Name: Smoked Haddock Soup
Yield: Makes 8 to 10 servings
Ingredients: 10 sprigs fresh rosemary; 20 sprigs fresh thyme; 2 whole dried bay leaves; 12 whole black peppercorns; 2 tablespoons unsalted butter; 2 large leeks, white and pale green parts only, cut into 1/2-inch pieces (about 2 cups total); 1 large fennel bulb, cut into medium dice (about 2 cups total); 2 quarts heavy cream; 1 pound smoked haddock, flaked (about 2 cups total)*; 2 tablespoons minced fresh dill; 10- by 10-inch square of cheesecloth, kitchen string

Why it works: Rosemary and thyme match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,340 recipes. Both carry 1-octen-3-one, which smells mushroom, metallic. The science ↓

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.

Rosemary + thymetop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together1,340 recipes

Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-one (mushroom, metallic).
Fennel + dilltop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together122 recipes

Shared aroma: 4-methoxybenzaldehyde (sweet, anise).
Thyme + fenneltop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together337 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
Thyme + leektop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together360 recipes

Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-ol (mushroom, earthy).
Rosemary + fenneltop 2% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together157 recipes

Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

Swap the leek

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (rosemary, thyme, butter, fennel, cream, haddock, dill):

Potatofits better
Parsnipfits better
Chivefits better
Leekthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against rosemary, thyme, butter, fennel, cream, haddock, dill. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Haddock	100g cooked	112
Butter	1 tbsp (14g)	102
Cream	1 tbsp (15ml) heavy	51
Onion	1 medium (110g)	44
Fennel Bulb	1/2 bulb (87g)	27
Black Pepper	1 tsp ground (2.3g)	6
Rosemary	1 tsp dried (1.2g)	4
Thyme	1 tsp dried (1.4g)	4
Dill	5 sprigs fresh (1g) / 1 tsp dried	4
Bay Leaf	1 leaf (0.6g)	2

Smoked Haddock Soup