme + peppertop 4% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together11,585 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Bread crumbs
- Form the bulk of the stuffing and absorb the liquid to hold its body.
- Suet
- Adds fat that keeps the mixture moist and tender as it cooks.
- Egg
- Binds the crumbs and liquid together so the mixture holds its shape.
- Milk or water
- Moistens the crumbs so they soften and bind into a workable mixture.
The step that matters
Rub the bread crumbs through a sieve. Pounding and sieving give the crumbs an even size, so the mixture binds and cooks uniformly instead of forming dry or lumpy pockets.
Swap the nutmeg
The recipe marks nutmeg as optional. How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (bread, butter, parsley, thyme, pepper, egg, milk):
- Marjoramfits better
- Sagefits about as well
- Nutmegthe original
- Tarragonfits about as well
Fit is the average pairing score against bread, butter, parsley, thyme, pepper, egg, milk. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.
“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.
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